If people read your website and there’s a spelling mistake or a grammatical error, you will look unprofessional, and the chances are they’ll take their business elsewhere. But beyond that, any copy you include needs to be well-written, engaging, and relevant. If it isn’t, no-one is going to read it and there’s no point in it being there. 

 

Furthermore, your copy should be crammed full of relevant keywords that are appropriate for your business, as it is these that will get you ranking higher on search engines, which means more vital traffic. 

 

If you don’t know how to do these things, there is nothing to be gained from giving it a go – your website, (no matter how smart, how new, how brilliant), will not get the hits it deserves. Leave it to a professional copywriter. Don’t know one? Your web designer definitely will. 

Pictures are incredibly important. Without them your website is a sea of words that will look far too daunting for anyone to want to swim in. Videos are even better – any content that can be gazed at without having to engage the brain too much is basically a winner. Images and videos will attract people to your website, keep them on your site longer and make them think more about what it is you’re doing. They’ll also boost your SEO (search engine optimisation) rankings too – which is exactly what you want. But images need to be right – not the wrong shape or size, not too generic, and definitely not blurry. Professional images are best. Need to know more? Luckily for you we’ve got a whole blog on the subject: here. 

Make them do something. By that we don’t mean just use your business, (although that’s the eventual aim), we mean engaging with something on your site – this is known as a ‘call to action’. It can be anything from subscribing to a newsletter, filling in a contact form or responding to a survey. Why? Because an engaged visitor is worth ten times more than a passive observer – once they’re doing something, they’re invested, they care, and they’ll remember your site – and that’s a big hurdle leapt for your business. 

When it comes to web design your contact details need to be very easy to find, no matter where your visitors are on the site. They need to contain a very straightforward way to get to you – and the more ways the merrier. Then being responsive to any contact is absolutely vital. If you provide a phone number, pick up the phone; if you give them an email address, reply to their message as soon as you can. Being responsive makes you look more engaged, more effective, and more efficient – which are all things people want in a good business. Even if your answer is not exactly what they might want to hear, should they need you in the future, they know you’ll be there. 

If it’s clear your website hasn’t been updated in a long time, frankly it doesn’t give a great impression. And what’s more it won’t do your SEO rankings any favours. Mix it up – change the look, change the images, change the feel. Give users returning to your site as much to look at as people who’ve never been there before. 

 

Every time something interesting and newsy happens, put it on your website. Won an award? Shout about it. Made your hundredth sale? Tell us about it. Your successes will make you look like a more dependable company, and the fact that your professional website is current makes you look tech-savvy and on-the-ball.