Having a website that is well-optimized is essential for success online. Optimizing your website can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. With the right tools, tips, and tricks, you can easily keep your website optimized and running smoothly. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the best tips for keeping your website optimized. By following these simple steps, you’ll be able to ensure that your site runs at peak performance and attracts more users.
What Does It Mean to be Optimized?
When it comes to having a website that is constantly polished and “optimized” there is a world of benefits to be had. So, what does it mean to be optimized? A website has the potential to be a very powerful tool, if not vital when it comes to growing your business.
A website can solidify your brand, give you endless amounts of data to drive decisions regarding your business’s target market, and attract a host of new clients/customers. All of this is possible, but only when businesses take the time, energy, and money in some cases to see their website as more than a one-dimensional advertisement.
Your website can bring a multitude of benefits and even be the lifeblood of your business, but only when you gain information, ideas, and interest from keeping a pulse on your website. This is what it means to “optimize” your website. We will take a look at a few ways to do just that!
Tip #1: Keep Your Website Simple
Our first tip: keep your website simple.
When it comes to tips for keeping your website optimized, this is a major one. Keeping your website simple does not mean that your website does not have a lot of content, or pages. It means your website should really be focused on content that is created to reach your primary goals for your users.
Extra-large images, videos, and pages all “need to have a purpose” on your website. This makes it easier for potential clients to know exactly what you offer and why they should use your business without being bogged down with secondary information.
There are several benefits to keeping your website simple and targeted.
We’ve already touched on the fact that a simple website can offer a better user experience (UX). Website users are not often looking to spend extra time navigating through unclear pages and dozens of tabs to find the information they’re looking for. Your website should be your best foot forward when it comes to communication and design.
Simple websites also perform better on mobile devices and since, on average, 50.5% of all website traffic in 2022 came from mobile browsing, this is extremely important for your business. A complex and gorgeous design is visually stimulating and satisfying, sure, but if your website features don’t help increase conversions, capture leads, and sell your products and services, it likely needs to be redone.
Simple website design and elements also give your website opportunities to load faster if there are no unnecessary images or videos on pages. The faster pages load, the better your user experience on your website is and the faster customers can find you online. Website speed optimization is a great process that can help you maximize your larger content’s reach. Videos and images are great additions to every website, but it’s important to think about what those elements are doing to the flow of your website and the understanding your visitor has of what your business actually does.
Simplicity as one of your website optimization tools can also enhance the user experience design in ways that promote accessibility and, ultimately, lead to more conversions. Nothing is more frustrating as a website user than to spend time on a site looking for a solution to a problem or an answer to a question, only to be disappointed when you are met with overly wordy, graphic-laden pages that don’t give you the insights you need about the product, service, or topic you are trying to learn more about.
And a great benefit to enhancing website accessibility and simplicity for you and your business is that simple sites are easier to build! They take less time and require fewer complex concepts and tools to combine perfectly together.
As you are working on your next website project, it’s also important to remember that “simple” isn’t a catch-all. If you are selling tote bags made from recycled plastic, your website will look much simpler than a website for rebuilding and restoring classic cars. Simplicity is relative – if you think you need more content or top-level navigation tabs, that’s great as long as you have thought through why each of those extra pages, videos, and other content is helping promote and sell your offerings.
Tip #2: Use Data To Drive Decisions
One major aspect, and some would say the most important aspect of website optimization, is to use data from analytics on your website to drive decisions for your company. Let’s say your website is doing well and making lots of money, or your business is doing badly. If you do not know why, then neither scenario is ideal. Data needs to drive how your website and business grow.
Let’s go through some important data metrics to analyze as you work through your optimization project.
The biggest indicators of a less-than-optimized website include a high bounce rate (people clicking onto a page in your site and then immediately leaving) and a lack of conversions (your visitors aren’t purchasing your items or adding their email to your leads list in exchange for a piece of content like a helpful video or white paper).
If these metrics are low (and you should compare them to averages in your industry specifically), it’s no time to panic – yet. Sometimes, simplifying these web pages by removing clutter or moving your CTAs and action buttons to a more prominent spot on the page is all it takes to start increasing those visit and conversion metrics.
High bounce rates could also mean incorrect keyword targeting – this is another fix that doesn’t take much in the way of website design or costly rebuilding. If people aren’t visiting your site to read your blog or check out your industry resources, maybe it’s time to freshen up the keywords you are targeting.
Tip #3: Use a CMS
Unless you are very technically proficient and can handle a variety of changes and potential issues yourself, in order to maintain and constantly optimize your website you want to use a content management system (CMS).
Static websites have other benefits but for the majority of businesses, the best way to have a website that can be constantly updated is to use a CMS. Please feel free to consult a SharedTEAMS web developer on what CMS will work best for your particular business.
There are many advantages of using a CMS because it lends itself to user-friendliness and has lots of options for customization. You can create custom shopping carts, contact forms, email list management syncing, spam protection, extra security, image compression, and more.
Partner with SharedTEAMS for More Tips for Keeping Your Website Optimized
These are just a few tips for keeping your website optimized as you try to grow and improve your business. If you need help on your website optimization journey, reach out to us here at SharedTEAMS. We offer several on-demand website projects, including our Website Design Optimization project. In this project, our team adjusts the design of your current website to promote user-friendliness and to showcase your brand and offerings in a more positive and effective way.