Websites are an important part of owning a business or non-profit. They are marketing; the first impression of your company or organization. Competition online is fierce- you need to keep your customers on your website and entice potential customers to stay on your website, turning them into customers or donors. So, you have a pretty website and keep your content up to date. You may think that it is all you need to do, right? Well, not really. Websites should always be a work in progress. You need to change your content on the website to keep up with the changes in your company or organization and changes in your followers' habits and consumer trends.

Could you be doing something to your website that is potentially harmful to its effectiveness and usability? We researched and came up with a list of things to consider removing on your website, which could be potentially beneficial in the long run. This post will be a series, consisting of changes to make on specific parts of your website. Welcome to Part 1: THE BASICS.
 

PART ONE: THE BASICS

In part 1, we list some common places and instances on a website that could have issues that are easily missed.

1. Stray Copy in The Footer

Why: Stray copy can be easily missed when it is on the bottom of the page. Make sure your website's content is clean so there isn't anything extra floating around.

Solution: Check all the pages on your website to make sure that there is no stray copy on the footer. You should only have 3 items on a footer: company or organization name, legal links such as a privacy policy, and social media links (if the website's design permits it).

This is an example of a clean footer.

2. Administration Links

Why: No one should see any administration links, such as a login page, on your website. It can be a security risk.

Solution: Check each page to make sure administration links are not viewable by the public. If administration links must be viewable, make sure that ONLY the appropriate parties can access them. In Content Management Systems, (CMS) you can set up user roles for each account on a website, which will allow them to see content that you specify for them.
 

3. Unnecessary Personalization

Why: Unnecessary personalization can make your website come across as creepy as if we are watching the user's every move. For example, third-party plugins such as social media and maps can show a user's profile if they are logged in to that account.

Solution: Disable the ability to display profiles.

 

4. Testimonials Page

Why: A testimonials page creates more work than is needed and it looks like one giant ad.

Solution: Put testimonials on a page where a claim is made. You can also put it in the flow of your page content.

Everyone at Not Rocket Science hopes that you enjoyed part 1 of this helpful website series. Want to read more? Check out Part 2- Getting the Conversion here!