Is Your Website Actually Doing Anything?

You probably know roughly what your staff are doing this week.  You know whether the phone is ringing. You know which services are selling, whether an advert is working and whether you’re busy enough for next month.

What about your website?

For many businesses, the honest answer is, it’s there.  It was built a few years ago.  It looks respectable.  The contact form works. People occasionally mention finding you through Google.  

But is it actually doing a good job?

Give your website a job

A website shouldn’t exist simply because businesses are expected to have one.

It should do something useful.

For one business that might be generating enquiries. For another, taking bookings. It might be persuading somebody to choose you over three competitors, explaining a complicated service before they phone, or answering enough questions that the right customer gets in touch.

Usually it’s doing several of those things.  The important bit is knowing what they are.  Because once your website has a job, you can start asking whether it’s doing it.

Look at your website like a customer & follow their journey

People don’t all arrive at your website looking for the same thing.

Some are discovering your business for the first time. They want to understand what you do and whether it’s relevant to them. Others are further along and trying to decide whether you’re right for them.

That’s where the website has more work to do.

Does it explain your service clearly enough for someone to understand exactly what they’re getting?  Does it give them reasons to trust you through your experience, reviews or simply the way you talk about what you do?  Can they see the value in choosing you rather than just the price?  And can they find the practical details; what’s included, how it works, availability, timescales, location, policies or anything else they need before making a decision?

Different customers will need different amounts of reassurance. One might be convinced by a photograph. Another wants to read three case studies, check the reviews and understand exactly what happens next.

Then it needs to make the next step easy.

That might be making an enquiry, checking availability, requesting a quote, booking, buying or simply picking up the phone. Whatever the goal, the customer shouldn’t have to hunt for it.  Thinking about the website this way changes the question. Instead of asking whether you still like the colours, you’re asking whether the site gives customers what they need, when they need it, to make a decision.

You can also learn from what people actually do on the site. Which pages are being found? What are people searching for? Which services get attention, and where do people leave without taking the next step? You don’t need to become an analytics expert, but occasionally looking at the evidence can challenge what you think customers want.

Then keep it moving

This is where a website becomes active rather than passive.

Some changes come from the business.  Services change, prices move, new photographs are taken, better projects are completed and new reviews come in.  The website should keep up, so that it reflects the business as it is today rather than the business as it was when the site was built.

Some changes come from customers.  The questions they ask, the pages they visit and the way they move through the site can all tell you what’s missing, what’s useful and what could work harder.

And some of it should be planned.  A simple content plan gives you a reason to keep adding useful things: new work, advice, case studies, seasonal information or answers to the questions customers are starting to ask. Not content for the sake of looking busy, but content that makes the website more useful and gives people more reasons to find you, trust you and choose you.

And review.  Then you watch what happens. If a page isn’t getting found, improve it. If people are finding it but not taking the next step, ask why. If something works particularly well, do more of it.

None of this requires constantly redesigning the website. It’s simply the difference between launching a website and leaving it alone, and actually running one.

When did you last have that conversation?

You need someone to keep asking whether the website you already have is doing enough. 

• What job is our website supposed to do?

• How do we know whether it’s doing it?

• What could we change this month to make it do that job better?

Need some advice? Let’s talk.

Whether you have questions, need some support or simply want to talk through your options, we’re happy to help.

WhatsApp message Liz 44 7912 083488
Call on  01397 700230
Email  [email protected]