This post was compiled using info from HubSpot and other sources. It’s good advice for any website owner, at EVERY stage of the game:
Six Mistakes That Can Make Your Website
Look Like A Kitchen from the 70’s …
1. Check Your Copyright Date – Nothing signals out-of-date faster than scrolling down a home page and seeing Copyright 2002, when it is 2011. The visitor instantly wonders what else is out of date. Instead, set a calendar reminder for yourself at the beginning of each year to go in and
update the copyright date.
2. Update Your Press Section – The news or press section of your website isn’t only used by members of the media. Potential customers visit press sections to get an understanding of a
company’s credibility. If you haven’t posted a news announcement in months or even a year, then your press page turns into a liability, rather than an asset. To fix this, do not include the date next to your news announcements. And make public relations an ongoing part of your outreach program.
3. Blog Consistently – Have a blog? Great. Haven’t blogged in six months? Not Great. It is important that you commit to creating content consistently. Understand that it is less about frequency and more about consistency. While publishing once or more a week is best, once a month is also great providing that you post every month at the same general time. This will set the right expectations with your subscribers and make your blog look credible to new visitors.
4. Avoid “New” – Using the word “new” especially as it refers to products, can be an invitation to having a dated website. The problem with saying that something is new, is that many business don’t take the time to remove the “new” once the product has been out on the market for an extended period of time. Instead, it is better to create a featured products sections that can include both new and important products or services.
5. Keep Contact Information Current – This might seem like a simple one, but it happens far too often. Having a phone number, fax number or even an address that is not current is a guaranteed way to lose prospects (and credibility). Whenever you perform an operations change, make sure to check to see if a website change needs to happen as well.
6. Incorporate Relevant Widgets For Dynamic Content – Every office has busy times and
slower times. If you are in a time where you can’t create as much content as you would like to, or don’t have a new program or event announcement looming, you can still show that your website is a “living-and-breathing” part of your operation. One way to do this is by using widgets to provide fresh content automatically for website visitors. This could be a Facebook widget that shows the most recent comments on your business page or maybe it is a Twitter widget that shows the most recent messages from industry experts. This content can really be anything as long as it is valuable to your clients and prospects. Credibility and timeliness are directly linked on the Web. As a marketer, you are responsible for keeping your website content up-to-date, not letting it appear as a remnant from the past. … Lori Martinek, Branding Expert & Author, https://edcgrow.com/