Here are key ways to improve your website:
1. Refresh your design.
When was the last time you updated your website design? If it was more than five years ago, your website probably is outdated. And an obsolete website can reflect that your fencing company is not keeping up with the times. Your fencing company website is not a one-and-done endeavor. Here are two ways to keep its design fresh and current:
Add more white space. Let your website breathe with more space around text and images. This simple change helps your site look and feel more modern, and it makes it more user-friendly.
Keep your pages consistent. Your website pages should have a coherent design theme that includes matching heading styles, fonts, colors, spacing and other design elements. If your pages vary too much in design and style, you run the risk of confusing the visitor and diluting your message. In a world in which it is all too easy to click out of your site and click into another one, keep your website visitor focused and engaged with matching page elements.
2. Add updated content.
What would you think about a restaurant that still has its Valentine’s Day on its homepage in May? You’d likely try somewhere else for that take-out meal this evening, wouldn’t you? Don’t chase away your potential fencing customers with old content and out-of-season promotions. Try these ideas instead:
Post new photos of your latest styles and colors
Feature updated bios and photos of your sales team
Offer seasonal discounts and promotions
To make sure you don’t fall into the same trap as the restaurant that is still promoting Valentine’s Day in May, schedule and set regular reminders to yourself to keep this content up-to-date.
3. Use original photos.
If you want your website to stand out from your competitors, you need to get creative and original. One way to do that is by taking and posting your own photos. Website visitors can easily spot generic stock images of fences. Try to use custom or NVP photos.
When you share photos of your fences that were taken on-site in your community, your potential customers will gain more trust in your company and your service.
Have you considered adding video content? Another way to update your website is by adding a video of you demonstrating your fencing products or welcoming customers. You can load your video on YouTube (or another video platform) and then include the code to add it to your website.
4. Make your site mobile-friendly.
One surefire way to lose website traffic is by not adapting to mobile device shopping. Statistics now show that more than 60% (and growing) of website traffic is on mobile devices. Google is even penalizing websites that are not optimized for mobile navigation. Do you want to check where your site stands on this score?
You can test your site at Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test (https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly), where after entering your website’s address, you will get one of two results: “Your site is mobile-friendly” or “Your site fails the mobile-friendliness test.”
Usually, the reasons for failing the mobility test are your text is too small, your links are close together or your mobile ports are not set. These results are easy to update. And you will be rewarded with a more responsive site to serve customers.
5. Improve page speed.
Seconds count in the world of internet shopping. If your website loads too slowly, you could lose a busy potential customer to your competitor. As part of your website overhaul, it’s a good idea to evaluate your page speed.
Visit this Google link to see how you can improve this valuable factor. https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/
6. Think usability.
Is your website intuitive? Or are you making the reader think too hard? Make sure you put things where they belong. For example, your logo should be in the upper left-hand corner. And when people click on your logo, it should take them to the home page. Tabs should be at top. More information at the bottom of every page. Navigation should be natural. Your website should let users accomplish their intended tasks as easily and directly as possible. If your website requires a large investment of time —or looks like it will—it’s less likely to be used.
7. Incorporate clear calls to action.
The whole point of your website is to attract new business, right? You can make it easier for your website visitors to find more about your fencing company with clear and attractive call to action buttons. Direct your viewer’s attention to them with obvious buttons and time-sensitive action words.
Here are three possible calls to action to highlight on your website with prominent buttons.
Sign up for your email list for special promotions.
Fill out a contact form for a free fencing estimate.
Entice customers view photos of your products.
8. Make it easy to find you.
Can your customers find your location and contact information easily? Many small businesses add address and contact information as part of the header or footer of every website page. If you prefer a separate contact page, be sure to add a prominent link to this vital resource on every page.
According to research by Stanford University, 75% of consumers admit that they make judgments about a company’s credibility based upon its website. Don’t base your fencing company’s reputation upon an outdated website. By taking some key steps now, you will be ready to hit the ground running with a new and improved website.