Your 2022 Website Checklist

I always advise clients to check their website at least once a year. Realistically, you’d be looking at it more often, but at a minimum, once a year. Many business owners are so busy running their business, that they don’t have time to be keeping close tabs on their website. But you’d be surprised how many little edits you might want to make if you take a few minutes and review what’s there. Here’s a list of things you should be doing to make sure your website is in good shape for 2022.

Check your content

Take a few minutes and just read through every page on your site. Is it well written? Is there enough content? Does it send the message you want people to receive? Does it answer your visitor’s questions? Are there typos? Now is the time to make sure that your content says what you want it to say.

When it comes to your content, Google ranks sites with excellent content higher than those without, so really think about what your website says and put some time into making sure it’s accurate and high quality content for 2022. You’ll never go wrong when adding new, fresh, and up-to-date content on your website.

Check your buttons and links

Sometimes in the course of managing a website, you change a page, change a link, or make an update, and those old links don’t work anymore. Take a few minutes and go through your entire site and click every button and every link and make sure they all go where you intent them to go. Fix any bad links or buttons that don’t work.

While looking at your buttons, you can take it a bit further by checking to make sure they all look like buttons. Some people like to be cute with their buttons, but if you want people to click on your buttons, make sure they look like buttons. Rectangular in shape with clear wording, and I highly recommend they change color when you hover over them, because it really does enforce what the button does.

Get new photos

I have written extensively about how important great images are on your website, but have you considered how old your images are? If part of your business is selling yourself, and your photo is pretty old, it may be time for an update. If your client shows up to your business and you look twenty years older than you do on your website, they may have questions. And that’s not to say that looking older is bad. In fact, being experience at your craft is great. But it can be jarring to your clients to see a photo of you from twenty years ago and show up to find that’s not really what you look like.

Now is a great time to plan for new headshots and team photos for your business. Find a great photographer, pick out a great outfit, and update your marketing materials for 2022.

Update your frequently asked questions

You’d be surprised how much phone time you can save by having a Frequently Asked Questions page on your website and things have changed so much in the last year. Have your FAQs changed? Do you have new questions you are needing to ask? Have your answers changed? Go and read all your current FAQs, update your answers, and add any new questions that need answered for 2022.

Add photos to your portfolio

Your portfolio shouldn’t just be a reflection of your best work, it should be a reflection of your current work too. Your portfolio shows that you are active, in-demand, and keeping up with trends. Take a look at your portfolio. Was the last time it was updated in 2020? If so, it’s time to get some of your 2021 work reflected in there.

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Test your forms

At least once a year, submit a test on your website forms. You never know when some minor update or change could affect deliverability of those messages. It only takes a minute to submit one and make sure those messages get where they are supposed to be.

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Bonus

Check your automations
Do you have any automated messages, automated onboarding, etc? Now is a good time to go through and check that those are doing what you want and still functional.

Consider adding a blog
I’m a big fan of blogging. It adds a lot of value for your website, not just in the form of content for your visitors, but in Google rankings too. Adding a blog to your site is the best way to get new traffic to your website.

Think about your social media presence
Are you on social media? Are you active? Evaluate what you are doing well and consider making an updated social calendar for 2022. Remember, having the accounts isn’t enough. You need to engage with your audience. That’s the “social” part of social media.

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Websites aren’t set it and forget it, and the best websites have regular updates. Make sure yours isn’t too far in the past with a few minor tweaks that can keep it current and help your potential customers find you.