5 Easy Ways to Professionalize Your Website

With most people turning to online resources for information on products and services, your web presence is more important than ever. If your website is looking clunky and unprofessional, though, you may be turning customers away. While a complete redesign might be out of your budget, there are still a few ways to modify your website and give it a professional touch without going deep into your pockets.

Here are 5 easy ways to professionalize your website:

Update content often.

If your website looks nearly the same as it did last year…and the year before, it might be time to freshen up your content. Go through each page and check for dates or events that may have gone past, and make sure there are no broken links. You can also keep your website fresh and professional looking by starting a blog. Blogs give you great exposure and give your brand a voice. We recommend posting at least once a week, so if you’re finding it hard to dedicate time to blog writing, you might consider outsourcing content writing services or invite employees and customers to pitch in as guest bloggers.

Use photos and videos.

Photos and short videos can greatly enhance your website if you are using them correctly. Make sure your photos and videos are of good quality and are sized appropriately to be viewed on the web. Each page should have at least a photo related to the content. If your photos are poor quality, consider using an online stock photo service to purchase relevant photos that will appeal to your audience—just make sure you aren’t misrepresenting your brand. Photos and short videos not only make your site look more polished, but they can also help entice viewers to visit your website when sharing links on social media like Facebook. Don’t forget to tag them appropriately for SEO!

Remove superfluity.

Take the same advice that you’ve received from your boss, spouse, teacher, etc.—“KISS”, Keep It Simple, Sweetie (we don’t like to call anyone stupid!) Your website doesn’t have to have flashing lights and moving parts—in fact, those features do the opposite of making your site look professional. Eliminate any strange fonts that are likely to be incompatible with most browsers, and make sure your text size and line height are consistent throughout each page. Keep bright colors to a minimum, and remember that less is more.

Show recognitions.

If your brand is an award winner on TripAdvisor, a chamber member, or has received recognition in the industry, be sure to display it on your website. Awards and other distinctions make your website—and your brand—stand out, and they give it validity and credibility. If you don’t have any of these types of recognitions, you can also use a testimonials page as a way to share the positive sentiment and professionalism of your brand.

Be responsive.

While this idea might not be as easy as the others, a responsive website is crucial due to today’s popular use of mobile devices. Responsive website design changes the format of your website based on the size of the screen viewers are using. Increasingly more users are utilizing phones and tablets to view websites—so if your site only looks good on a desktop computer, beware that you may be losing mobile customers that simply can’t navigate your website. With responsive web design, rotating images disappear, links turn into buttons, text becomes larger and it is easier to scroll down, which makes the user’s experience much more pleasing and conducive to a sale conversion!

We know that managing your website can be time consuming, but it is also very important to make a good impression on your visitors. By following these easy steps, you can turn a stale website into a more professional website that will help increase your brand’s credibility and presentation.