Does Your Website Say You’re Open for Business?
Signs of Going out of Business
A tell tale sign that a business is not doing too well or the owner is retiring or moving on to another phase in their life is an old, deteriorating website, one that does not shown signs of life.
The website may be old and dated looking, the articles or posts are not up-to-date, in fact, the last post may be from two years ago. The website is static and unchanging with no news updates on what the company is doing. It is hard to view the website on a cellphone or a tablet.
It is understandable if a business is winding down that the owner would not want to invest much more in keeping the website updated and fresh. I can think of a couple of examples where companies have gone out of business, just after I thought to myself that they could really use a new webdesign. I have also seen some websites and wondered are they really open? Oftentimes I pass those by.
Renew Your Website/Renew Your Commitment to Your Business
At a certain point all websites become old and dated and must be renewed and refreshed and when this is done business owners show that they are in fact renewing their commitment to their company to make it thrive. Otherwise, who wants to stick around on your website if it looks like a ghost town?
Signs of Life
If you want your website visitors to know for sure that you are open for business and plan to be that way for a while here are a few things you can do:
Update the design and look of the website. There is no need to follow every new trend, but if your website still has tiny pictures and background that looks like textured paper, it may be time to consider an update.
Make sure your website visitors can easily view your website on cellphones and tablets, along with different screen sizes of PCs by updating to a website with responsive design.
Secure your website by upgrading to HTTPS.
Keep your blog up-to-date. Try to blog at regular intervals.
Be sure to update news and events about your company.
Link to social media that, again, is up-to-date.
Additional Things to Try:
Add a newsletter and encourage visitors to sign up for it on your website
Have tasteful pop-ups about future sales or discount codes.
Have live chat to answer customer questions
Keep in mind that when you invest in a great looking webdesign and keep it updated and secure for your customers your are saying very strongly that you are open for business. Please contact Pacific Rim Web Design for help regarding updating and maintaining your website. Email denise@pacificrimwebdesign.com or call 206-282-2952
