Have you weeded your web site recently?

Posted by on Jun 18, 2015

From the website: Beauty of Nature

Much as I enjoy my work, I love to spend time outdoors.  Much to my surprise, gardening has become a favourite past time.   I enjoy being outside, taming the small green space around our house, playing in the dirt, and eating the occasional ice cream cone as a reward.

On Sunday, reflecting on progress made outside I thought about the week ahead and my indoor/work goals.  I was a bit surprised to realize how much gardening and web sites have in common. Both need to have the weeds removed, the ground improved, and plants added or moved.  Like my garden, a web site can be useful and beautiful but only if properly tended.

Have you weeded your web site recently?  Website information should be reviewed and tweaked as needed.  Weeds in your website can diminish the integrity of your online presence and hurt SEO.  Make sure your website isn’t weedy by regularly

  • taking care of  typos, out-dated information, and comment spam
  • making sure internal links in your site and those going  to external sites are not broken or link to out-dated information

Improve the ground!   The soil on our property contains quite a bit clay, so we have spent time improving our soil.   You can do the same for your website:

  • add functionality which will help users obtain the information they need, accomplish a task, or make a purchase
  • update your site’s design to make your site more user-friendly and current

Can you add/move material to make things more attractive or useful? Moving plants can make them healthier.  Adding plant material can add colour, habitat for wildlife, or fill a bare spot making your property a place to linger.  Make your web site a place visitors wish to linger and explore by

  • making sure your content is well-organized so visitors can enjoy your site instead of spending time figuring the site out
  • adding new content to educate or enable customer activity
  • highlighting or moving important content or functions that users are not finding or using

A well-tended web site:

  • shows users that you are serious, engaged, and have expertise in your chosen field
  • engages users with relevant content and functionality to help them obtain the goods and services needed
  • will be seen as a resource for others and you will garner links and social media shares which will raise your online profile
  • ranks better in search engines which look for relevancy,  currency, links and shares among other factors

Cultivate your website so your business can grow!