A new year doesn’t just mean a new IRL you; it can mean a new URL you, too!
There is a plethora of ways that you can update your website to make it fresh for 21017. If you have a WordPress site, we’ve put together 7 of the best ways that you can ensure your site is up to date. Read on to find out more.
- Install an SSL certificate
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, and it is a protocol used to secure and encrypt communication between computers. SSL is used to help keep sensitive information incredibly secure on your website. For example, SSL is used to protect things like passwords, credit card information and banking details – basically anything you can think of that you would want to remain private. SSL matters because Google is going to start putting warnings on sites without an SSL certificate.
- Improve your site’s SEO
Although it’s great that it can be so easy to have your own website in the modern day and age, this also means that you will be up against a lot of competition. One of the best ways that you can climb to the top of the digital charts is to engage in SEO. SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, means that your site will appear higher on Google’s rankings. WordPress has several ways, such as changing H1s, meta descriptions and page titles to include relevant keywords, that can ensure your site ranks well.
- Design a new theme for your site
There’s no better time than the tick over of a new year to refresh your site with a new WordPress theme. Whether you want a full redesign or just to re-jig a few stylistic elements, WordPress allows you to change many aspects of your site’s design. Whatever you decide, ensure that you first run the changes on a test site, before you overhaul your whole site.
- Enhance your site’s security
When was the last time you changed your passwords? What about the last time that you updated your WP plugins or software updates? Perhaps the new year is the right time to get ontop of your site’s security. As well as this, if you have any inactive themes and plugins, ensure that you uninstall them.
- Optimise your site for mobile
It’s 2017, people! Thus, it’s no secret that more and more people are accessing the web off their mobile devices than ever before. For this reason, it is absolutely paramount that you take the time to optimise your site for mobile usability. Be sure to frequently check your site on a mobile device, to see if there are any ways that you can improve the mobile user experience.
- Boost your eCommerce experience
If you’ve got big plans to grow your business in 2017, it’s best to plan ahead to make sure your eCommerce site is ready to handle the surge of shoppers. Start with the simple things like updating product descriptions, taking new photos, and making sure your contact information is up to date.
- Speed it up
There’s no point in sugarcoating it: slow websites frustrate users. Make sure that your website is operating as fast as it possibly can by avoiding the following:
- Sketchy plugins
- Assets not being cached at the server level
- Not installing pending updates
- Having giant images on the site
- Using a dodgy hosting provider
From upgrading your security to ensuring you have SEO implemented, these 7 tips will make sure that your site is operating at the best level it can be. A great tip is to constantly review and audit your site, in order to see where the user journey can be optimised.