Website health check - Part three
We've already looked at what is required to make sure your website is GDPR compliant and up-to-date from a security perspective. In the final part of our series, we cover the basics for ensuring your website is an efficient marketing tool.
Are your website enquiry forms working?
Website enquiry forms are a crucial way for existing and potential clients to get in touch, particularly when it's not convenient for them to make a phone call. All too often though these forms go untested for months or even years at a time. Perhaps that recent IT upgrade has accidentally blocked all emails from your website? Or maybe all enquiries get sent to Gary who actually retired last June? If so, at the very least you risk seeming rude to your clients by not responding - at worst, you're losing potential new business time and time again. Ask your web designer to confirm who receives the emails from your enquiry forms and submit a test enquiry on your website to make sure it works as it should.
Is your website mobile friendly?
With around 50% of global web traffic now originating from a mobile device, and Google partly ranking search engine results depending on whether websites are mobile friendly, mobile optimisation has evolved from a nice to have to a need to have, with a smooth user experience and heightened expectations leading the way. As recently as a couple of years ago, web designers would build separate desktop and mobile websites, giving rise to confusion when the latter was mistakenly described as an app (which is, in fact, a completely separate piece of software). However, the tech has now moved on, allowing one build process to accommodate both and the website to automatically display differently whether on desktop, mobile phone or tablet. All of our websites are responsive, but if you're working with another agency it's worth making sure that mobile is considered from the outset, rather than being an afterthought.
Is Google Analytics still working?
Google Analytics is great for tracking website visitors or the effectiveness of online marketing campaigns, but when left unchecked it's not uncommon to discover that something has come unstuck, losing you valuable data. If you don't tend to review your Analytics on a regular basis, make it a habit to check that it's working before embarking on any measurable communications activity. It can stop working for a variety of reasons, from website updates deleting tracking IDs, to simply losing the login details to the Google Analytics account. Make sure that the correct Analytics tracking ID is included in your website code and test it in your account using the Real Time settings. If in doubt, ask your web designer for assistance - they'll know where to check the relevant settings.
If you would like further advice on any of the topics above, please feel free to get in touch.
About the author
Phil Peters
Phil is responsible for the design and architecture of our digital services here at Stack and will be your primary point of contact when you get in touch with us. With 18 years of marketing and technical experience in financial services including insurance, share registry and salary sacrifice schemes, Phil delivers proven, high performance solutions for your digital requirements.