Is your website serving you? Let’s find out! As marketing professionals, we can take one look at a website and discern what needs to change. Our trained eyes can see places for improvement, missed opportunities, and areas that need to be updated for the times.

But when it comes to your own business, it’s not so easy!

We all have blind spots when it comes to our own website. Whether you made your website in a hurry to get your business off the ground or got it done professionally years ago, it may be time to give your website some attention to take it to the next level this year (and we’re here to help).

It’s time to give your business a 5-minute website audit

Okay, let’s have some fun!

Put yourself in the mindset of a new customer. They don’t know you, you haven’t built a relationship with them, and they’re curious about your business.

Now, go to your website and work through the following prompts—and don’t forget to keep track of your points as you go! Each bullet point that you can answer “yes!” to is worth 1 point.

What is the first thing people see when they arrive at your website?

Without scrolling down, linger on the Homepage and do a quick assessment of how your customer might feel as they arrive.

Give your website 1 point if:

• Your fonts and colors are current and on-brand
• Your photos were taken professionally and recently
• Your logo is clearly and beautifully displayed on your website
• Your navigation menu makes it super simple for your potential customer to find what they need
• The moment they arrive at your website, they can tell what your business is and does

Now scroll down to the rest of the Homepage and look at it with fresh eyes.

Can your customer easily find what they need? Is the layout of the Homepage simple, clean and intuitive?

Give your website 1 point if:

• Your business story, mission, and purpose are clearly on display so that your customer can connect deeper to what you do and provide
• Your website has testimonials proudly displayed in a place customers can easily find them. This contributes so much to the credibility and trustworthiness of your brand!

Click into your About page and consider what a new customer might want to know about you and your business…and how you can help them.

Writing a great About page is an art that we take very seriously here at brandiD. Remember, an About page is not just about you;it’s about the passion and purpose that connects you with your customer. Your one job on your About page is to connect your story with your mission and how you help your customers.

Give your website 1 point if:

• There is more about how you can help your customer than there is about you
• The most interesting or compelling parts of your story are on display. In just 3-4 sentences, your About page sums up the inception of your business and why you felt like changing the world in this particular way.
• Your story doesn’t rely too heavily on vague buzzwords or phrases like “empower” or “I want to help people.” A strong mission statement should be specific and powerful.

If you need some help making your About page work for you, check out our blog post on the matter. If you’re struggling with this, don’t worry—this is often the most difficult page to work on! You are not alone.

Part of helping customers find your website is establishing your authority online.

The words in your blog posts are cataloged by search engines like Google, making it easier for customers to find what they’re looking for. The better your website is and the more content you make that contains the type of information your customers might be looking for, the more likely they are to find you.

Blogging can be part of a great SEO (Search Engine Optimization) plan for your business. Here at brandiD, we love blogging and encourage you to use it to grow your business exponentially.

Give yourself 1 point each if you:

• Have a blog
• Post to your blog at least once a month
• Feel proud of the value your blog brings to your prospective customers
• Bonus point: Your blog actively generates leads for your business because in each post, you give them a reason to become part of your email list and/or work with you.

How easy is it to get in touch with you?

Scroll all the way down and look at the Footer area (the very, very bottom part of your website).

Imagine that right now, someone wants to work with you. Once they do, how easy is it for people to get in contact with you? Your website is a way for people to get to know your business, but sometimes we actually put so much care into other parts of our website that we actually forget to help them get in contact with us!

We know, it sounds obvious, but it’s more common than you may think! We all have blind spots. Lots of brands forget this step, or don’t make it easy enough. No matter the size of your business, making it as easy as possible to contact you is essential. Not doing so is like opening a shop and not putting out an “Open” sign.

Give your website 1 point if:

• It’s super easy to contact you and/or your team
• Bonus point if they just have to click once or twice to be able to call or email you automatically
• There is a place for your customers to subscribe to receive emails and/or texts from you
• Your customers get a free gift when they opt in to your email list
• Bonus point if you don’t actually use the word subscribe (remember, this is about them, not you building your email list! What would make them want to give you their email? Give them a special gift that builds rapport and trust, or tell them what you’ll be sending them).
• Bonus point if they also get an email with a personal message from you and your team after they opt into your email list

Last but not least, spend a moment asking yourself…

• Can you name any other areas for improvement?
• Does anything need updating or refreshing as the world has changed?

Your Audit Results

Your website scored: 17-20

Your website is a powerful tool, and it’s being used as such. Great job!

It looks like your website is flourishing, and we’re so excited for you to use it to build your business this year. If you still feel like you might be missing something or you’re ready to explore the ways you could expand further and grow, be sure to contact us at brandiD and we’ll help you dream even bigger. Our qualified team has exciting ideas and we’d love to strategize with you.

Your website scored: 12-16

Your website is strong, and it has just a few areas for improvement. Perhaps it’s beautifully designed and you’re just feeling stuck on your About page, need new photographs or you haven’t done much (or any) blogging yet. You may also be ready to explore how email marketing can contribute to your growth and connect on a deeper level with your customers.

This is so exciting! This means that you know what to focus on for the year. There are some opportunities to connect with your customers that you might be missing and just a few consistent, quality changes could help propel your business to the next level.

Here at brandiD we are excited to support you as you make these changes. Make sure to check out our blog for how-to guides as you make your website work for you.

Your website scored: 7-11

Your website has some missed opportunities…and now you understand what you can do to improve it.

You’re on the right track so far! Perhaps your business is new and it’s time to invest in a great logo, branding, or get your site designed by a professional. Or, maybe the bones of your website are in place but you feel stuck when it comes to writing about your story, your mission, and the value you provide.

These are common concerns for entrepreneurs. No matter what needs to be developed on your website, we’re here to help. Make sure to check out the brandiD blog for more how-to content and connect with us if you need logo design, help with your website, or would like a professional assessment.

Your website scored: 0-6

Your website needs some love and attention, and now you have a to-do list! This is your year of growth, and we’re so excited for you.

Pro tip: Make sure to keep these notes so that after this year, you’ll be able to look back at how much these changes elevate your online presence and take you to new heights. Once you make these improvements, you will begin to see massive change in your business.

If you’re struggling to know where to begin, we totally understand…every good thing has to start somewhere. Whether you choose to work your way through these action items as a solopreneur or hire professional help, we know you can do this.

Congrats—you’re well on your way to improving your website and growing your business!

A great website has all of the things above in order to help customers get to know, like and trust them. As we know, that is the foundation of any great business.

If you need professional help, be sure to connect with us at brandiD—we’d love to hear from you!. We believe that entrepreneurs need websites more than ever, as they’re powerful tools for connection, education, and driving sales online.

Cheers to a great year of making your website work for you!