Happy new year friends! 🎉

As the new year begins, and the holiday haze starts to subside, it’s a great time to tackle a little bit of business housekeeping. And a website refresh should be at the top of your to-do list.

Considering your website is a valuable member of your biz team, works 24/7 to reach your prospective customers, and represents your trusted brand image, give it the TLC it deserves so that you can ensure those important first impressions remain strong.

Start the year off right with a polished online presence that elevates your brand and captivates your visitors!

How to approach annual website updates

An annual revamp will allow you to reassess your site’s content, visuals, and functionality. And in doing so, you can position your brand for growth and adaptability in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

To help make things as easy as possible, I’ve created a simple checklist with tips you can refer to during your own annual website update.

My recommendation is to run down the list for each page of your website, one page at a time. Make note of any areas that you want to develop further, but take comfort knowing that the basics are covered and that your website will be runway ready for the new year.

Annual website update checklist

Items you should review and update on your Squarespace website every year

Text Content
Read through each page’s text and update any information for accuracy, including service offerings, product pricing/descriptions, bios, and blog posts. Review your page’s headings to be sure they’re written well with targeted keywords for best-practice SEO. Spell check as you go along!
Design Assessment
Review the design and layout of the page. Swap out images like headshots or brand photos with updated ones. Make small adjustments to keep the website fresh and on-brand.
Contact and Subscriber Forms
Test your website’s forms, including contact and subscriber or opt-in forms. Be sure the form results are being stored and delivered properly and that any post-send messages, automations, or redirects are working correctly.
Testimonials and Case Studies
Refresh or add customer testimonials and recent case studies to build trust and highlight your successes.
Calls-to-Action
Evaluate and update the calls-to-action (CTAs) on each page to ensure they meet your goals and that the phrasing connects with your audience. Double-check that the CTAs link to the correct page or action.
Broken Links Check
Use the free brokenlinkcheck.com or a similar service to check for any broken links on each page. Avoid broken links whenever possible as it creates a negative user experience which can reflect poorly on SEO.
Copyright
Update the copyright year in your website’s footer.
Mobile Optimization
Review each page of your website in mobile view and be sure that it looks and functions as needed.
✨ READ MORE Responsive web design - tips to make your site mobile friendly
SEO Review
Assess your SEO strategy. Refresh keywords, meta descriptions, and image alt text to improve search visibility.
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Accessibility Audit
Check your website for accessibility compliance. Squarespace has a great page with resources to help you make your website more accessible.