You’ve launched your website and the startup now has its outfacing presence to the world. According to the annual BrightLocal Consumer Review Survey of 2016, it takes less than ten reviews before the consumers form an opinion regarding a particular brand. If you hope to grow your startup and establish a solid brand for your company, you need to go back and make sure to optimize your business website in terms of design, user experience, and value.
Begin by executing on these steps right away to maximize your site:
Check Your Website’s Speed
Nothing annoys the online audience more than a slow website. In fact, 40 percent of your audience will probably leave if your page doesn’t load in three seconds or less. That said, make sure your website doesn’t depend on resource-heavy elements such as high-definition videos. When it comes to images, use a tool like Optimizilla to reduce the file size of your PNG and JPEG assets. You can also use Google PageSpeed Insights for insights and recommendations that will help improve your website’s speed.
Install Social Sharing Plugins
In case you do manage to please your audience with your content, make it easy for them to spread the word by installing social sharing buttons. If you use a major content management system (CMS) like Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress, you simply use a template that has built-in social sharing buttons. You can also use an external tool like the Share app by SumoMe to add a customizable, floating social media bar. When establishing your social media presence, prioritize the networks preferred by your target audience.
Apply On-Page SEO
You don’t necessarily need to spend a fortune on an agency to make your website more SEO-friendly. The basic on-page tactics can be done by yourself, you just need to know the best practices such as creating hierarchal URLs, adding metadata, uploading an XML sitemap, and optimizing for the right keywords. It’s also important to avoid bad practices such as keyword stuffing and utilizing low-quality, spun content.
Invest in Proactive Security
Security breaches are extremely costly, even for startups that have little data and limited online visibility. According to statistics, 60 percent of small businesses fail within six months following a cyberattack. Apart from DDoS attacks that can lead to lost revenue, customer data leaks may also stain the reputation of your brand – making it difficult to gain the trust of new customers. To protect your website during its early stages, invest in security services like a web application firewall, SSL encryption, and remote backup.
Monitor Your Hosting
Although hosting is a major factor that affects site loading speed, security, and uptime, a new website with very little traffic can still perform well with a shared host. Just remember to upgrade your hosting plan once your website starts generating heavy traffic. I recommend using CDNs for better end user experience. It’s also important to monitor if your hosting company can live up to their promises.
Even if you work with a veteran development team, a successful website isn’t built overnight. In order to establish a solid online presence, you need to constantly identify flaws and seek improvements. Good luck!!
Read more about optimizing your startup website here at Tech.Co.
