If you have an older website that you created when you first started freelancing, side-hustling, or when you first opened your doors, odds are that your site no longer reflects where you are now.
You probably have a few pages that are from when you first started, maybe a few pages that you created after you got more comfortable.
Your site pages might even have a different design as you become more familiar with what converts your potential clients or customers.
This week on the blog, we are going to share why piecing your site together is hurting your business and signs that you’re “frankensteining” your site.
Best of all, we’ll help you fix it if you’ve been piecing your site together.
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1 | How an inconsistent website hurting your business
If you’re reading this, you probably don’t love the way your site works or looks right now. But did you know that your patched-together site could be affecting your potential clients or customers, too?
Here’s how a “Frankenstein” site can hurt your business:
There’s no clear branding. Your audience is probably confused by the different appearances/voices on your website. If various pages on your site use different tones or have different color themes/graphics, it can really create confusion for the reader. Visual consistency is critical for your audience to recognize your branding!
Things are broken. You can lose people if links are broken or offers aren’t up to date. Think about the last time you were on a website, and you clicked a link that led you to the dreaded “404 Page Not Found.” You probably clicked off the website and moved on! This is the last thing you want as it means you are losing people and losing sales.
It’s cluttered and slow. Your site doesn’t need to be weighed down by old content/copy you don’t want to share. It’s taking up vital space and may be slowing down how long it takes your site to load! Studies show that people will wait 3 seconds for a website to load and then click off.
SEO wasn’t taken into account. If you’re adding pages inconsistently, you’re probably not taking into consideration SEO or mobile-friendly search. All of that can mean fewer inquiries or leads, more time explaining what you do, and less money.
Related post: 4 Tips to Create Visual Brand Consistency
2 | Signs you’re “frankensteining” your website:
Now that we’ve talked about how a pieced-together website can hurt your business, let’s figure out if your site needs some help. You’ll want to fix your “Frankenstein site” if…
Pages look different. Put yourself in your audience’s shoes and click through the various pages on your site. Do you feel like there is visual consistency? Your brand has the power to build trust and evoke emotion in your customers. You want them to feel those same emotions every time they see your brand no matter what page they are on.
Pages sound different. We really believe that having a consistent tone of voice in your website, social media, newsletters, and more can really help bring your business’s personality to life. Being consistent in this way can also give customers or clients a clear picture of who you are and why you do what you do.
There’s chaotic (or no) branding. You’ve got old pages that have old or no branding at all (and you hide those pages most of the time). It’s time to delete them or update their design.
You are kind of embarrassed to send people to your site. Without in-person customer service and sales, it’s up to your website to show off your business as trustworthy and credible. If you don’t have a website that looks modern and professional, it will really hurt your ability to grow and scale your business the way we know you want.
You have old offers or links that lead to things you no longer offer or want to promote. A broken website is one of the easiest ways to deter customers. Things like broken forms, feeds, and links can also hinder your visibility on search engines while keeping you from growing your business.
And if you’ve got old products or offers you no longer want to provide, you’re going to resent the sales that come in! Worse yet, you’ll get a very angry purchaser when you let them know you don’t offer what they just bought.
Related post: Fall Back in Love with Your Website
3 | How to fix your Frankenstein’d website
We know that it can be overwhelming to realize your website is pieced together randomly. Where do you even start? You can’t scrap it all and start over! Here are four things you can do this week or month to make sure your site is more consistent across pages.
Create a sitemap, starting with your homepage. Where do the links and sections of your home page go? List out all of the pages on your site — or you can use tools like Screaming Frog SEO Spider to create a map if you have pages you can’t find. Make sure you know what each page goes to and what each page is about.
Review all the pages of your site. Yes, all of them! It helps to dump all of the copy into a document, page by page. Then, go through each page on your site and review for voice, content, offers, branding, SEO, etc. Once you have walked through each page, then you can update your site.
Consider the design of your website. Are pages designed inconsistently? Consider a WordPress theme that has pages you need (product description pages, podcast or affiliate pages, service pages, etc.) These templates can be installed quickly and easily and you can update your copy on these new pages.
Update your website intentionally. We know that you’ll always have new copy or content to add to your site, or new offers/services. When you do add those pages, add them with intention. Make sure you’re creating them under the right pages.
For example, another service page should be nested under the /services URL. And don’t forget to be sure you’re using consistent design (again, a WordPress theme can help with this!). Double check you’re following SEO best practices.
Related post: BOO! Are You Making These Scary Website Mistakes?
Final Thoughts
Your website is likely the only place your audience can go to learn about you, your business, and your brand. If they have a different experience on every page of your site — or can’t even navigate your site easily — they won’t be impressed. If you don’t convert site visitors into customers or clients, you can’t continue to grow your biz and crush your goals.
You know you need an easy-to-use website and consistent online presence that attracts your dream clients and generates a steady income you can rely on.
We have good news: Our Bluchic WordPress themes will help you avoid “frankensteining” your website! Just browse our selection of themes to find the one that best fits your business and brand. In just a few hours, you’ll be saying, “It’s alive!”
