5 Ways to Improve Company Website Performance

Did you know that 88% of online shoppers are likely to give your website the cold shoulder forever after just one poor experience? The stakes are sky-high in today’s digital age, where first impressions can either open doors or slam them shut in your face. Your online presence, especially your website, acts as your virtual handshake with potential customers.

Therefore, it’s crucial to keep this digital handshake firm and inviting through top-notch website development and maintenance. A clunky, slow, or downright unfriendly site doesn’t just irk visitors; it practically hands them over to the competition.

And let’s face it: in bustling hubs like Naperville, Chicago, and Des Moines, where the online competition is real, you can’t afford to be the slowpoke in the race. Below, we focus on five strategies to help you boost your website’s performance and keep your visitors coming back for more.

Importance of Website Maintenance

Regular website maintenance is the unsung hero behind the scenes, ensuring your site stays in top form. A sluggish website can drive away nearly half your visitors, with a Forbes report highlighting that 40% of users bounce off if a page dawdles past the three-second mark. But it’s not all about pace.

Keeping your site well-maintained ensures it looks great and functions smoothly across all devices. Whether your visitor is on a desktop in Chicago, a tablet in Naperville, or a smartphone in Des Moines, their experience should be seamless.

Let’s not forget about search engine marketing (SEM) and conversions. A well-maintained site ranks better, attracts more traffic, and converts visitors into customers more efficiently. Search engines favor websites that are updated frequently with high-quality content, optimized images, and minimal errors, which leads to better visibility and higher rankings.

Investing in website development and maintenance can influence conversions through better engagement metrics, like more pages per session. It ensures that your site is always ready to meet your audience’s needs, encouraging them to take the desired action.

What Are the Best Ways to Increase Your Website Performance?

Here are the most effective strategies that will transform your site into a high-speed, user-friendly, and conversion-optimized powerhouse:

1.   Create a Website Maintenance Checklist

Optimizing your company’s website performance is a journey that requires regular check-ins and updates. Adopting a structured website maintenance checklist ensures your site remains secure, fast, and relevant. Here’s a checklist you can use to keep your digital presence in peak condition, broken down by frequency:

Weekly Tasks

• Analyze performance metrics
• Secure your site through regular backups to safeguard your data
• Perform routine scans for malware

Monthly Maintenance

• Speed optimization
• Content refresh
• Review and update your SEO strategy

Quarterly Check-ins

• Update your passwords to fortify your site against unauthorized access
• Audit your site for broken links and remove any unnecessary plugins or themes
• Ensure all forms and, if applicable, the checkout process are functioning correctly
• Verify that all links to your social media profiles are working as expected

Annual Reviews

• Conduct user testing to gather insights and identify areas for improvement
• Review your domain name and hosting plans for renewals
• Refresh your website’s header, footer, legal policies, and ‘about’ page as needed
• Evaluate your site’s content for relevance, accuracy, and engagement

2.   Fix Broken Links

Stumbling upon a broken link is like hitting a roadblock on a smooth highway—it instantly disrupts the user’s journey, potentially derailing their entire experience on your site. Such glitches frustrate your visitors and send a red flag to search engines, hinting at a neglected or outdated website.

Therefore, tackling broken links is non-negotiable for maintaining a robust online presence. Start by identifying these digital dead-ends. You can use the Google Search Console to track down broken internal links.

If you find broken external links, either update them with a new, relevant link or remove them altogether. Remember, external links matter too as they reflect on your site’s quality.

Regular audits can prevent issues with internal links, which are entirely under your control. Incorrect URLs, deleted pages, or changed paths are common culprits. Address these by correcting typos, recreating or redirecting the missing pages, or removing the broken link as a last resort.

3.   Optimize Images

Heavy, unoptimized images can drag down loading times, frustrating visitors and pushing them away. The solution is compressing and resizing your images efficiently.

Compressing reduces file sizes without sacrificing quality, ensuring your site remains visually appealing but loads faster. Tools like Adobe Photoshop offer simple ways to reduce file sizes while keeping the images sharp and clear. Moreover, choosing the right format plays a crucial role. JPEGs are great for photos with many colors, while PNGs are ideal for images with transparent backgrounds.

Implementing responsive images is another smart move. This means images adjust their size based on the viewer’s device, ensuring fast loading times on both desktops and mobiles.

4.   Revamp Your Content with SEO in Mind

Revamping your content with SEO in mind propels your website from the shadows into the spotlight of search engine results. The cornerstone of this strategy is keyword research. Before your fingers hit the keyboard, identify the search terms your audience uses to ensure your content not only resonates with readers but also attracts them in the first place.

Once you’ve got your keywords, weave them into your content smartly and naturally. It’s about knowing where to sprinkle these keywords throughout your content, from titles to headers and within the body text to enhance your page’s discoverability without compromising readability.

You should organize your content logically to both favor SEO and make your site more user-friendly. A well-structured site encourages visitors to stay longer, exploring what you have to offer, which in turn signals to search engines the value and relevance of your content.

5.   Make Sure Your Website Is Mobile-Friendly

With over half of North America’s web traffic now cruising in from mobile devices, the message is clear: if you’re not optimized for mobile, you’re missing out. Google notes that 74% of users are more likely to return to a mobile-friendly site, highlighting the importance of optimizing for mobile to boost your site’s performance and user retention.

A mobile-friendly website adjusts to fit the smaller screens of smartphones and tablets, offering an intuitive and efficient user experience. This adaptability means faster loading times, readable text without zooming, and accessible navigation that keeps your audience engaged, regardless of their device.

Partner With MACLYN for Professional Website Development

Boosting website performance is crucial in today’s digital landscape, where the strength of your online presence can make or break your business’s success. Teaming up with a seasoned website development company can make all the difference, as these companies have the expertise necessary to keep your digital storefront attractive, functional, and secure.

If you’re in Des Moines, Naperville, or Chicago and seeking to elevate your website’s performance to the next level, MACLYN is your go-to partner. As a full-service marketing agency, we pride ourselves on delivering exceptional website design and development services, tailoring every project to meet your unique needs.

Whether you’re a small business looking for specific services or in need of a marketing partner to integrate with your team, MACLYN is ready to transform your online presence. Contact us today to embark on your journey toward a standout website.