Your website should be delivering clients to you.

If it’s not, there are two main reasons.

One is that you’re not getting enough website visitors.

The other is that your website is not effective.

And even if your business has a physical location, an effective website is equally essential to the success of your business.

I this article I will address your website effectiveness. This comes first because it doesn’t make any sense to try to get more people to visit your website if it’s not working for you.

I’ve got a checklist you can use to make changes to your website that will make it much more compelling. Some changes you can make in less than thirty minutes, other changes will take more time and you’ll want to plan them in your schedule.

Here is the 11 Point Website Checklist to help you attract more clients.

1. Does Your Website Capture Email Addresses?

If you do nothing else, please take action on this today. You need to be able to stay in touch with people who visit your website. And if you don’t ask for their email address this will never happen. You can use a free service like MailChimp or a paid service like AWeber. 

In order to make it worthwhile for someone to give you their email address, it’s best if you have something valuable to give them in exchange. For more on this, check out my information about list building.

2. Does Your Website Show You?

People want to know who you are so they need to see your name in more than one place on your website. And they want to see at least one photo of you (more is better) so they know the person behind the business.

People are looking for a way to connect with you on your website and sharing photos of you is one way to create connection.

3. Does Your Website Have a Killer ‘About’ Page?

People also want to know more about you and what you do for your clients. This is where your ‘About’ page takes center stage. It’s important to share information about who you are, your background, and your experiences but don’t lead with that.

Start by addressing the needs of your ideal clients and then after that you can share your personal story.

4. Is Your Website Copy About Your Clients?

All of the copy on your website should be about your clients, how you help them, the benefits and results they will get, what’s in it for them WIFM. It should not be all about you and your business. Get more in my post, Do You See Through Your Client’s Eyes. 

5. Is It Easy to Buy on Your Website?

Hopefully you’re selling something on your website. If not, consider adding some additional revenue streams. Need ideas, read my post 17 Ideas for Additional Income Streams. You want to make sure it’s fast and easy to buy your products.

An easy way to facilitate transactions is to use PayPal and E-Junkie and of course there are additional options for payment and delivery. Whatever you use, make sure it works and that the process is simple to follow.

6. Is The Next Step Obvious on Your Website?

But even if you have no products (physical or virtual) to sell on your website, it’s critical that you make it extremely clear what one action, people who are interested in your services should take. Should they call you to schedule a free consultation? Send you an email?

Make this clear and put it on every page of your website. Overkill you think? It’s not because people don’t read every single page of your website and you don’t want them to have to hunt for the information.

7. Are You Really Using Your ‘Contact’ Page?

If your contact page has only a few words like, ‘Get in touch’ along with your contact details or a web contact form you’re wasting valuable space. Your ‘Contact’ page is another place to emphasize your main call to action and state how you can help your clients.

You can also combine other information on this page. For example, I combine my ‘FAQ’ with my ‘Contact’ page. Some people like to combine their ‘Contact’ page with their ‘About’ page.

8. Do You Have Share Buttons on Your Blog Posts?

Seriously, why would you have a blog if no one can share your posts? You want more people to read blog posts and a great way to get new readers is to allow your current readers to share your content. There are hundreds of options, here are a few: ShareThis, AddThis, WordPress Slick Social Share. And for even more tips on this, check out my post: Why Your Blog Posts Are Not Being Seen: 9 Ways to Fix This.

9. Does Your Website Have Social Media Follow Buttons?

Only add social media buttons for the channels you are actually on and use. You can put them in your sidebar or use the location that comes with your website theme. And please test them to make sure they work and actually go to your profiles and not to the main websites of the platform. In addition to share buttons, AddThis allows offers follow buttons. And of course there are loads of other options.

10. Is Your Website Design Effective?

You want your website to be easy to read (simple fonts and not too small), not too cluttered (leave some white space), clear navigation, and have a coherent overall aesthetic. If you’re using WordPress you know you can easily change themes to get a new look. For more tips on improving your website see my post, Could Your Website Be Embarrassing You.

11. Does Your Website Have a Mobile Version?

Mobile Internet Use Worldwide is only increasing. “In 2014, mobile internet usage will overtake desktop internet usage and already in 2011, more than 50% of all “local” searches are done from a mobile device.” source: Digitalbuzzblog.com.

You can add a WordPress plug-in to make your website mobile friendly. You can also have a special version of your website designed for small devices. And another popular approach is to have a ‘responsive design’. My point is do whatever you need to do to make sure your website is legible on portable devices. For more, watch my video: Do You Know What Your Website Looks Like on a Smartphone?

The changes I’ve outlined here are completely doable. Decide to take action today and to continue to take action until your checklist is complete. These improvements are not about beautifying your website for the sake of appearances. These modifications will result in more clients for your business which makes it completely worth doing.

© Stephanie Ward

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER, BLOG OR WEBSITE? You can, as long as you include this information with it: Stephanie Ward is the Marketing Coach for Entrepreneurs who want to create meaningful and prosperous businesses.  Grab your FREE copy of the special report ’7 Steps to Attract More Clients in Less Time’ plus business building tips, at: https://www.fireflycoaching.com.

What do you want to change about your website? Please share your thoughts and questions below in the comments section.