Your website is often the first impression potential customers get of your business—so keeping it polished and up-to-date is essential. If it’s been a while since you last gave your site some love, now is the perfect time. Here are several quick but impactful ways to do a simple website tune-up without needing a developer.
1. Do a Link Check
Take a few minutes to comb through your website and test every link. That includes:
- Navigation menus
- Buttons
- Footer links
- Blog post links
- Social media icons
- Contact forms
Make sure all internal links (those that point to other pages on your site) and external links (those pointing to other websites) are still active and accurate. Broken links can create a frustrating experience for users and hurt your search engine rankings.
Pro Tip: Use a free tool like BrokenLinkCheck.com to speed up this process.
2. Update Your Photos
Fresh imagery helps your site feel current and engaging. Swap out outdated or overused stock photos for images that show your latest work, happy clients, or recent events. Not only does this keep your website visually appealing, it also demonstrates that your business is active and thriving.
Pro Tip: Check Your Image Formatting. If you’ve added or swapped photos yourself since your web designer last touched the site, take a moment to ensure consistency. For example, if your gallery uses all square (1:1) cropped images, any new images you upload should be cropped the same way. Inconsistencies can make your site feel cluttered or unprofessional, even if the content is solid.
3. Check for Outdated Content
Old hours of operation, expired promotions, or past event listings can make your business seem inactive. Review all of your pages—especially the homepage, about page, and service pages—to ensure everything is up to date and reflects your current offerings.
4. Test Your Contact Forms & Buttons
Test your contact form by submitting a message yourself. Confirm that you receive the email, and ensure any confirmation or thank-you messages work correctly. Also, test all call-to-action buttons to ensure they lead to the correct destinations.
5. Review Website Speed
A slow website can drive visitors away. Use free tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights to test how quickly your site loads. You can often make big improvements to speed by compressing large images and re-uploading them to your site (but be sure to delete the old, large files after you do!)
Pro Tip: If you discover that your site is loading slowly and want to go beyond image compression, be sure to contact your designer before you start removing plugins or making any structural changes to the site. They will be able to help you identify what’s slowing your site down.
6. Check for Mobile Friendliness
More than half of all website traffic comes from mobile devices. Visit your website on a phone and tablet to make sure everything displays well. Text should be readable, buttons should be easy to tap, and menus should function properly.
7. Refresh Your SEO Basics
Even small SEO tweaks can make a difference. Review each page’s title tag and meta description to make sure they’re optimized and relevant. Sprinkle in keywords your audience might be searching for, such as “roofing contractor in [Your City]” or “local lawn care services.”
Not sure what those^ words mean? No problem! Contact your designer for help.
These quick fixes don’t require technical skills, but they can significantly improve how your website performs and feels to visitors. Stay tuned for more simple DIY tune-up tips to keep your online presence sharp!
