Year’s end is a good time to evaluate your website and take care of some important tasks that will have your site performing at its best for the New Year. Add these five important items to your to-do list ASAP:
- Ensure your Site’s Domain Registration is Renewed for 3 years or more.
When does your website’s domain registration expire? Do not let your domain expire. You could lose it for good. Check the expiration date and be sure your registration is valid for at least one year. We recommend renewing it for 3 years or more. Not sure where you registered your domain name or when it expires? You can look this information up at whois.net. Click here to check your domain expirations date.
- Make sure the SSL certificate on your website is working on all pages.
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, which is a protocol that creates a secure connection between user and website. Websites that use SSL encryption will display HTTPS (as opposed to HTTP) in the address bar. This encryption makes data invisible to those wishing to eavesdrop on your online session. You can check to see if you’re utilizing SSL on your site and all of the pages by going to https://www.jitbit.com/sslcheck/. Click here to check your site for SSL.
Google’s Chrome web browser marks sites without encryption as non-secure and the search engines have stated that websites should be encrypted. You may be hurting your website’s search engine rankings without HTTPS.
- Be Sure your Website is Mobile Friendly
The percentage of worldwide online searches done on mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones, is between 55% – 65%. What does mobile friendly mean, exactly? It means that you can read the site’s information without having to expand the page or slide the content from side to side on your device. Users should be able to use the features of the site (e.g. the buttons, the checkout process, the on-site search function) comfortably as well. If you’re not sure if your website is mobile friendly, try Google’s Mobile Friendliness Test. Click here to check your site for Mobile Friendliness.
- Test your website speed.
The speed of your website is one of the most important, yet overlooked, aspects of visitors’ user experience. Software updates, unoptimized photos, and other neglected maintenance issues can slow it down. Check site speed frequently. A slow website harms search rankings as well. To test your website’s speed, check it with GT Metrix. You’ll want a grade of A or B to guarantee that user experience and keyword rankings won’t be compromised by slow speeds. Click here to check your site speed.
- Update the copyright on your website.
Make sure your website is copyrighted and it’s using the most current year. Most people think that the creation of a website means it, and its associated content is inherently copyrighted. That’s not necessarily the case. Fortunately, copyrighting your website is not difficult. Just follow this simple two-step process: complete the application form at https://www.copyright.gov/, then pay the two nonrefundable fees for a deposit and filing. If you’ve already taken care of this, make sure you change your copyright date to 2018 on or about January 1.
Want a free check on your website? Click here to register to receive a checkup report on key components of your website’s operational efficiency. If you need help with any of these essential website maintenance factors, or with SEO, PPC, website design, or social media, contact the digital marketing experts at Accelerate Online Marketing.
The post 5-Point Checklist to Get Your Website Ready for the New Year appeared first on Dallas SEO, Paid Search, & Web Development Experts.
