4 Steps For Improving Your Own Website

May 2

Have you ever felt embarrassed by your website? Hiding your URL link so no one stumbles over your old, outdated website. Eeek, that is the worst. Even though I build websites for a living, I used to struggle to find the time to update my own website. I’d get tripped because I felt like I needed hours to make it perfect.

Luckily, updating your website doesn’t have to be a massive time-suck! When it comes to updating your own site, you’ve gotta consider the big picture and hone in on one task at a time. I find this work to be easier when I look over the site at a high level and attack small tasks when I can.

Follow these quick tips for improving your website and soon you’ll be confidently shouting your URL from every rooftop!

1. Make it full width.

Any website that is less than full width tends to look dated. Plus, it’ll likely be very hard to read on a phone. You should be able to switch your site to a full width, responsive design! And if your website builder doesn’t have full width design options for you, I highly recommend trying Squarespace.

2. High contrast against background images.

You want everyone to be able to easily read your website!!! It’s imperative that you have high contrast between text colors and background colors so the words pop out on the webpage. Make sure your website copy is clear and visible and easy to read, especially if that copy is displayed on top of a beautiful image!

3. Make use of all the header text styles.

People mostly skim your content, so make sure the most important point is big and obvious right at the top of the homepage. To make sure your website is easy to read, use the biggest headline text at the top, and decrease text size as you continue down the page.

My site is built with the Almar template on Squarespace, and it comes with 4 heading text styles and 3 paragraph text styles. Some platforms come with more options, some come with less. Regardless of how many text style options you have at your disposal, you should use all the variations available to ensure that your website copy is easy for someone to quickly skim through and find what they’re looking for.

4. Aim for style consistency.

Everyone’s style is different, and there are a million ways to style your website. But your goal is to have more than a stylish website - you also want a professional website that shows your audience that you’re legit. My go-to trick for looking legit: style consistency. For example: are all your headlines in all caps, or just some? Are all of your buttons pill-shaped, or just some? Choose one style for these details, and remain consistent throughout the site so everything you’re putting out there looks like it belongs together in one cohesive package.

These bite-sized tasks will help you optimize your website without having to overhaul the whole thing. After doing this for myself on my new website, it’s been a big sigh of relief. Goodbye website-related embarrassment, hello website confidence!