A new year means it's a great time to make some tweaks to your website. In this episode, I'm sharing a few things for you to do for the new year to keep it up to date and fresh from an SEO perspective, make sure it’s attracting new clients and ensuring it works properly. These three new year website updates can be done in less than five minutes. Let's get into it!
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1. Update the Copyright in Your Footer
If you have the fun little © in your website’s footer, you likely had last year’s date on it. So, you’ll want to update this to the current year (and make sure your starting year is included too!). For example, mine says: COPYRIGHT © 2016-2024 · ELIZABETH MCCRAVY, LLC.
This is one of the easiest new year website updates you can make and trust me - it has a huge impact on your conversion with cold traffic (nobody wants to buy from you if they aren't sure if you are still in business!)
So if you're thinking, "Wait, can I add a copyright symbol (©)?" Yes, you can! Adding that little © with the year you started through the current year is your right as a content creator.
To get the copyright symbol, copy and paste this one ©. If you have one of my website templates, the copyright symbol is already included in the footer. Just update the dates and you're good to go! This update is important because it communicates to viewers that you regularly update your website. If it's the beginning of the year, it's less critical to do it immediately. So if you're listening to this on the day it airs, it's okay to wait a week. But don’t let it be June before you realize you still have 2023 sitting in your footer.
Plus - on most sites this is something you change in ONE PLACE and then it’ll update everywhere (because your footer is usually a site canvas if you use Showit!).
2. Update Any Dates on Your Website That Have Changed Because of The New Year
So, for example, you might mention on your website that you've been in business for three years, but now it's actually been four years. Or perhaps you say you’ve helped over 100 customers but it’s been a while since you updated it and now it’s more like 300.
These “date” opportunities can be found all over websites. Especially on the about page so if you’re not sure if you need to update anything, check there first! Take some time to skim through each page of your website and look for any dates that need updating. Then, as you update, consider using years instead of specific dates to make it easier to maintain.
For instance, saying "I've been in business since 2015" instead of "I've been in business for eight years." This way, you can make your content more evergreen and reduce the need for frequent updates.
3. Update Your Plugins and Delete The Ones You’re Not Using
Okay, the third and final one, and this is another simple one that's so impactful for your website, but update your plugins and delete the ones you are not using. So if you're a WordPress user (or a Showit user since us Showit users blog through WordPress), you want to make sure your plugins are up to date.
In addition to doing the update, I want you to check and see if there are any plugins that you actually just aren't using. If you're not using it, deactivate it and delete it. Having plugins that you're not using and you don't need but are running activated on your website will slow it down. So that's really an important thing to check (and I think checking once or twice a year is perfect so this is a great time to do it).
Read More: 5 Ways I’m Growing My Website Traffic This Year
How to Update Plugins on WordPress
To update your WordPress plugins, go to your dashboard and look for an icon in the top left corner. It will have a number and a little arrow in a circle around it. Click on that icon to initiate the update process. If you're unsure whether a plugin is being used, try deactivating it to see if anything changes. You can also check for any signs of usage or if you have set it up previously. If you didn't design your own website, consider reaching out to your designer via email to confirm the usage of a particular plugin.
Updating Your Website for 2024
Overall, updating should only take a few minutes of your time, but it will give your website a fresh and nice feel for the upcoming year. If you have a little extra time and want to make more updates to your website, consider things like: adding more testimonials, updating your portfolio work, and just spend some time clicking around on the main pages of your website to make sure that all your links are working properly.
If you need a new website for the new year, or even just new add-on pages, check out my website templates. There have been a lot of new templates added in 2023, with more to come in 2024!
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