Your website is often the first point of contact with your potential customer. You want to inspire confidence in your brand, your ability to conduct business, and provide high quality service. A professional looking website is a great step in that direction. Here are some simple things you can do to make sure your WordPress website gives a good first impression.
SSL certificate
The little lock icon in the left hand corner next to your website URL in the browser indicates that the connection between the server and your browser is encrypted (secured). Not having this icon hurts your website in multiple different ways. Search Engines will lower your ranking, visitors will leave your site, and you are more likely to be exploited by hackers.
How to fix it – Contact your web hosting company. They should be able to issue your certificate at no cost.
Favicon
A favicon (short for favorite icon) is the graphic that appears in the left corner of the tab in your browser. You might have never noticed it, but it brings your brand awareness and puts another professional touch on your website.
How to fix it – The favicon is a part of the theme customization for your site. Log into WordPress Dashboard, click on Appearance -> Customize-> Site identity and upload a small image for the site icon.
Custom Font
More often than not the default font for the text on your site is Times New Roman. Unfortunately, this font was not designed for the web, is hard to read and does not look attractive. Be sure to choose a custom font and while you are at it, change the color as well. Most sites nowadays go with a dark gray font color instead of black. It is easier on the eyes.
How to fix it – Log into WordPress Dashboard, click on Appearance -> Customize-> Topography and select a new font family.
Missing images
Having an image missing from your page sends a clear message to all your visitors that you have not visited your own site for months. And if you are not active online, your business is probably not active either. Missing images happen when the file you intended to be displayed is no longer available. Most often it takes place when the actual image used was linked from a different website.
How to fix it – Log into WordPress, locate the page with the missing image, edit it and replace it with a different image from your Media Library.
Broken links
Broken links can happen to any website. The key is to be able to detect them and update quickly. Undetected broken links have the same effect as missing images – it tells your visitors that you are not actively involved with your business.
How to fix it – Scan your site with https://www.brokenlinkcheck.com/ or install the Contact us and we can make sure your site reaches its full potential.