Is it time to audit your website? If you have to ask, you are probably too late (but I’m happy you made it here regardless). Today, I want to go over the 5 questions I ask first whenever I audit your website to decide if you need a new website or if some fresh copywriting will do the trick. These 5 questions are my absolute non-negotiables when deciding whether a website needs an update or a re-do, and I hope they serve you too!
But first, who am I? So glad you asked 😉. I’m Kara, the voice behind a few of the brands you love here on the Internet. While I wear many different hats (in my client’s businesses and in my own!), you can find more ways to work with me here (or follow me on Instagram for candid marketing advice and copywriting tips!). The short version is: I write words that sell (and then I help you put them everywhere).
Want to save this for later? Drop your email below and I will send you a digital copy of the 5 questions I’m sharing below AND a list of 6 things to update on your website in 2023. For free.
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Audit Your Website with These 5 Questions
Before you rush through and audit your website, pause with me for a moment. I want you to work through these five questions and actually reflect on them, not just cross them off your to-do list as fast as you possibly can. If you are going to do that, then what is the point anyway? You may as well just save yourself the time and pat yourself on the back now.
As a website copywriter, I can just tell you: MOST of the websites I audit do NOT pass all five. Often, it can be hard to audit your website because you are too close to your work to be objective. If you can, ask your business bestie to go through your website and answer these questions for you (and do the same for them!). In 2023, there is no excuse to not have a website that excites you and sells for you 24/7.
1. Is it crystal clear what you do & who you serve?
I mean EVERY SINGLE PAGE. Usually, people think about this for the home page, but your services and about pages need to be crystal clear too. Sometimes people don’t come to your website from your home page or Instagram. If they landed on your blog, for example, would they know who you are and who you serve? Or would they just take the information they want and leave?
Donald Miller (Author of Building a Storybrand), talks about having your home page pass “the grunt test”. I’m not going to lie to you: EVERY page on your website needs this, not just the home. The short version is, after 5 seconds on your site, can a visitor answer these three questions:
- What do you offer?
- How will it make my life better?
- What do I need to do to buy it?
2. Do you tell them where to go next?
And is the answer always the contact page? I am the self-proclaimed queen of creating bingeable customer journeys, and this is one of my biggest pet peeves. If you are a wedding planner or website designer, you are asking for a four or five-figure investment. Your customers will likely need a minute to get to know you before contacting you. Think about what they need to know before reaching out, and take the opportunity to nurture them along the way there.
For example, if you head to my home page, I invite you to work with me at the top (because hey, if you know you know), and then walk you through my quick methodology (I write, you profit, we scale). Then, I ask you what you want to see next: my services page or the blog for some free information. Before you hit the end of the page, I also invite you to sign up for my email list which then gives you my roadmap to fast and slow marketing (something I’ve personally never seen anyone else talking about!). Before you know it, you are fully indoctrinated into my world (welcome!).
3. Once they contact you, then what?
If all they get is a “thank you” message, they are going to keep looking for a solution (and might find it in your competitors!) before you have a chance to even respond. EVEN IF you are the one that made them aware they had a problem in the first place.
Here are a few ideas when thinking about what to offer after they hit “submit” on your contact form:
- Send them to your Instagram for BTS and your latest work
- Invite them to Peruse Your Portfolio
- Get them to Binge Your Blog
4. Does it sound like everyone else?
I need you to be brutally honest with yourself when you audit your website. Is your website boring? Have you shared anything about you as a person (even if it’s just YOUR unique view on something business related)? I don’t mean your coffee order or the fact that you just love Harry Potter either. When you audit your website, I want to ask if your website would work for your biggest competitors (or worse… someone a few steps behind you!). Share about your journey, how you got to where you are, and what YOUR signature philosophy is. Leave a little piece of yourself on the page.
5. As you audit your website, ask: is it honest?
No shade, because we can all struggle with this. But hey – that’s why we are on this journey together as you audit your website. Be honest with me: is your website over-promising? There is a “fake it until you make it” energy and then there is completely inflating your expertise and promising you’ll help someone plan the perfect wedding or help them make 6-figures when you haven’t actually done it before.
In 2023, as you audit your website, we have to be hypervigilant about underpromising and overdelivering. There are a million business coaches out there now telling you to use fake testimonials or inflate the results your business gets, and there are so many people selling what might as well be snake oil. Having an honest website is a non-negotiable to me in 2023. And it’s one of the biggest reasons I would encourage you to hire someone to write your website for you. As a website copywriter, I’m telling you: we are experts at making you sound AMAZING without LYING about you.
PS: This works the other way too. If you are battling with imposter syndrome, your website might not be showing off how incredible you are, and it should be. The need for an honest website that attracts and converts your clients is a part of the process as you audit your website too.
Did You Pass or Do you Need a New Website?
Did you just audit your website? How did you do? As I said, these are my absolute non-negotiables so if you think you might just need a new website, I would love to help you get there. The truth is: sometimes we are just too close to our businesses to be able to write the website copy from scratch or design our sites in a way that truly allows us to stand out. If you are wondering how we can work together, I would love to invite you to choose your own adventure below:
- Hire me for website copywriting and template customization. This is my new favorite service because it gets you the new website you need FAST. You choose a Showit template (I can provide input!) and then I write and implement your new template in just ONE weekend.
- Hire me for website copywriting. If you are working with a designer (OR love to DIY!), you can hire me to write the words.
Whatever you choose, I am fully ready + excited to support you.
Not ready to invest just yet? I still want to be friends. Get your hands on this free guide to help audit your website and get a checklist of six relatively quick things to update your website in 2023.
