Learn About Websites
10 Easy Website Fixes

We created 10 suggestions to help improve the performance and impact of your website.

  1. Own your domain name: We can’t stress this enough. This is your asset, and you need to own it. This means that your practice should be listed as the "registrant" of your domain name. To find out if you own your domain name, visit www.godaddy.com and click "WHOIS search" at the bottom of the page. Enter your domain name, and it will tell you who owns it (called "registrant"). If you’re not listed as the registrant, contact your current provider and ask them to switch it into your name. The three most popular registers for domain names are: www.GoDaddy.com, www.Register.com, and www.NetworkSolutions.com.
  2. Use Flexible Font Sizes: If people can’t read the content on your website, they’ll go elsewhere. Make sure that they can adjust the size of your font on their personal computers.
  3. Create Web—Friendly Content: Your content should be broken into small, digestible paragraphs that are easy to read and understand. For this reason, you shouldn’t have more than 400 to 500 words per page.
  4. Skip the Intro Page: You have four seconds to capture someone’s attention. Don’t waste them with a fluffy introductory page. Studies have shown that websites lose up to 50% of visitors with each click. With an intro page, you could potentially lose half of your viewers without showing them one thing you have to offer.
  5. Use Flash Properly: Use Flash technology (moving pictures and sound) sparingly. It’s great on entertainment sites, but it tends to turn a lot of people off. If you do use Flash, have it loop through your website only once.
  6. Have Visible Contact Information: Your contact information should be easy to find and viewable on every page.
  7. Forget Music: Up to 80% of Internet users dislike hearing music on websites. Since most people surf the Web on Mondays through Wednesdays from 9:00 to 5:00, they’re likely to be at work and don’t want to hear sounds blaring from their computers.
  8. Be Realistic: Make sure that your website doesn’t mimic your hectic business schedule. For example, if you’re too busy to check email on a daily basis, don’t add an email link to your website. Create online expectations that you can meet.
  9. Build Compelling Navigation: It’s essential for your website to give people reasons to keep coming back. We believe that interactive tools such as online memorials, helpful healing articles, grieving support, and message boards are effective ways of encouraging repeat visitors.
  10. Relax: Remember to take one thing at a time. The Internet is here to stay, and with a little bit of learning and experience, you can use it to your advantage... and have fun during the process.