by Brenda Nelson

Created on: February 11, 2010

It is time for spring cleaning, do not forget to check your website and give it a good dusting off and refreshing. Consider this an opportunity to make your site better, look cleaner, and brighter.

-Plan Time-

Depending on how complex your website is, and how many you have, this could be a one day job or more of a weekend adventure. Plan out blocks of time, or even an hour a day over a week or so.

-Make a List-

If your site is big, with many pages, you will want to keep track of which ones are done, and which ones still need attention. Have a sheet and make note of every page, crossing them off when done, or adding notes about what needs to be done to each.

-Check Links-

This is going to be a time consuming job. You will want to make sure every link on your site that you have added is still up and in working order. Check each link to make sure it is still valid and worth having on your website, if not remove it and find something that fits better. Websites with links to other websites often index better than those without so be sure to keep your website alive.

At this time you may also want to consider if you have too many or too few links. Remove any that are unrelated to your site, and add some of value. When clicking links that lead away from your website the link should open in a new window. When clicking links that lead to another part of your website the link should open in the same window.

-Proof Read... Again-

Although you certainly proof read your information before you put your website on-line it may be out of date or contain a missed error. Proof read it yourself or, ideally, have somebody else check it out too.

-Refresh and Brighten-

Think spring and brighten your website to make it look springy and new. If your site is something that people regularly visit this will renew their interest and possibly keep them on your site even longer. Move things around, not unlike moving furniture in your home. Make things look more appealing. Remove dead space and keep things effective in appearance.  Ask yourself if you need to change the color or add new pictures.

Since putting your site on-line you have probably visited other sites and have seen what works and what does not work. Try to view your site as if you were a stranger to it. What would you remove? What would you add? What would you change? Then do it!

-Clean up the Font-

A rule of thumb is a maximum of three fonts only on any given page. You should use the same fonts throughout your site, but do not try to dazzle with too many fonts. If your website has broken this rule, now is the time to fix it.

-Share-

After all your spring cleaning is done, it is time to get viewers and guests. Much like an open house, now you have to invite people to see your site. Submit your site to search engines, share it with family and friends, pass it around on your mailing list. If you have done a good job on the spring cleaning of your site, these people will in turn spread it around further.

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