By John Eberhard

I’ve written two articles recently on how to make a response-driven website, i.e. a website that gets people to respond to you. So this article could be considered the third in that series, as I am going to show you how to critique your own website based on how well it gets people to respond.

1. Is the site mobile friendly? This is one of the first things to check. You can check that here:
   https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly?utm_source=mft&utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=mft-redirect
   Over half of all web visitors today are visiting your site on a mobile phone, and if the site isn’t mobile friendly, then it will be displayed tiny on a mobile and the visitor won’t be able to read it. That would mean that half the visitors to your site can’t use it.
2. Does the site have a prominent phone number? The best place to put this is in the upper right on every page.
3. Does the site have forms for visitors to respond? If not you are missing out on possible responses. Some people would rather fill out a form than pick up the phone, particularly if they are browsing late at night.
4. Does the site have a good call to action? You have to tell people what to do. But some calls to action are better than others. “Contact us” is weak. Better to say “Get a free inspection,” or “Get a free consultation.”
5. Does your home page scroll down forever, with 6 or more items on it? Consider simplifying the home page. It’s kind of considered chic today to have a ton of things on the home page and the visitor has to scroll forever. Try focusing the content on the home page on getting someone to respond to your offer.
6. Is the site mainly all text with few pictures? Pictures can add reality on what you are talking about and can break up big long blocks of text (which are hard for the reader to confront). And today you need to make those pictures BIG for more impact. No tiny pictures.
7. Is the text all about you? Try focusing the text on your reader – his problems, his needs. There is an old maxim in marketing that you focus on benefits rather than features. In other words, make it about the prospect, what he’ll get out of buying your product or service, not just on the product’s features, and not just all about you.
8. Does the main headline on your home page speak to the visitor, his problems or needs, does it tell what you do, and does it contain any keywords? Headlines of “Welcome” or “We’re the Best” are weak.

If you need help critiquing your site or help fixing up things you found, give us a call.