3 Seemingly Small Problems that Can Make or Break Your Website

When it comes to your website, do you take a done is better than perfect approach?

I hear you! Done is better than perfect is my motto. If I’m constantly searching for perfection, I would never get anything done.

But when it comes to your website, there are few shortcuts you might take when posting content or maintaining your website. While you might think you are saving time, many of these shortcuts can cause SEO problems or make your website easier to hack.

The good news is, I’m sharing three issues often ignored but can be fixed quickly and easily. And when you make these changes to your site, your SEO will improve, meaning your ideal clients can find you easier, and your site will be safer

3 Small Issues That Can Make or Break Your Website

1. Broken Links

You can use links on your website to move people from one page to another on your website (internal links) or to share something on another website (external links). When a link changes or is deleted, it creates a broken link on your website. You might not think much about broken links but having a lot of broken links on your site can cause big problems.

How would you feel if your best friend told you about this amazing new store, but when you go to check it out, it’s closed or doesn’t even exist. I know I would be upset that I wasted my time trying to go to a closed shop.

The same thing is true of links on your website. If someone wants to visit one of your links but it’s broken, then you are leaving them disappointed and created a poor user experience.

Google Bots that are always crawling your site will experience the same issue. If you have broken links, they won’t be able to collect the data needed to share your website correctly.

How do you know if you have broken links on your site?

You can find broken links using Broken Link Checker. If you have a WordPress site, install the Broken Link Checker plugin. If you find your site has a broken link, update or remove the link from your site.

2. Missing Alt Tags

As smart as Google is, it’s not able to “see” the images you put on your website. That’s where alt text comes in.

When you add images to a page or blog post, be sure at fill in the alt text field. This will help Google to identify the subject of the image so it can show up in image search. Without this information, Google won’t be able to properly place your image.

On top of your image showing in search, alt text is necessary for individuals using screen readers. Without an alt tag, the screen reader will just note there is an image on the page. Plus, Google wants you to make your content accessible to all audiences.

Pinterest also uses alt tags when people go to pin your images. When there is no description or just a filename, people are much less likely to find your amazing pins on Pinterest.

How do you add an alt tag your images?

This guide covers everything from optimizing images for web and where to add alt tags in WordPress and Squarespace.

3. A Plethora of Unused Plugins

If you are a WordPress user and are guilty of keeping around unused, deactivated plugins, then it’s time to say goodbye! If you are worried about deleting them, don’t worry, you can download them later. Unless the plugin isn’t available anymore, you can just grab it when needed.

All of those plugins that you are keeping around for a rainy day can slow your site down. That too creates a bad user experience. No one wants to wait for your site to load.

You also leave yourself vulnerable to being hacked, especially if you’re not updating your site on a consistent basis. If your site is hacked, malware could be added to your site or your site could be completely broken.

How do I remove deactivated plugins?

Navigate to the Installed Plugin page when you are signed into your WordPress site. Scroll through your plugins and look for any deactivated plugins. When you find one, click “Delete”. Repeat until all deactivated plugins are gone.

Making these quick updates to your website can have a huge impact on your SEO and keep your site safe.

The better your SEO is, the most likely your website will show up when your ideal client is searching. More ideal clients visiting your site means more people are learning about you and your services, translating into more dreamy clients and sales!

When you keep your website up-to-date, there is a much lower risk of being hacked and give you peace of mind your site is safe.

If you’re ready to tackle even more website maintenance tasks, be sure to download the website review checklist!