As the year winds down, it’s the perfect time to give your website a little extra attention so you can enter 2025 stress-free. By making some strategic updates now, you’ll ensure your site is not only running smoothly over the holidays, but also ready to support your business goals in the new year. Here’s your guide to staying on top of your website this holiday season.

Audit and Refresh Your Content 

Outdated content can frustrate visitors and hurt your credibility. Content is the cornerstone of your website’s usability and search engine rankings. By keeping it accurate and relevant, you provide value to your visitors and improve their trust in your brand. Take time to review your website for information that needs a refresh.

Struggling with your website content lately? Check out our website prep guide to help get your creative juices flowing!

Fix Broken Links

Broken links are one of the key factors that lead to a poor SEO and a bad user experience. They can lead to a high bounce rate, and stop visitors from completing desired actions. There are many broken link checkers available to use for free, or you can use Pagecloud Analytics to find any broken links on your website that have been recently clicked. 

Update Important Pages

Ensure your high traffic pages are up to date with correct contact information, descriptions, or any other helpful information. Check your analytics to find out which of your pages get the most views in order to prioritize your updates. 

Changing your website content every so often lets users know that the site is active and information is up to date. It's also an opportunity to have Google re-crawl your site, which can benefit your SEO.

Refresh Blog Posts for 2025

Revise older posts with fresh insights and updated data to keep your content relevant and useful, boosting your SEO and showing your audience you’re keeping up with the times. Determine your most valuable blog posts and review them for any information that is no longer useful to your audience.

You can make it clear in your blog post titles and descriptions that the information is up to date for the new year.

Add Holiday Hours and Key Information

Clear communication is essential to providing a positive user experience. If you’re adjusting your business hours or services for the holidays, let your audience know in advance.

You can use a banner on your website to display changes like holiday closures, shipping deadlines, adjusted customer services, etc. Make sure you also add any important holiday updates to your social media platforms, Google Business account, etc.

When customers can quickly find essential information, they’re more likely to feel confident in your business. Transparent communication builds trust and reduces the chances of confusion or missed opportunities.

Clean Up Your Visuals

Visuals are often the first thing visitors notice on your website, and high-quality imagery plays a huge role in forming a positive first impression.

You can easily replace outdated or poor-quality images with fresh, professional visuals using a stock image website. Pagecloud has an integration with Unsplash that makes it easy to add new images into your website right away. To add some holiday pizzazz, use seasonal imagery and remove it when you get back after the holiday break!

You can also use this time to check for design consistency in fonts, colors, and spacing for a polished, cohesive look.

Automate Your Content

The holidays are a busy time, and automation can help you maintain an efficient, professional website while freeing up your schedule. By automating routine tasks, you ensure consistency and responsiveness, even if you’re away or occupied with other responsibilities (or taking a much needed vacation!). This helps maintain your brand’s professionalism and customer satisfaction.

Schedule Content

Scheduling content is a great way to keep your website and online presence active while you're away. There are many social media scheduling apps that can help you stay on top of your social posting. You can also schedule your Pagecloud blog posts to keep your content flowing. 

Automate Responses

Another easy way to automate content is to add a success page that triggers after someone fills out a form. When someone submits a contact form, you can redirect them to a page with helpful information like when they can expect a response, and other resources.

If you're using an email marketing tool, you can use an auto-responder to reply to any inquiries you receive over the holidays.

Add an FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions are a great way to address common customer questions, reducing the need for support. Consider questions your customers need answers to immediately. For example: How much does this service cost? How do I get started? What's included? Etc. 

Add an FAQ to the bottom of your home page or contact page so it's quick and easy to find. 

Check Your Website Performance

A fast, responsive website is critical to keeping customers engaged. Slow load times or non-functional features can drive users away and hurt your SEO rankings. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to check your website speed.

It's also important to ensure your website's navigational and functional elements are working properly. Test your navigation, buttons, and forms to make sure everything is working properly. 

Lastly, check your website on mobile devices to make sure any recent changes are being properly displayed.

Set Goals for 2025

A strong plan for the new year starts with a well-prepared website. Use this time to identify what worked and what didn’t over the past year.

Setting goals ensures your website continues to evolve and support your business as it grows. A clear strategy helps you stay focused and adapt to changing customer needs or industry trends. Check out our post on top website goals and how you can achieve them this year. 

Start the New Year Strong! 

By tackling these updates now, you’ll head into the holidays and 2025 with a website that’s polished, user-friendly, and ready to perform. Each improvement enhances your website’s credibility, usability, and effectiveness, giving your audience the best possible experience while setting your business up for success.

And from all of us at Pagecloud, have a very happy new year! 

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