Consulting is a client based industry that requires an online presence in order to reach current and potential customers. If you haven’t updated your consulting website in a few years or haven’t kept up with current internet trends, you may be losing out on business.

Did you know that the bulk of potential clients will spend less than fifteen seconds on your website’s homepage before deciding to click away? Website updates are crucial for turning a lead to a sale and prevents a potential client from possibly ruling out your consulting firm.

Let’s take a look at a few ways you can make some quick, essential updates to your consulting website:

• Non-Mobile Friendly. Recent studies show that more than half of online searches are performed on a mobile device. Without modified mobile capabilities, customers may not consider your business if they cannot view the content on their device. Google also has modified their algorithm to where non-mobile friendly websites are less likely to appear on the first page of keyword searches.
• Here’s the Fix: When optimizing your website for mobile devices, you can create a responsive web design. The other possible approach is to create a separate URL for your mobile site. You’ll also want to make sure your layout is fluid to make the content as seamless and adaptable as possible.

Touch screen mobile devices come in all sizes, so the design should include accurate taps and touch inputs large enough to decrease the amount of imprecise taps. Overall, remember to keep your content simple, yet functional.

• Cluttered Design. If your website has a wide array of colors, crammed images, and animated/moving imagery, your website is way over-designed. If visitors can’t get through a busy design, they may revert back to the search page to find other options.
• Here’s the Fix: Keep it simple! If you don’t have any particular brand colors, choose two or three baseline colors for the entire website to create a subtle design. Attract your visitors with minimalism; the goal is for visitors to easily find the information they are searching for.

Also, whitespace is your friend! It does a great job of showcasing your brand without many visual distractions. If you have images you want to include on your website, try to spread them out over a series of pages instead of solely including them on your home page.

Here’s an example of a simple yet effective web design that showcases Payscape’s brand and services:

Visit https://payscape.com/websites/ to learn more about Payscape’s website services and products.

• Bad Codes. Broken file images and bad codes often come from your site not being regularly checked for functionality. The last thing your visitor wants to see is “HTTP Error 503” or any error message while attempting to view content. For this reason, broken elements on a website can lead to bounced visitors. It also gives the impression that maintaining your online presence isn’t a your priority of yours.
• Here’s the Fix: If you are using any outdated web programming, consider switching to modern web practices. In addition, you can add a broken link checker to your website to perform frequent checks to ensure everything works fine. For those who aren’t as tech savvy, there are online resources available you can use to repair and regularly service your website.

• Outdated Information. One distinct way you can tell your website may be outdated is by having dated content. Content such as old copyright years or old blog entry dates can make your website appear dated. Visitors may also perceive that your company is no longer in business or that your services out of date. Furthermore, you don’t want to deter or confuse current customers by having outdated policies, products, services, or pricing.
• Here’s the Fix: Aside from updating the calendar dates on your website, consider bringing your content up to date so that it reflects what your potential clients want to know and see. If your company has a blog, you can consider hiring a freelancer to write or update blog entries. Regularly updating the material on your website can prevent you from having a bad rapport with customers who seek timely content.

Additional ways you can update your website can include adding the following:

• Customer reviews/Testimonials
• Videos
• Infographics
• Social media plugins
• Webinars
• Blogs
• Contact us form
• Chat or Bot capabilities

Attracting and developing new clients is one of the top concerns for consulting firms. These updated website practices can help you create a solid online presence for your professional services. If you can increase the visibility of your firm, you can produce more leads and sales. Performing necessary upgrades to your website can help differentiate your consulting firm from other businesses.