March 9th, 2010 by Andrew Follett
If you’re anything like me, it’s easy to “finish and forget” when it comes to web development. Once a website is live and the boss or client is happy, we close the project, kick off our shoes and crack a beer.
Part of the problem with this approach is the ever changing landscape online. Something that converts visitors today, might not be working two months from now (in some cases, it may not be working in the first place, but no one took the time to test it).
Redesigning a website, or even a single page, can be a tedious and time-consuming process. Re-opening a project that you so happily completed can take major mental willpower. However, improving a website doesn’t need to take weeks, or even days. I’m a believer in baby steps: making incremental progress, small victories, minor adjustments with big results.
That’s where my 45-minute plan comes into play. In less time than you spend watching The Bachelor each week, you can have a dramatic (and measurable) effect on your website.
Keep in mind, all times are approximate (and people work at different paces).
0 to 5 Minutes
Select a page where you can have the greatest impact
Surprisingly, this may not always be your homepage. Instead of trusting your gut, a little digging in Google Analytics (or your favorite analytics tool) can show you exactly where to start.
Here are some ideas on finding pages that you can work on:
Navigate to your “top landing pages” or “top entrance pages” report (in Google Analytics, this is found under “Content” on the left sidebar).
Use a filter to remove pages with minimal traffic (see the “Advanced Filter” link at the bottom of the table).
Sort your pages by bounce rate.
Select the biggest loser: the page with the most potential for improvement (a combination of high visits and bounce rate). Sigue leyendo
