First things first, yes websites are still important.
Social media and apps have not taken over from websites. Websites do not belong last century, they are still critical in 2014. In fact, the truth is many apps probably didn’t need to be apps, they could be just as effective as mobile responsive websites.
Now that we have gotten that out of the way, there are still things that make for good websites, and not so good websites.
Google search results for ‘health promotion websites’
For health promotion sites that are for the general public (or your particular target audience), some of the following features are especially important:
1. Mobile responsiveness – with nearly 20 million Aussies having a mobile with internet connection, it makes sense that they should be able to read your page easily on their small screens.
2. Good search engine optimisation (SEO) – if someone is desperately googling for the very information that you have on your site, you need to make sure they can find it (we recommend this course on SEO).
3. Quality content that is clearly updated regularly and isn’t stale and out of date. More than ever people are becoming critical and less forgiving of old information. Make sure that your site contains a ‘last updated’ date. All content should be reviewed annually.
4. Social sharing and ongoing connections. Ideally, your ‘static’ website should also be linked to two-way social platforms like Facebook and Twitter. That way when someone reads some information they like they can at the very least share with their friends, or even think “hey I like what this organisation has to say, I want to follow them on Facebook to hear their thoughts regularly and engage with them”.
This is not a comprehensive list by all means, and I will blog more on issues like stock images, quality content and website best practice down the track. Make sure you subscribe to our newsletter for all our latest blog posts.
If you have a website that you think needs some TLC, Zockmelon can provide a review and recommendation service for you. Just drop us an email.