The Ultimate Halloween Website Design Checklist: Make Your Site Scary Good

Do you know what a marketing pro finds way scarier than ghouls and goblins? It’s a clunky, outdated website that gets ignored by users and search engines. Fortunately, it’s not too late to give your site an overhaul and ensure you get noticed and start bringing in leads.

Our Halloween-themed website design checklist will help make sure your site is scary good and ready to handle the demands of your visitors. 

Freshen Up Your Design: Don’t Let Your Site Look Like a Haunted House

The first item on your checklist should be a design refresh. If your site hasn’t been updated in a while, it can leave visitors feeling like they are walking through a haunted house. It’s old and uninviting, and it will probably drive people away. A fresh design can make your pages look great and give guests the experience they deserve. Here are a few areas to focus on:

• Update your color schemes and fonts for readability and accessibility
• Add high-quality visuals that catch users’ eyes
• Make the navigation intuitive so people can easily find what they are looking for

Don’t feel like you need to blow up your website and start from scratch. If you are already getting some quality leads, you know there are some positive elements to your page. Build on what you are already doing well and fix any aspects that might be driving users away. 

Fix Broken Links: Don’t Let Your Visitors End Up in a 404 Graveyard

Broken links can lead visitors to dead ends and hurt your website’s credibility. Regularly check your internal and external links to avoid leading users to the dreaded 404 graveyard.

Don’t worry. You won’t have to check all those links manually. Use a link-checking tool to quickly identify any hyperlinks that aren’t working. Conduct regular audits to review your content for accuracy and relevance. Make a list of any broken links and replace them with updated URLs. 

If you have removed any pages or relocated them to new URLs, implement redirects. This can be particularly important if you are in the process of performing a major overhaul. 

Go Mobile-First: Don’t Let Your Site Be a Monster on Mobile

Over half of all website traffic originates from mobile devices. You wouldn’t ignore 50% of your target audience, would you? Of course not! A site that’s not optimized for mobile is essentially doing just that. You can’t effectively connect with smartphone users if your site does not display correctly on smaller screens.

There are a few ways to optimize your site for mobile. Make sure you have a responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes. Optimize images for fast loading on mobile. Ensure text, buttons, and menus are easy to read and navigate on smaller screens.

We suggest having a few customers or people on your team try out your site on different devices and gathering feedback from them. Find out what they like and make note of any features or menus that don’t work quite right. A few simple changes can go a long way in ensuring users on all devices enjoy a dynamic experience. 

Optimize for SEO: Don’t Let Your Site Disappear Like a Ghost

No matter how great your site looks, it won’t matter if no one can find it. Search engine optimization helps platforms like Google find and rank your website. Without proper optimization, your page could be left out of the top results.

Every great SEO strategy begins with keyword research. You need to identify terms that are relevant to your audience and industry. Naturally, incorporate some of those high-volume search terms and phrases into each piece of content.

After you’ve upped your keyword game, shift your attention to metadata like descriptions and title tags. These bits of data provide context about each page and can help improve your rankings. You’ll also need to optimize your images by using alt tags and compressing files for faster loading. 

Clean Up Code and Plugins: Don’t Let Your Site Get Tangled in a Web of Code

Messy code can slow down your website. Most users aren’t very patient when it comes to browsing the web. They want sites that load instantly so they can quickly find the information they are looking for.

Streamline your code and make sure your plugins are up-to-date. You want to ensure your website remains fast and functional. You’ll also need to minimize certain files so that your website loads quickly.

Admittedly, adjusting your code and plugins can be a very technical task. Don’t hesitate to bring in outside help if you aren’t familiar with modifying JavaScript, CSS, and other aspects of code. A well-rounded firm can take care of all the items on this website design checklist and make your brand stand out!  

Is Your Site a Trick or Treat? 

Put Our Website Design Checklist to Work.

A website design checklist can serve as inspiration for your redesign efforts. If you’d like some help implementing these strategies, connect with Dagmar Digital Marketing. You can contact our team at 877-753-0050 or schedule a consultation online. Our client-centric staff looks forward to helping you make your site scary good this Halloween season!