People often ask me how do I tackle a website refresh? There are so many pages, so much you want to say, so many shifts in audience since you first hit “Publish.”
Honestly, I don’t think there’s a wrong place to start, as long as you get started. And as long as you’re aiming to align your audience and your values.
Personally, I’ve been updating my website page by page. I don’t have the mental (or emotional) bandwidth—let alone the dedicated time blocks—to revamp my entire website all in one fell swoop.
Whether you’re outsourcing or updating your website yourself, sometimes a more systematic approach is needed instead of a one-and-done attempt.
You can start with what’s most important.
You can start with what’s bothering you the most.
You can start with what’s easiest.
Do whatever works for you.
I recently started with my Services page because it felt the most outdated and the least reflective of where my business is now. It also felt like the most pressing to be able to share with prospective clients and partners.
Then I went on to my About page because I often facilitate a workshop around this topic (and have been LOVING doing the About You Audits—coming again in August) and mine just didn’t feel like it was “good enough”. By that, I mean I felt out of integrity, like it wasn’t following my own framework and advice closely enough. Plus, the About Page acts as a secondary sales page and is the second most popular page on most websites.
I still have other changes I want to make to my site. Of course, I always will. And that’s also ok.
One of the most motivating factors that got me through these revamps was outside perspective.
I brought my Services page to Yellow Co’s Guidance Groups, a peer mentorship I’m part of, to crowdsource some improvements. (I’m attending the Yellow Conference in October and you can too for 10% off with the code ASHLEE.) One of the most useful pieces of advice I got was that this page isn’t a sales page—it’s an invitation to get on a call with me to chat about the best ways to collaborate together. That simple mindset shift impacted the entire intention of the page and gave me a huge sense of relief (and direction) as I restructured the page.
I also worked through all my website updates with Lexi of Pretty Decent within the context of offer design and my overarching business strategy. Having standing calls with her gave me a bit of gentle time pressure too (which I personally thrive under).
Without these external accountability checks, I’d probably STILL be dragging these website updates from one day on my Notion To Do List to the next, feeling guilty each time, but not motivated enough to actually take action on them.
A lot of my recent Quick Win Consulting Calls with clients have revolved around refining really specific website copy or co-creating a broader strategy that connects the founder’s vision with their website visitors.
And it’s been SO motivating and productive for the conscious and caring business owners I work with.
Like Hilary, who emailed me the day after our call:
“I had a Discovery call this afternoon and used some of the language and phrases we’ve been working on.
Bells went off—the woman I was speaking with lit up and said, ‘That’s it! That’s how I feel.’”
Which is exactly what I want for my clients.
If you’d like some outside perspective, empathetic accountability, and space to co-create anything from website copy to audience personas, you can book a Quick Win Consulting Call here. It’s 1 hour dedicated to you taking the confident, meaningful action you’ve been wanting.
This is an excerpt from Toward Purpose & Progress, my newsletter where I share business tips, good news, shoutouts to Founder Friends, and other juicy snippets. Subscribe here for more rants, reflections, and resources.