Now that all the snow has melted here in the New England folks are raking yards, clearing sand and generally improving their properties.  Might I suggest the following tips to do the same for your website.

1. Clean up your content

Over the past year your website no doubt has grown.  Now is a great time to review that content and delete anything that is out of date.  Remember, less is more.  For more read my post, The Power of Website Simplicity.

2. Validate your code and improve accessibility

You’re going to hear more and more about website accessibility in the coming year.  Now is the perfect time to get ahead of the game by validating your website code and bring it in line with modern web standards.  Visit the W3C Markup Validation Service to see how your website fares.

3. Conduct an informal usability review

There is no better way to find weaknesses in your website than to ask others to complete specific tasks on your website.  Usability testing can be done easily enough and you’ll be surprised what you can learn. Check out, Usability Testing on the Cheap to get started.

4. Make sure your using one main domain

If you have multiple domain names that you use for your website make sure they are redirecting to one main domain name.  You don’t want to be competing against yourself in search engines or confusing website visitor.  For more read my post, Handling Multiple Domains.

5. Design a new homepage

This is much easier than it sounds.  A good homepage serves as a table of contents for your website and easily evolves to adapt to your changing website goals.  For more read my post, Elements of a Good Hompeage.

6. Think less about website marketing and more about website content

People get crazy obsessed about marketing their website without ever thinking about their own website’s content weaknesses.  Don’t fall into that trap. For more read my post, Why Website Marketing Isn’t Enough.

7. Set at least one clear goal for your website to achieve in the coming year

Goals are great to have in anything you do.  Set at least one clear and measurable goal for your website and work towards it all year long.  You can thank me later.  For more read my post, Website Goals.

8. Review your website analytics

I’m always amazed how little attention people pay to their website analytics.  There is a wealth of information to be found and all of it can help you make better website decisions.  For more read my post, 7 Things You Should Know About Your Website.

9. Look at your website in different browsers

Hopefully you can skip this one but if your website wasn’t thoroughly tested when it was built I suggest taking a look to make sure your website renders and functions in all browsers properly.  For more read my post, The Importance of Website Testing.

10. Make minor adjustments for big improvements

Website changes need not be grand to impact your website in a positive manner.  Keep this in mind and make some minor changes to better connect with your visitors. For more read my post, Redesign or Realign Your Website?

So there you have it.  Ten little spring cleaning tips that can help your website throughout the year.  None of them are terribly difficult or time consuming but all will improve your website.