Here at Bluehost, we have big plans for 2013. We’re hitting the ground running and want to help you do the same! One of our big, ongoing projects is to bring our website to the next level. To help you do so as well, we’ve put together a few ideas that can serve as great New Year’s resolutions for your website.

If you already have a website, consider these tips on how to improve it for the new year. Remember, technology changes fast, so staying on top of these resolutions will help you have a more successful site!

1. Regularly ensure your website is optimized for search engines. This will make your site easier for people to find and increase  your overall traffic because it will be more likely to appear in search engines results. There’s a range of things to do with search engine optimization. A good first step is to watch our instructional videos on what SEO is and how it works, and how to grow your business with SEO.

2. Look into updating your website design to make it “responsive.” Responsive websites collapse, expand, and re-arrange to optimally fit the window/screen its in. This makes your site look great and be easy to use no matter where it’s viewed.Learn more by watching the Bluehost video about about responsive designs. Remember, more and more people are accessing the web from tablets, phones, and other mobile devices. Ensure your website is presented well in these formats.

3. Consider simplifying and cleaning up the overall design of your site.  Visitors should always be able to find what they’re looking for quickly and easily. Several design elements that used to be common have since been found to distract visitors from finding what they need. Avoid using mixed fonts and instead use a readable, clean font throughout your website. Nix any flashing or moving gifs. Remove heavy drop shadows and gradients and instead consider cleaner, flat colors and objects. Overall, try to examine your website with a critical eye and make any change that enhances both its appearance and functionality.

4. Make your website is as secure and protected as possible. One effective way to do this is to verify that your scripts are always up-to-date. Outdated scripts make a site vulnerable to hackers who exploit vulnerabilities inherent in old software. If you have a Bluehost account, you will see notifications in your cPanel alerting you when core updates are available. Also examine any plugins or themes and ensure they are updated as well. We made a fun video about website security. Feel free to check it out for more tips.

If you don’t have a website, make one in 2013.

Pretty much everyone needs a website these days, whether for a business, to promote your personal brand, to blog, for a family headquarters, etc… If you still don’t have one, here’s s a quick to-do list to help you get started:

1. Set up a hosting account and choose a domain name for your website. Bluehost accounts include a free domain name and it’s easy to get started. And one of the best perks of Bluehost is that you can chat with a real life expert and ask all the questions you need, even before you sign up. Just give them a call at 888.401.4678 or visit bluehost.com to chat with them online. They’re there to help, so make sure to use them!

2. Visit the Bluehost YouTube Channel and watch our instructional videos. We’ve been working hard to build up these resources to help you and have big plans to expand these in 2013. We already have series on how to use WordPress and how to use Weebly. Both show you click-by-click, step-by-step, exactly how to build your very own website.

3. Try it out! Once you’ve watched some videos and done some research, dive in and start building your website. And if you need some help along the way, call us or live chat with us; our 24/7 support team will be there to answer any questions you may have.

These are a just a few things you can do to start the year off right with the help of Bluehost. Click here to learn more about Bluehost’s plans for 2013.

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