Confused about how to start — and finish — your website? Humans form impressions within seconds, and the look of a site can impact the way we feel about a brand long before we give the owner a chance. Make sure your site looks the professional, then go one step further and make it useful and easy to find.

Here is a checklist that you should use to optimize your site:

Use a simple color scheme and use it throughout. (You'll notice my color scheme is grey and pink/purple.)
Make sure you have a Contact Page, About Me page, Policies page and a Clips and Clients page.
When was the last time you put yourself in a customer’s shoes? If it’s been a long time, take a tour of your site, make notes and consider how you could improve the user experience.
Are there broken links? Fix them. A good plugin can do the work for you. Broken Link Checker is my favorite.
Have you got pages that are out of date? Update them and give them a new publishing date to put them back on the search engine's radar.
Are there images or video clips that aren’t loading properly? Use a photo compression plugin like Smush.
Is the site slow? Use a speed booster plugin. I use Speed Booster Pack.
Use the same font family throughout your site. Avoid comic sans.
Stay on topic. Pick what you'll write about and keep at it. Use Don’t know your niche? Here’s a guide to help figure it out.
Avoid long paragraphs of text and use different types of content, such as images, videos and virtual tours.
Focus on creating engaging content that is informative and useful.
It’s useful to include an FAQ section and a live chat feature to enable you to respond to queries.
Use social media, email marketing and search engine optimization to market your web address and encourage more people to visit your site and take a look around.
It’s all very well having a website, but if nobody knows where to find you, you’re going to struggle to make a splash. Check out this SEO guide for writers to make sure you're on point.
Include your website address on any merchandise you sell or hand out at events or trade fairs. Many people prefer to shop online now, so providing this information is key.
Make sure your blog posts show up on the homepage. Everytime you add a new post, the site will look fresh to search engines.
Use call to action buttons (CTAs).
Make all of your main subheadings H2.
Use pictures, videos and gifs to add visual interest to every post and page.
Feel free to let your personality shine. What makes you special is what will make your business stand out from the rest.

If your site isn’t slick, you have concerns about online security, or it doesn’t make life easy for the client, consider seeking advice from experts like those at Total Tech Team to make improvements.