Being a webmaster and running your own website is a big job. Unless managing your domain is your fulltime job, there are some days when you won't have the time to make major changes to design or freshen up content. Even so, you can still do little things that will have a big impact on how to the world sees your website. Each of these tasks takes less than five minutes to complete.
1. Setup a newsletter
Newsletters can bring in tremendous amounts of new traffic and keep current readers interested in what you have to say. Because newsletters are sent by email, they’re often forwarded, giving you a whole new audience. If you’ve thought about starting a newsletter, now is the time to do it. You can send a newsletter to less than 500 readers for free with Mail Chimp or Get Response.
2. Add icons
The orange RSS reader symbol in this image is called an icon. Icons are instantly recognizable symbols that show your readers in pictures how to subscribe to an RSS Feed or follow your Twitter account or how to find you on other social networking sites. You can make your own icons online, with Photoshop or download a new set for free.
3. Add a contact form
A contact form is a simple way to allow your readers or customers get in touch with you 24/7. Create your own personalized contact form with Email Me From or download a fully customizable script from HotScripts that you can upload to your website.
4. Build your social media profiles
Fill out the "about me" or "bio" sections of your social media accounts, adding your url to each profile. If you're not a member of social media sites yet, check these urls out:
5. Validate your website code
Make sure your website is free from code errors that could stand in the way of getting ranked properly with search engines. Tools like W3C can validate your site and show you which errors need correcting in mere moments.
6. Pour over your Google Analytics stats
Take five minutes and go through your website stats. Find out where your traffic is coming from and how readers are finding your website. Are your keywords really working for you?
7. Publish an RSS feed
If you don't have an RSS feed setup already, do it now! You can set up an RSS feed free with Google's Feed Burner in under two minutes.
8. Add Social Bookmarking icons
Put the power of social media to use on your website by adding social bookmarking icons to articles, blog posts, news and features. You can generate free script for your website with the free Social Bookmark Generator.
9. Test your website in different browsers
Input your url at Browser Shots and see how your site looks to readers using different browsers. Make a note of anything that needs changing.
10. Get a better web hosting plan
Even if your website code is perfect, if your pages take too long to load or your domain isn't online reliably, you can't build an audience. Take a few moments to read web hosting reviews and make a list of hosts you're interested in.
How will you spend the next five minutes?