Keeping Your Website Updated During COVID-19

Information may not be reliable

The coronavirus has grabbed the attention of people worldwide. Whether you run a brand, law firm website, or beef produce; COVID-19 will affect your customers. Therefore you and your Web Design Services Company must make some adjustments to your site to keep visitors informed about the latest developments. With that being said, here's how you can update your website during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Update Your Website Header to Reflect COVID-19 Information

When visitors arrive at your website, you'll want them to see the latest updates about COVID-19 and how it's affecting your business. You should include these updates in your website header, and not just your homepage. The reason is that visitors can arrive on your website from anywhere - your blog posts, website pages, etc. Your website header can be seen on every page, which is why it's the ideal place for such information.

There are two main ways to update your header. One way is to include a link in your main navigation. If you use a Content Management System to manage your website, then you can likely do this on your own.

The other way to do it is likely more difficult, but it can be useful in both the short and long term.

Create an Alert Bar That Hovers Above the Navigation

Creating an alert bar that's present throughout your website is an excellent way to bring attention to an important issue. However, you might need help from a web design services company to add one to your website. But it's worth adding alerts anyway since they will always be useful for your website, pandemic or not.

The alert bar should grab attention, but remember to keep the content on it short and sweet. The main purpose of the alert bar is to drive visitors to another page on your site where they can learn more about the topic.

Make Your Homepage Reflect Your Website Header

Your homepage represents the most important information on your website. So by laying out how COVID-19 is affecting your target audience, you'll show visitors that you're aware of the seriousness of the pandemic. That's the first step in taking a proactive role in this situation, which is something that consumers want to see more of right now from their favorite companies.

Also, your homepage is important to Google as well. It's a valuable ranking signal and shows Google whether or not your website is up to date.

Have One Main Landing Page for All Content Related to the Coronavirus

Select one page on your website for all COVID-19 related information and updates that you post, and don't alter the URL. If you keep the page URL consistent, then you won't have to change your alert bar whenever you post an update. Also, visitors will be able to simply bookmark the page and go to it whenever they want updates about COVID-19. And furthermore, Google will recognize that this is the main page on your website for information about the coronavirus, which will help your SEO.

This page should be updated often; whenever new information is released, policies are implemented, and when your business must shift its focus or priorities. While you can still post these updates in your news feed or blog, you should also include a link to these pages on your main COVID-19 page. Another benefit of having a central location for all these updates is that people will be able to see you've been following the pandemic and adjusting to it when necessary.