New Year Website Resolutions for Small Businesses: 7 Small Fixes
New year website resolutions work best when they are small: update the year in your footer, test your contact form, refresh one photo, review your About page, check your mobile layout, update your prices and offers, and pick one goal for the site. Together they take about two hours, and they make a real difference. Here are seven small fixes, what to look for in each one and a simple way to spread them across a month.
A new year is a good moment to look at your website with fresh eyes. You do not need a redesign. You need a tidy-up and a clear goal.
New year website resolutions: seven small fixes
1. Update the year in your footer
It sounds trivial, and it is the quickest way to spot a site nobody is looking after. A footer that still says last year quietly tells visitors the business may be inactive. While you are there, check the other small details: the copyright line, the opening hours and the links.
2. Test your contact form
Send yourself a message through the form, from your phone. Check that it arrives, and look in your spam folder as well. Read the confirmation message as a stranger would. If it only says "Thank you", add what happens next and when you will reply. Contact page best practices has a five-minute audit.
3. Refresh one photo
You do not have to replace everything. Start with the most visible image, usually the one at the top of your homepage, or your photo on the About page. Choose a recent, clear image taken in natural light. Real photos build trust faster than stock ones.
4. Review your About page
Read it out loud. Does it open with your client's problem, or with your life story? Does it say who you help and what happens next? Update anything that has changed, and end with a clear button.
5. Check your mobile layout
Open every main page on your phone and scroll. Look for text that is too small, buttons that are hard to tap, and images that cut off the wrong part. Most of your visitors are on a phone, so this is the check that matters most.
6. Update your prices and offers
Remove anything that has expired. Update prices, packages and dates. An out-of-date offer creates the wrong kind of enquiry, and it is one of the most common silent problems on small business websites.
7. Choose one goal for the year
Decide what the site should do for you in the next twelve months: bring in more bookings, build an email list, show your work, sell a product. Write it down, and look at your site through that lens. The best next step is usually one change to the first screen.
A realistic plan: one resolution a week
You do not need to do everything at once. Here is a simple schedule:
Week 1: footer year and contact form.
Week 2: photo and About page.
Week 3: mobile check and prices.
Week 4: choose your goal and write one change.
What not to do
Do not start a redesign because the year changed. Fix what is broken first.
Do not set ten goals. One goal is plenty.
Do not skip the phone. It is where most people will see your work.
Where to go from here
If you would like a ready-made list, the free Website Audit Checklist covers twelve checks in fifteen minutes, and the 5-day website glow-up has a quick win for each day. If your list turns out longer than your January, you can book a free discovery call and we will pick the most useful changes.
