When it comes to revamping a website, starting from scratch is often the right choice, but it isn’t always the only option—as long as you have a strong foundation in place. Consider Kerfoot Canopy Tour, a zipline and high ropes course in Minnesota. We assessed this aging site and identified opportunities for improvement in design, SEO, and content without needing to completely rebuild it.
Improve Content Clarity
One of the challenges we identified was the confusion surrounding the zipline experience. According to the owner, 80% of their customers are first-time zipliners who are often unaware of how the experience works. For instance, customers mistakenly believe that there is only one zipline instead of fourteen! To solve this issue, we integrated the words “14 lines” throughout the page, making it impossible to miss. By explaining the line length and duration (2.5 hours), potential customers could better understand the value of the experience. In addition, some information that was buried within the FAQs was made more visible on the webpages so readers can access the information they are regularly asking about. (This is why we often track FAQ clicks; knowing what people are frequently ‘asking’ can inform decisions about information hierarchy.) Amy, the manager at Kerfoot Canopy Tours, believes the clarity is making a difference. “The ease of use is better. [We are] benefiting from the change by allowing guests easy access to booking tours online without confusion due to all the necessary information being present and available to find.”
Tip for your own refresh: Have a couple of people look at you site who don’t already know much about you, and ask them what’s unclear.
Standardize Terminology
The client used various terms to describe their high ropes course: adventure park, high ropes challenge course, self-navigating aerial adventure course, and more. We recognized the need for consistency and standardized the terminology to avoid confusion among visitors.
Tip for your own refresh: Look for ways in which you’ve been inconsistent with wording, but also be careful to not remove too many of the words. Your SEO advisor may suggest leaving some alternate terms on the page.
Strengthen Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Reviewing the SEO metrics of Kerfoot was a crucial step as we aimed to boost the organic search visibility of the website. We conducted this analysis during the audit and before creating any new copy to ensure that all our data and assumptions would be incorporated into the content on the site. With any website modification, the changes made should reflect how consumers search for ziplining and high ropes course challenges in Minnesota.
Tips for your own refresh: When modifying layouts and page content, take the opportunity to evaluate your search performance, and incorporate SEO suggestions into your updated pages.
Emphasize and Update Customer Reviews
We replaced old quotes with more current ones, selecting testimonials that directly addressed customer concerns such as safety, price, and value, in order to build trust and confidence among potential visitors.
Tips for your own refresh: Periodically replace quotes that are too old, and ensure that the main quotes collectively address the major points you want to make.
Refresh The Visual Design
We gave the website a contemporary design update. The website had become dated. Although the initial design was practical, it lacked enthusiasm. We enhanced the color scheme with more vibrant colors, replaced the font with a more legible version, introduced new patterns to add character, and selected the client’s finest imagery and videos to exhibit the experience.
Tips for your own refresh: Don’t assess your website design in isolation. Compare it to some of the best sites in the industry. You can also list 5 adjectives describing your experience, and ask yourself whether the current design conveys those concepts.
Improve Site Speed
Any website change should be done with speed improvements in mind. In this case, we replaced a slow page builder with one that’s optimized for speed, which has resulted in significant improvements. Specifically, the site passes Google’s Core Web Vitals.
Website revisions are an ongoing process
Knowing your business data is vital. Your business performance, SEO, and your competitors’ activities are constantly changing. Therefore, your website should also evolve to better meet the needs of your customers and your market. Regularly evaluating and optimizing various components on your site can ensure that your online presence stays fresh, relevant, and engaging to your target audience. We made these website modifications during the shoulder season before the zipline season launch, and we are excited to see the effects of these changes throughout the year.
