The December Digital Audit: 3 Quick Website Tweaks Before the New Year Rush
You don’t need a website redesign this month. You just need 15 minutes to make sure your digital front door is unlocked for January.
Let’s be radically honest about where we are right now. It’s December.
If you are a health and wellness professional, you are likely running on fumes. You’ve spent the year holding space for others, navigating holiday client stress, and trying to wrap things up before the break. The very last thing you have the capacity for is a major website project.
But there’s a catch. You also know that in about two weeks, the "New Year, New Me" energy hits. Potential clients, finally ready to prioritize their healing, will be Googling you.
It’s a tough spot: feeling too burned out to work on your marketing, but anxious about missing the January rush.
Here is the permission slip you didn’t know you needed: Do not redesign your website in December.
Instead, let’s do a mini "December Digital Audit." Here are three ridiculously quick tweaks you can make in under 15 minutes to ensure your website is ready to welcome new clients, without adding more overwhelm to your plate.
1. The "Hero Banner" Clarity Check
Go to your homepage. Don’t scroll. Just look at the very first image and headline at the top (the "hero" section).
If a stressed-out potential client landed here at 11 PM, would they know within three seconds exactly who you help and what problem you solve?
Too often, wellness websites use prime real estate for generic phrases like "Welcome to my practice" or vague inspirational quotes. When someone is in pain or seeking help, they don’t need a "welcome." They need to know they are in the right place.
The 5-Minute Fix: Change that headline to be radically clear. Clarity beats cleverness every time.
Instead of: "Welcome to Inner Light Healing."
Try: "Somatic therapy for professionals navigating high-functioning anxiety."
2. Clean Up the "Ghost Town"
Scroll down to your blog, "Latest News," or events section. What is the date of the most recent post? If it’s from March 2023, we have a problem.
Please hear this: No judgment. You were busy changing lives, which is exactly what you should have been doing. But to a new visitor, a dormant news section looks like a digital ghost town. It unconsciously signals that perhaps your practice isn't active or you aren't attentive to details.
The 5-Minute Fix: Do not pressure yourself to write three new blog posts this week. Instead, log into your website backend and hide that section from your homepage for now. It is far better to have no news section visible than an obviously outdated one. You can un-hide it when you have capacity in the new year.
3. Test Your Front Door (Crucial!)
This sounds basic, but it is the most common critical failure point I see on wellness websites.
When was the last time you tested your own contact or intake form?
I audit dozens of sites a month, and you would be shocked at how many forms are broken. Maybe the "submit" button spins forever, or the confirmation message is confusing, or the notification email never arrives in your inbox.
Imagine the courage it takes for a potential client to finally reach out for help. Now imagine they hit "send" and nothing happens. They likely won't try again—they'll go to the next therapist on the list.
The 5-Minute Fix: Right now, go to your website and fill out your contact form as if you were a prospective client.
Did it submit easily?
Did you get a clear "Thank You" message letting you know what happens next?
Did you receive the notification email instantly?
If not, this is the one fix worth spending time on today.
Ready to Stop DIY-ing Your Digital Presence?
If you did this audit and realized just thinking about logging into WordPress gives you a headache, I want you to know you don't have to keep doing this alone.
You didn't start your practice to become a part-time web developer.
At Malone Creative Studio, we act as creative partners for wellness professionals. We handle the website management, the tech updates, and the copywriting so you can focus entirely on your clients.
I’m opening a few spots for ongoing management starting in January. If you want to walk into the busy season knowing your digital home is completely taken care of, Let's grab a virtual coffee before the new year.