How to Refresh Your Website For a New Year
*Disclosure - this post contains some affiliate links. This means that if you click on my link and then go on to make a purchase, I will receive a small amount of commission at no additional cost to you.
When your website goes live, it can be tempting to leave it alone and let it do its thing. But over time, even the best sites can start to feel a little outdated - old blog posts, outdated statistics, or promotions that expired months ago. Visitors notice these details, and they can quietly undermine trust in your business.
The start of a new year is the perfect opportunity to give your website a refresh. You don’t need a full redesign - small updates can make a big impact, helping your site look current, professional, and aligned with your business today. Plus, search engines love fresh content and up-to-date information!
A website review at New Year will help you start the year strong with a polished online presence.
12 Ways to Refresh Your Website for a New Year
Update the copyright year in the footer
This is a quick fix that can have a big impact on anyone that lands on your website. Updating your copyright to the current year signals that your business is active and you are paying attention to the small details. But if a potential client sees ‘© 2023’ they may wonder whether you’re still offering services or if you’ll even respond if they reach out.
To do this in Squarespace:
Log in to your website dashboard and click ‘Edit’ in the top left hand corner.
Scroll down to the bottom of your site and click ‘Edit Footer’.
Highlight the text in the copyright section and update the year.
Hit ‘Save’ in the top left corner.
2. Check and update legal policies
Once our legal policies are published we often tend to forget about them. But laws and privacy expectations change regularly, and so do our businesses. It’s good to get into the habit of reviewing these policies once a year and deleting anything that is no longer relevant, and adding in things that have changed e.g. the contact information on your refund policy.
Remember to include a ‘Last updated on…’ statement to show your visitors that you have kept the policy up to date.
The policies you are likely to have on your website may include:
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use / Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Shipping Policy
Refunds Policy
If you need policies for your website, check out The Contract Shop* (you can read my full review of The Contract Shop here).
3. Update dates and statistics in your copy
You may have dates or statistics dotted around your website, such as “in business for 5 years” or “15 years of design experience.” Take time to review these and update the numbers to reflect the current year where appropriate. If you’re sharing updated stats in emails or conversations with potential clients but your website doesn’t match, it can quietly undermine your credibility. Keeping these details current helps ensure your messaging is consistent and trustworthy across the board.
4. Check your SEO meta data
Your SEO metadata is often the first impression new visitors have of your website, as it appears in search results and when your links are shared online. Taking time to review each page’s meta titles and descriptions ensures they’re still accurate, relevant, and aligned with your current offerings. Updating this information can improve clarity, click-through rates, and help your website show up more effectively in search.
How to edit on page SEO on Squarespace:
Log in to your website dashboard and click Pages.
Hover over an active page in the left-hand sidebar until the cog icon appears.
Click the cog icon to open the page settings.
Select SEO from the left-hand menu.
Update the SEO title and SEO description fields as needed.
Click Close in the top-left corner to automatically save your changes.
Repeat this for each page - focusing especially on high-traffic pages or those you share most often.
📖 12 Ways to Boost Your Squarespace Website SEO
5. Refresh your prices and / or offerings
The start of a new year is a natural time to review your offerings and make sure your pricing reflects the value you provide.
Over the past year, you’ve likely refined your processes, gained more experience, and improved your client experience -all of which may justify a pricing update. If you do decide to adjust your rates, make sure your website reflects the change clearly and give existing clients plenty of notice to avoid any surprises.
Or you may want to review your services instead? Are your offerings still accurate? Is there room to add more value, refine packages, or better communicate what clients receive? New or improved services also make great content to blog about or talk about on social media as you head into the new year.
6. Review your lead magnet
If you offer a free resource in exchange for an email address, the New Year is a great time to review whether it’s still serving your audience. Ask yourself if it’s genuinely useful, relevant, and aligned with what your ideal clients need right now. You might simply refresh or refine what you already have, or create something new that adds even more value. Before investing extra time, make sure it’s something your audience actually wants, so it continues to work hard for your business.
📖 How to Design a Landing Page for Your Lead Magnet
7. Update your marketing tools
When you’re regularly working on your own website, it’s easy to miss what first-time visitors actually see—especially marketing tools like pop-ups, banners, and promotional landing pages. The New Year is a great time to check that any timed offers, announcements, or campaigns are still relevant and active. Outdated promotions can make your business look disorganised and may even give visitors access to deals that were meant to end months ago.
It’s also worth reviewing your social media presence. Consider which platforms are actually bringing in clients and which are simply draining your time and energy. Focus your efforts on the channels that support your business goals, and don’t be afraid to scale back on those that don’t.
Additionally, think about investing in long-form content such as blogs, YouTube videos, or podcasts. This type of evergreen content continues to attract and engage your audience over time, building authority, providing lasting value, and creating resources that work for your business well into the future.
📖 10 Benefits of Blogging for Long Term Business Growth
8. Rearrange or refresh your website images
Refreshing your website images is one of the quickest ways to give your site a new look without a full redesign. Visuals play a huge role in how your website is perceived, so they should instantly communicate the right mood, quality, and personality. Review the images on your website and check that your images still align with your brand, values, and the direction your business is heading.
Remember to optimise your images before you add them to your website.
If you don’t know where to start with choosing fresh images for your website then this blog post will help: How to Choose Images for Your Website.
And, if you’re looking for feminine stock photos then check out Styled Stock Society*.
(You can read my full review of their membership here).
9. Add new testimonials or case studies
The new year is the perfect time to reflect on projects you’ve worked on over the past year, and add some of the projects that best reflect your current services and processes. Recent feedback is far more powerful than older praise, so aim to feature your latest testimonials first and remove any that no longer feel aligned. You can also be more intentional by placing specific testimonials on relevant service or sales pages.
10. Update old blog posts with new information
If your website contains a blog, then updating some of your posts (rather than rewriting from scratch) is one of the easiest ways to keep your content fresh and relevant, while still saving time. This is especially important for blog posts that get a lot of traffic.
Look through your blog posts from the last couple of years and identify where updates could be made. This could mean removing some content that is no longer relevant, or updating some data sources to keep the content current. You might also want to update screenshots or examples to show how things work now. It’s also a good idea to review the internal links, keywords and call to action in all your posts as you may want to update these to promote a new offer.
11. Check your SSL certificate is still valid
An expired or invalid SSL certificate can turn visitors away, as most browsers will display a warning that your site isn’t secure. To avoid this, regularly check that your SSL certificate is up to date. Ideally, set it to auto-renew so you never have to worry about it expiring. Most SSL certificates are free, but confirm the details with your domain registrar or hosting provider to ensure your site stays safe and trustworthy.
12. Check for broken links (and set up a custom 404 error page)
Nothing frustrates visitors more than clicking a link and landing on a broken page. Broken links are inevitable over time as your website evolves along with your business, which is why it’s important to regularly check your website for them.
You don’t have to do this manually - tools like BrokenLinkCheck.com can scan your site and highlight any broken links. Once identified, the easiest way to fix them on Squarespace is by setting up redirects to relevant pages.
Additionally, make sure you have a custom 404 error page. A friendly, on-brand 404 page can guide visitors back to your main content, keeping them engaged even if they land somewhere unexpected.
📖 How to Create a Custom 404 Error Page in Squarespace
How to Refresh Your Website For a New Year - The Bottom Line
Refreshing your website for the New Year doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Even small updates - like updating copyright years, or adding new testimonials - can make your site feel current and professional. A few strategic updates now can pay off all year, helping your website work harder for you, attract new clients, and support your business goals.
Ready to Take Your Website to the Next Level?
If you’re feeling inspired after this website refresh checklist, I can help you take things even further. I specialise in custom website design for service-based businesses - whether you’re launching your very first website or ready for a completely brand-new look. Together, we can create a website that not only looks amazing but truly reflects your brand and attracts the right clients.
Prefer to DIY your website? Grab my Squarespace Prelaunch Checklist, designed to guide you step-by-step before you go live.
If you like learning visually, check out my YouTube channel, where I walk you through each step of building a Squarespace website - from setup to launch - so you can follow along and build with confidence.
And if you don’t have the time to make these updates yourself, I also offer hourly website support, where you can hire me to make the changes for you. It’s a flexible way to get professional results without committing to a full redesign.
Found this post useful? You’ll also like:
◇ The Dos and Don'ts of Great Website Design
◇ 8 Features of a High Converting Website
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