As a building professional, your website is probably one of the last things on your mind. But did you know that conducting a regular website health checkup is essential to not only keeping your site running smoothly, but to ensuring it’s searchable? Luckily, there are a series of simple steps you can take to maintain a healthy website for your small business.
Best practice is to conduct a website health checkup every three to six months. Here are a few key things to focus on:
Another helpful tool is Google Search Console, which helps you monitor your site’s performance in Google search results. It can also alert you to any issues like broken links or crawling errors.
In addition to the health check, here are a few ongoing tasks:
A helpful tip: Type in keywords in which you’d like to rank, see the top organic results (i.e., not ads or directory sites) and take a look at their content. Determine what they’re doing right for those specific articles and try to recreate that magic on your own site. (Don’t forget the E-E-A-T framework defined above!)
To check your listing, open your web browser and go to business.google.com. This is the main site for managing your GMB account. Sign in. Explore and update your information. If you haven’t verified your business yet, follow the prompts to do so. Google will send a postcard with a verification code to your business address. Enter this code in your GMB account to verify ownership.
During your website health checkup, don’t just focus on your own website; take some time to see what your local competitors are doing online. This can give you valuable insights and help you stay ahead of the game. Here’s what to look for:
Your website doesn’t have to be fancy, but it does need to be functional, accurate and a true reflection of your business. Set aside a little time each quarter to review and update it, or delegate the task to a reliable staff member. Remember, your website is often your first handshake with a potential client—make sure it’s a strong one!
By regularly checking your site and comparing it with others in your area, you can ensure that you’re always offering potential customers the best online experience and staying a step ahead of the competition.
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How Color Trends Are Shifting in 2024In fashion, color trends change nearly as often as the latest hairstyle and social media must-have. For homes, however, color preferences evolve at a bit of a slower pace — easing in gradually, moving from high-end custom homes to spec houses, and adapting along the way to meet different styles and budgets. But just like fashion, preferences do shift over time and are often influenced by events, economy, and many other factors.
While 2024 has seen a few new color trends emerging inside and outside the home, some tried-and-true preferences continued in the mainstream, with gradual tweaks to depth and undertone. In short, white and black remain hip, warmth and well-being are a must, and gray is ever present.
Home designs still feel the impact of the pandemic, not only in the ongoing need for health, wellness, and comfort but also in the desire to break free with optimism and positivity.
When major paint manufacturers and other color experts released their 2024 colors of the year in late 2023, the selections were mostly divided into two distinctive themes: softer, more relaxed tones that answer our need for peace and calm in a messy world (such as Sherwin-Williams’ breezy-blue Upward and Valspar’s Renew Blue), or bolder, dramatic hues delivering much-needed energy (like Behr’s soft-black Cracked Pepper or Benjamin Moore’s rich Blue Nova).
Though the two sides are notably different, common themes in their thought processes included interpretations of “warmth,” “peace,” and “well-being.” Most of the options, whether light or dark, evoke a depth and saturated richness that draw you in and strengthen each color’s versatility.
This is in keeping with what color expert Renee Labbe began predicting a few years ago as a “return to color” with color palettes that feel healthy. For years, as we coped with the onslaught of social media and digital noise, “quiet design” became our antidote, she explains. We sought calmness in our homes, with simple coloring that didn’t compete for our eyes’ attention. As such, we saw cool grays proliferate and other neutral colors took on a gray undertone.
Now, Labbe says, we’re starting to see an infusion of warmth, with red and other undertones that bring richness while preserving our homes as a sanctuary. Colors feel more pigmented and saturated, evoking purpose and depth.
“The concept of wellness and taking care of yourself has a broader platform than ever before,” she says, noting that she is seeing this emerge in interior décor, cabinetry, and even hardware finishes.
On the exterior, the ongoing influence of the Modern Farmhouse trend (and its evolving iterations) continues to impact color choices, with contrasting white and dark hues in demand for yet another year. Labbe says traditional homes of all style types are still getting the full “clean-sweep,” with black-and-white blends remaining popular; softer whites and gentle blacks are more in demand than stark white and pitch black.
At Westlake Royal Building Products™, we’ve seen white’s popularity go hand-in-hand with the ongoing demand for our board-and-batten profiles. White Shiplap and Nickel Gap profiles with dark trim also remain common.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, deeper hues like Ironstone in the Royal Vinyl Estate™ siding line, Carbon in our Exterior Portfolio® brand, and Wrought Iron from Celect® Composite Siding also are popular. Dark blues remain strong, as well, including Marine Blue, Oceanside, and Coastline. Even blue transitional colors (such as Midnight Surf) have grown in popularity.
Blue is already popping up in at least one early 2025 Color of the Year selection, with Valspar selecting its vivid and “atmospheric” Encore.
Neutrals still have their place, but most notably in grays and warm wood looks, which helped drive the introduction of the new Grove Collection of beadboard trim for porch ceilings and soffits. Natural cedar colors like Timberline and Cedar Bark from Cedar Renditions® are especially popular.
No matter the color, blending tones and textures across the front façade remains a prevalent method to add a bit of personality and differentiate the home from others on the street. Mixing traditional lap siding with materials like a Versetta Stone half wall or column, Cedar Renditions accents, or Foundry® shakes in the gables, offers an opportunity to stand out while remaining timeless.
Whatever the color trends may be, choosing a palette comes down to what your customers love and how they envision their homes. And there are a number of tools to help them narrow the choices and prevent buyer’s remorse.
With the Color Explorer, they can select color families and then find products that match and coordinate. Or check out Color Combinations guides from Royal, Exterior Portfolio, and Celect, where you start with a base color and mix-and-match coordinating accent colors.
Westlake Royal also offers three design tools — Virtual Remodeler, Dream Designer, and HomePlay Prime — where you can experiment with products and colors on an image of the client’s home or a home from an online library.
Whether they love the appeal of white siding with crisp black trim or opt to choose a hue that is rare and unique, the colors inside and outside the house reflects their tastes while setting a tone for both themselves and their guests. The options are endless and there are few wrong answers.
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