As summer vacations wrap up and your teams and stakeholders return to the office, you’re likely finding yourself with eager leadership, big projects and looming deadlines. While piecing together the who, what and how of the coming months, we’d like to offer the top three most important things you can do for your digital presence.

1. Responsive is the name of the game

You’ve been hearing for a couple of years how the share of mobile devices driving web traffic is on the rise. One day, mobile traffic — smartphones and tablets — may even surpass desktop traffic, right?

Too late. That’s already happened. Earlier this year, the U.S. experienced its first month where mobile traffic exceeded desktop traffic.

What does that mean for you and your organization? Responsive design is the new normal. Sites that don’t cater to mobile users tend to have higher mobile bounce rates, meaning that those potential supporters and customers are going elsewhere.

Responsive design allows your site’s design to adapt and optimize itself for the device used. Deeper content with more navigational menus are presented to desktop users, while smartphones and tables see a version of your site tailored for smaller screens and touch-based interaction.

If your site isn’t responsive already, don’t panic. Responsive design can be implemented without even overhauling the desktop-based version of your site. That said, if your site design feels stale, a responsive overhaul is a perfect opportunity to give everything a facelift.

2) Social isn’t going anywhere

Like it not, social media isn’t going anywhere. In fact, a robust social presence is more critical than ever to drive customers and donations. If there was any lingering doubt, think back to the huge success garnered by the Ice Bucket Challenge and the awareness (and fundraising) that did for ALS research.

Despite this, many organizations give social media short shrift, often delegating it to an intern or assigning it as yet another duty for the singular “tech gal” (or “tech guy”), on top of security updates to the website, posting new content, maintaining your CRM and following site metrics, among other responsibilities.

It’s time to take social media more seriously, and that means having a clear Social Media Strategy to consistent with your organization’s goals & clear step-by-step tactics to achieve them.

That’s especially important given the rapid development of social media. It’s not going away, but it is definitely changing rapidly, and it’s worth knowing whether Periscope will help achieve your goals or is just a distraction.

3) Analytics are critically important

You wouldn’t run a business without looking at your sales numbers, so why run a website without looking at your analytics data?

As I’ve discussed before in more depth, analytics are the vital signs of your singular most important storefront: your website. How many visitors are converted into making a purchase or donation? What sources of traffic drive the highest rates of conversion? What geographies and devices supply the most of your traffic?

These are critically important questions that can be answered quickly inside your Google Analytics dashboard. If you don’t have the time or staff to check your analytics, we offer different levels of depth for analytics reviews, everything from the annual checkup to a deep dive.

We’re here to help

Regardless of your web or communications needs, we’re here to help and be your strategic partner, so you can invest in the most relevant area of your digital presence. And remember, every journey starts with your first step, so don’t hesitate to begin that process. Your website, and your supporters and customers, will thank you for it!