Have you noticed all the makeover shows lately? Total home and room makeovers, body makeovers from losing weight to plastic surgery, wardrobe makeovers, cosmetic makeovers from new hair to new teeth. We seem to be fascinated with improvements and making things better. Below are top five questions to ask yourself and you’ll know for certain when your website needs a makeover.
- If it was designed more than 3 years ago, it most likely needs a new look. Technology has changed with programs, coding and search engines. Also, people want instant gratification so text-heavy, slow-loading sites are a thing of the past.
- If you had a friend or relative design your site. There is much more to designing an effective website than creating a Word document or Illustrator drawing. Friends or relatives most likely will not have extensive knowledge and experience with html coding, search engines and usability. Also, they may not have the time to devote and your website becomes a low priority.
- Has your business changed and your website doesn’t reflect the new image, products or services? Take a look at your site about every 3 months and see what needs to be updated or added to keep up with your business focus.
- Did you create your website from a printed brochure? A brochure is something that people can hold in their hands and read. A website is a visual image and you’ve got about 6 seconds to capture a potential client. People scan rather than read online. If you’ve literally “copied” your brochure to make a website, it may be a good idea to streamline the text.
- Does your website really reflect the image you want to portray to your target audience? If you are trying to appeal to a high-end clientele then your website should reflect a high-end image. I am not saying spend considerable dollars on a web redesign. It’s almost better to have no website than a poorly designed site that will leave the wrong impression.
With over a trillion websites – you really want yours to stand out from the competition. For optimum results, make your site visually appealing, functional and easy to navigate.
Pretend you are opening a store in a busy shopping mall. As a savvy business owner you will budget for the monthly rent, utilities, security, signage, advertising, marketing, fixtures and inventory. Will you expect to begin making money the minute your doors are open for business?
1. Easy – Let the visitor know it is easy to do business with you. Easy to order, easy to buy, easy to subscribe, easy to phone, easy, easy, easy. Don’t we all want everything to be easy? This is a buzzword for sure.
I read and process about 150 business emails on a daily basis and look at over 80 websites. Adding any social media activities to this already heavily multitasking type schedule is overwhelming. I feel first and foremost I need to be responding to clients and scheduling projects with our team. I tried delegating this social media aspect to my assistant and that just didn’t work. I think social media is something one personally needs to do. It’s kind of like sending my assistant to a networking meeting – it’s not the same as me being there in person.
Are you a creative type? Me too! Having a creative mind can be both a curse and a gift. With so many ideas and business offerings buzzing inside our heads, we often experience headaches and euphoria simultaneously. We want to tell or show everyone all the many things we do.
Whenever I do a workshop or speaking engagement I ask the audience, “What search engine do you use for finding sites and information?” I’m often surprised at the responses and almost always learn about one or two search engines that I’ve never heard of before. Google, MSN & Yahoo remain in the top three so I’ll summarize some of the data for those.
