1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

It’s a good idea to have the colors of your logo be represented on the website. This creates a branding image in the mind of your customers. Whenever we see yellow & red & the golden arches we know what famous fast food chain that represents.

As with everything, there are positives and negatives to each color. Knowing your target audience will determine which colors you’ll choose to convey. When you’re appealing to a global audience, knowing the color meanings of different cultures will be beneficial. See a Cultural Color Chart.

Cash Colors – This 30-page ebook shows how to use color to create web pages that sell. For every color the author lists the feelings the visitor will experience. He also mentions industries that benefit by using certain colors and color combinations.

Meaning of colors according to the Small Business Association:

White – pure, clean, youthful, coolness, cleanliness, safety.

Black – power, elegant, secretive, classical, serious, stability.

Red – passion, excitement, danger, strength, bravery, energy.

Orange – vibrant, warm, healthy, exciting, fun.

Yellow – happiness, excitement, cheerful, alert, warm.

Green – natural, health, plentiful, wealth, freshness.

Purple – royalty, wise, celebration, romance, femininity.

Blue - intelligence, peaceful, trustworthy, authority, security.

A few websites to help you choose colors:

Degraeve Color Palette

Colour Lovers

Visibone Color Chart

I’ve seen speakers wear the colors of their logos and websites to leave a lasting impression on their audience. Are the colors on your website appealing to your target audience? Leave a comment and share some sites that have a good use of colors.

Melissa Biggs -  This is a nice, clean design that encompasses 3 different professions for one person – Actress, Speaker and Designer. The photography is excellent and the filmstrip idea is nice. If you’re a speaker, take a look at how she’s organized additional navigation when you scroll down on the page. The social media icons are arranged nicely without being too much.  If you go to the Press page, there’s a magnifying glass icon, click on that and the whole scanned article comes up with click-to-enlarge images.

Tom’s Shoes This is a very nice, easy to navigate e-commerce site. There are good images that are easy to click-to-enlarge and in 3 clicks your order is placed. The philanthropic message of donating one pair of shoes for every pair sold is awesome. The email signup is on the left (so it’s on every page) and also on the right on the home page. There’s a lot of information on this site, yet it is laid out in such an organized way. It’s easy to find what you want to buy and get involved in the movement if you choose.  The community page has a video with social media icons – I like that! The Press page is very well done. The only change I’d make there is to have them in chronological order with most current being first.

By looking at what is working for other sites, you might get some ideas on how to enhance YOUR site! Post a site below that you like and why it’s so good!

Step 1. Remove or change old dates pertaining to:

Workshops, events, seminars, specials, sales, coupons.

Copyright information.

Holiday hours or schedules.

Nothing screams neglect more than old dates on a website.

Step 2. New Look

Just as cars and fashions change so do the look and feel of websites. Technology continues to advance quite rapidly. What is available to web developers now for design and functionality may not have been available 2 or 3 years ago. Visitors spend less than 6 seconds on a home page. That’s how fast they make a decision to explore your site further or surf on. This instant impression is based on color, look/feel of the layout, navigation and clickable links to other pages in the site.

Cash Colors is a terrific Ebook by Brian McGregor. It helps you understand how color can create a variety of emotions. He also identifies which colors work best for different industries. It’s 30 pages of valuable information!

Step 3. Update Content

Keep the text brief. Scrolling to read long pages turns off most visitors. Visitors like to scan and click! If you absolutely must provide lots of wording then allow visitors to click on an underlined link to read or learn more. Make sure the pages are printable for those who like to print and read offline later.

Include some new 2-5-word keyword phrases in your text to attract more of your ideal clients. Surfers are more sophisticated about doing searches so instead of residential interior designers (3-word phrase) they might search for Seattle residential interior decorators (4-word phrase) or even find a Seattle interior designer (5 word phrase).  It’s important to determine the words your potential clients are using. For example, designer or decorator? In the web business people are starting to type in developer instead of designer. Also, the words “expert” and “best” are being used more frequently in searches. Read the article Choosing Keywords, Tattoos & Website Design to learn more about choosing some great keyword phrases.

Have some fun with this and let me hear how these action steps worked for you. Click below to share your own resources and useful tips for websites.