Has Your Site Been Left in the Dust?
It's important to keep your site fresh. What have you done for
it lately? Design, fashions, search engines and almost every
element of the internet changes (along with everything in this
world). The same-ol-same-ol just doesn't cut it in this world.
Axiom: While we may love our current self, isn't there always
something we can improve on. For most of us (your kidding
yourself if you say no) the answer is YES! Such is the case with
our web site and online presence. Face it; even buildings need a
redesign at some point. While leaving the same web design up for
many years may be ok if business is good, even the best web
presences can stand a makeover. I'm not suggesting that you
start from the ground up, but since we all use templates (don't
we) sometimes redesign isn't that much of a hassle. You may
think WAIT; I paid big money for my design and SEO (search
engine optimization) services, why would I change them. If it
has been any long amount of time you can still keep the elements
that work and modify the rest without an enormous headache. Not
only will this give your current site a fresh look for old
visitors, it make just kick start your creative process and give
you new enthusiasm for new online conquests. All of those
thoughts in the back of your head that you have had while
looking over your current site for the past few years can now
finally come to the forefront. Everybody likes a fresh look from
time to time and can use one (hey, even bellbottoms went out of
style)!
Keep What Works: If some aspect of your website is a current
hotspot or is very well received by the online community by all
means don't interrupt its success. Just make minor aesthetic
modifications to the pages. However, find the trouble spots and
fix them! By looking at the time spent on your well hit pages
through proper SEM one can find out where your visitors spend
the most time. When a page on your web design only receives
brief time intervals, maybe it's time to jazz it up. Current web
statistics should play a role in redesign and modification to
your web presence.
The Front Page: Ah yes, the first page to your website. Your
current front page (typically the page brought up when typing in
the base URL for your web site) may be nice now, but this is
your chance to be more eye-catching and still retain the same
content and vision that currently works. When it comes to the
web design look and feel, this is your major anchor. I'm not
suggesting a redesign of your logo, navigation and overall
content. You want to make sure you keep the site familiar, but
addition is key. Add that flash design that will be create a
more professional look (but don't overdue it here), create an
easier flow to the front end of your web design, and change the
wording while saying the same thing!
Content Changes: Make sure when you redesign the wording on your
site that the key elements are met. You want to have your
keywords displayed often and in various fashions (bolded,
headlined, towards the top and linked) but feel free to mix it
up a bit. Instead of your current blue on white text (as an
example), reverse it! Make it white on blue and there will
definitely be a change without going overboard. Try out a new
font that is still web accessible but may look more professional
than the standard Arial you have used for so many years. Also
consider adding more content to what you already have. If you
have had 10 industry specific articles for the past six months,
make it 15 and bring attention to the new updates for your users.
Search Engines: Search Engines tend to spider sites more often
when sites change more often. This rule can help you get the
attention of that googlebot spider to keep coming to your site.
Most importantly, have fun with it! That's right; make it a
place you want to check out as well. It's amazing what can be
done to spruce things up when one puts a little time and
creativity into it.