Ok, I’m going to hold my hands up high here – Ours currently isn’t.
Why? Well a number of reasons but one of the most important factors is freshness. Our site just isn’t “fresh” anymore. It’s been up in it’s current format for about 18months now. We’ve added a few bits and bobs along the way. Some things that were added worked others haven’t – anyhow it’s time for a refresh of the site. But that’s the nature of the web beast. It’s rather like running along side a whippet. It’s always streaking ahead and you’ve just got to keep up! It’s that simple.
So, what to do when you site needs freshening up?
There are a few key areas you have to look at, and I know it’ll probably cause a major hernia in some folk, but the most important parts for me are:
Design. Get this right the rest just seems to flow. Period. The key to a good website design is simplicity. Stop with the flash and rolling headers at the top. I really have a head ache with all the constant movement. Clear, bright simple. That’s what makes an attractive site in my very humble opinion. Next is…
Features. Ok this is kind of linked to design but I’m putting it here as point number 1.5! Think about what you are going to have on there. If you are starting from scratch this is hard to do, but if you are refreshing a tired site this is simple…look at your web stats and they will show you where people go from your landing page (not always the homepage btw) how long they stay on each page.
What their path is around your site. So say the pages are numbered 1-8 and the general pattern of movement on you current site is. Page, 1-2-4-6-3-5-7-8…then why are they jumping around in that order? Clearly if a pattern emerges that folk are following this footpath then go with the flow and accommodate the users desire to follow that route. They could be classed as meander paths, and if that’s the route most taken then surely common sense says to offer it. In short look at your stats and use them for future planning.
Copy. This is key. No really…it’s not just hype by clever wordsmiths trying to get you to buy their services, there really is an art to using words on the net. I promise you! Don’t believe me? Ask anyone who using Google Adsense. Changing one single word can dramatically change for better or worse, the click through rate for your ad. One single word. That’s serious stuff. For this reason I’d highly recommend that you get a skilled and knowledgeable copywriter onto the case.
Web words are usually shorter and snappier than the ones we use in brochures and off line promotions. You need to be aware of such factors as internet attention span – i.e. that it’s nearly zero. People will make their minds up about you and your site within seconds flat of landing at your door. It’s literally like someone coming to your front door and finding an appealing, fresh and zippy red door with a nice polished brass knocker and swept door step, or coming and finding broken woodwork, cracked glass in the window, a sticky handle and a great big streak of bird poo down the door knocker. Ok, which door will you go for? Not hard is it?
It’s the same with the words you use. They must match your bright clean sparkly image.
Function. Ok this is my final one, but it’s no less important than the others. Basically when I say function, I mean does it do what you set out to do? Is your site there only to inform people of something; is it a collection of information gathered by individuals on a voluntary basis? Or is it there as a sales tool for your company? Think about what you want out of the site.
If you want sales, then make it easy for the public to buy on line…don’t put barriers in the way. (Or if like us and you were looking to slow sales a bit, in order to allow the admin side of the company to grow and settle before taking on too much work, then this may be a deliberate ploy to measure your company growth!) But if you only want to use the site to inform the public, then you’ll probably need lots of sign posts from your site to others, but always before letting your readers leave it could be a good idea to remind them to bookmark you site first – so they keep coming back like the proverbial boomerang!
