In recent months , investment has shifted abruptly from traditional media and “real world” environments to the internet, which provides the means to reach the largest possible audience in a relatively cost-effective manner.

In theory, this is great news, but in practice the picture isn’t entirely rosy.  One problem is that many people view a website as a one-off project rather than on ongoing concern.  Organizations often go through a big redesign and then let a website fall into disrepair.  Instead, the web project should be thought of as a staged process that is updated every three to six months.  Again, it’s important to distinguish that this is a design update or overhaul, and not simply added content, which should be done as much as possible… weekly or even daily when practical.

Instead of tearing a site down however, think of ways to breath fresh air into the existing one.  This is yet another reason, that if you have not already done so, you should consider changing over to a Content Management System which will provide for simple re-designs and content updates with no web design experience.  And just a reminder, here at Two Geeks and a Girl, we specialize in custom CMS systems for any business.

Usability updates are one very popular avenue of refresh these days, which will increase conversion rates of visitors to your site.  The changes don’t have to be huge, sometimes just a little thinking, and going back to the basics of good web design is all that’s needed to create a substantial increase in your company website traffic.  Tweaking content, amending graphic design, and integrating some of the newer components, perhaps social media would do the job nicely.

Users today want information and they want it fast.  Look at your current design, and see if there are any measures you can take to put your more important content on the front page, or on a subsequent page with easy access or clear links to it from the home or landing page.

We all hear that content is KING.  This is still true, and what you say, as well as how you say it—is important to your product or service, as well as to the web spiders deciding where to rank your page.  However, we are moving toward a time where too much content is not necessarily the best thing for your business or site design. Content management systems are now becoming the rule rather than the exception.  Most people know that much of a user experience with a CMS is dependent upon how your administrator assigns permissions for the CMS.  In other words, how much of the content is the user allowed to control on your website.  Since too much of a good thing can be confusing or even frustrate your visitor, thought should be put into how much control is freely given out.  Remember, the degree of control your visitor has, or more specifically, should have is dependent upon their skill level with a CMS.  Keep this in mind when assigning the general permissions for your company CMS.

Often times a website re-fresh can tempt one to go nuts with the currently available visual experience.  With all the 3D graphics, video and animation components, forms with new CSS and Java imagery… well, there is almost no end to it.  Whether you should use some or all of these technologies, depends on their relevance and the site’s intended audience.

Finally, with the social media explosion, one must certainly ask, or be concerned with what “web 2.0” modules they want with their re-fresh?  The emergence of ready-made tools such as Twitter and Facebook, and the network potential they provide, make them not only attractive, but easy to obtain and install.  Both of these can be obtained and loaded to your site, fully integrated with your respective accounts, literally in minutes.
These options for social media are particularly attractive when compared to say—custom built apps, due to their cost, which is nothing for the most part, and the high cost of proprietary platforms, which they have traditionally competed with.

I hope this brief post helps with your thought process about a new site, refresh or any updates you may be planning in the near future.

Richard Seymour

www.jargra.com