| Why
Redesign Your Website?
Wow! There are so many reasons to
redesign your website, but these fall into four basic
categories: time, style, audience and performance. Let’s
take a look at each of these:
Time
We all have less than we’d
like, and we all feel like it passes quickly. This is
especially true in today’s digital world, where
things are constantly changing and evolving. In fact,
time passes so quickly we can often look at a picture
and tell you the year simply by how dated the clothes
are in the photograph. The same is true of a website,
where you can quickly look dated if you don’t
periodically update your site.
Flashing frames, flash introductions
and 3D buttons were considered a really great look a
few years back, but now they will make your website
look old and stodgy and quite basic (Or, in the case
of flash introductions, just annoying). You don’t
want people to think of your company as behind the times,
so don’t let your website be behind the times.
Web surfers are fast – they
zip from site to site in a matter of seconds and quickly
assess each site they visit. Often those first few seconds
will be when they make a decision about whether to go
with your company. If you want to win new clients, make
sure your website is the one that is unique, interesting
and ahead of the curve. If your website is always playing
catch-up to those of competitors, you will always be
missing opportunities in that window. Check out other
sites and see what theirs are like. If you compare and
find your own lacking, it’s time to update your
site.
Perhaps your website was fresh, new
and interesting just two years ago. That’s great,
but is it still an accurate reflection of your company?
Time marches on for every company, and your site should
reflect current trends, goals and statistics. In two
years, you might have completely redesigned your product
line, opened an over-seas office and grown considerably.
Your clients should know all of this so that they are
aware that you are a dynamic, forward-thinking company,
not a stagnating one.
Your website should also look to
the future, outlining mission statement and future projects
so that visitors see you as moving forward. In a society
where progress is so highly valued, your website has
to reflect your company’s progressive goals in
order to be a successful tool.
Style
Style is a personal thing, but it
is also a reflection of your company. If you periodically
have your site redesigned to be more informative and
helpful, your clients will perceive your company as
progressive and helpful. Your professional image will
benefit each time you improve your website because visitors
will see this as a sign of an improved company.
Skimping on your website and ending
up with amateurish, boring results will hurt your image.
Visitors will think “amateur, boring,” in
connection with your company and brands. The more information
on your people that you include, the more in sync with
your company your clients will feel. Style can reflect
the warm and caring side of your company executives,
creating a rapport with clients.
Style is also about being fresh and
keeping current. If you don’t change your website
periodically, there is no reason for clients to make
return visits to your site. The style of website you
choose will make a real difference. Designing a website
that can be easily updated or changed will go a long
way in keeping your website on top of the marketing
game. It is worth looking into various ways to design
your website so that you can easily make some changes
without overhauling the whole system so that you can
“tweak” it periodically yourself. Fresh
content will give you the advantage every time.
Audience
There are millions of visitors to
the Internet every day. That translates to millions
of potential visitors to your website, but you have
to understand the audience in order to give them a reason
to visit your site. If they don’t know you’re
there and don’t know how to find you, your site
won’t do you any good.
Website redesign will require research
into your target audience. What are their needs? What
will appeal to them? What do they value? What can you
offer your audience that others can’t provide,
or can’t provide as well? Understanding what you
need to provide is essential.
Another aspect of web design to consider
is the difference between an Internet reader and someone
reading standard advertising copy. The Internet is used
by most people as a source of information. Visitors
to websites tend to be savvy individuals who put a premium
on their time. Simply posting all of the copy from your
old brochure on your website will not work, because
most visitors will not take the time to read the whole
thing. They will want short, interesting bits of information
given in a succinct style so that they know whether
they want to go to the next section or page for details.
Too much information on the first page, and they will
lose interest and move on.
If you understand the importance
of being direct and to the point on your website, you
will reach your target audience more effectively. Simple,
clean and stripped of flowery advertising copy –
that is an effective website. Redesigning your website
will enable you to provide the clean lines and informative
style that will reach your Internet audience.
Performance
Once you hook the customer by appealing
to them with a clean, well-designed home page, you need
to keep them at your site with performance. If a visitor
likes what he sees and decides he wants more detailed
information – great! But if he clicks on various
pages, uses confusing drop-down boxes, tries to navigate
a complicated menu and still can’t get the details
he needs, you will lose him for good. Performance on
a website isn’t about speed or looks – it’s
about ease of use.
If a visitor can’t find what
he wants or ends up feeling like an idiot because he
can’t figure out how to go about finding what
he needs, you may have turned him off of your company
for good. This isn’t your fault – it means
you have a website that needs redesigned. When you become
used to your site or have designed it yourself, you
may become complacent because the site seems easy to
use to you. To someone new, though, it may seem like
a foreign language they don’t speak. When you
redesign, get feedback from visitors to your website
so that you know what they like, what they don’t
understand, and what is missing. By doing this kind
of research, you can redesign a user-friendly site that
will provide better service and a more enjoyable website
visit for your clients and potential customers. If visitors
are happy because the site is easy to understand and
use, the site has become a much more effective representative
of your company.
Take into consideration your goals
for the website as well. Do you want visitors to sign
up for more information by email, or order the products
directly? Does the content make the reader feel confident
in your product or service? Is the tone positive? All
of these will affect the performance of the site and
should be discussed in detail with your website designer.
Finally, by redesigning your website,
you are creating the opportunity to make contact with
your current clients, potential customers and others
for a concrete reason. Because it takes several times
for a company’s name to become imbedded in memory,
a single visit to your website won’t necessarily
translate into a customer. When your redesign you can
issue a press release and contact your clients and target
audience to announce the roll-out of your improved site,
inviting them to visit and try it out. This will tell
everyone that your company is willing to invest in improving
service and keeping up with the industry. It will also
encourage them to visit your site again, reinforcing
the name recognition of your company.
With all of these advantages, don’t
you think it’s time to redesign your company’s
website?
|
Why
redesign your website?