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VAIL, Colorado ‚ In my column last week, I went over a few reasons why all businesses, big and small, should have a Web site. But what if you already have a Web site? How do you know when it's time to consider a change? In this week's Tech Bytes, I'm taking a look at seven signs that it's time to redesign.
Sign #1. Your content hasn't been updated in over six months.
Web sites should be full of constantly updating information to reflect your changing business (e.g., new products, services offered, weekly discounts). This not only will help your search engine rankings, but also increase the return visitors to your site, increasing your revenue. With the availability of content management systems that can allow you to make updates yourself, there's no reason to have a stale site.
Sign #2. Your design is so 2000.
If there's anything flashing, blinking, spinning or moving on the site that doesn't actually add to the overall site message, it doesn't belong there. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. More often than not, animations will slow down the load time of the page and distract your viewer from the real message of the site. Most award-winning sites these days have beautiful, simple layouts that really speak to the businesses' identity, personality and professionalism. If your site layout says nothing about your company, it's time to redesign.
Sign #3. Your site uses tables for layout.
These next two signs are a bit on the technical side, but there are simple ways to check if your site falls under these categories. While viewing your site in a browser, find the menu option that says “View Source,” or “Page Source,” usually under the view menu at the top of your screen. In the page of code that appears, (and probably looks like a foreign language) look for <table>, <tr>, and <td> tags. If you are seeing these frequently throughout the code, it's time to update, as your page is using an outdated form of layout. Also, if you see <frame> or <frameset> in your code, it's time for a change.
Sign #4: Your site fails the W3C validation test.
Go to http://validator.w3.org and click on the tab that says “Validate by URI.” Enter the address of your Web site, starting with http:// (e.g., http://secondoctober.com). When you click “check” you will be told whether your site passed, or if errors were found. If the latter, you should have your site updated to be standards compliant.
Sign #5: Your site is lacking a strong call to action.
A Web site should be an interactive experience for your visitors where they not only can learn about your business and products/services, but can also take an action. This action could be purchasing products from an online store, making reservations for your services or for a table at your restaurant, or signing up for your e-newsletter. If you don't have a strong call to action, you're missing opportunities to get new customers who may otherwise be too shy or busy to pick up the phone or come on in.
Sign #6: Your site is hard to use.
Do you have so many buttons that even you get confused on where to click? Is the text on your site too small, or a color that's hard to read? Do you have empty or outdated pages, or links that go nowhere? Does your page take a long time to load? All of these frustrations can cause users to leave or to not take your business seriously. If you said yes to any of the questions above, or have additional usability issues, it's time to update.
Sign #7: Your site doesn't show up in search engines.
If you Google a keyword related to your business and your Web site doesn't show up in the first few results pages, you are missing out on a huge potential for new customer leads. Not showing up in Google could be the result of any of the signs above, and many other factors that make up a successful search engine optimization campaign. It's time for a change.
Jessie Williams is the owner of Second October Media, www.secondoctober.com, a Web development and graphic design firm in Edwards. Have a tech question you'd like answered? E-mail her at info@secondoctober.com.
Sign #1. Your content hasn't been updated in over six months.
Web sites should be full of constantly updating information to reflect your changing business (e.g., new products, services offered, weekly discounts). This not only will help your search engine rankings, but also increase the return visitors to your site, increasing your revenue. With the availability of content management systems that can allow you to make updates yourself, there's no reason to have a stale site.
Sign #2. Your design is so 2000.
If there's anything flashing, blinking, spinning or moving on the site that doesn't actually add to the overall site message, it doesn't belong there. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. More often than not, animations will slow down the load time of the page and distract your viewer from the real message of the site. Most award-winning sites these days have beautiful, simple layouts that really speak to the businesses' identity, personality and professionalism. If your site layout says nothing about your company, it's time to redesign.
Sign #3. Your site uses tables for layout.
These next two signs are a bit on the technical side, but there are simple ways to check if your site falls under these categories. While viewing your site in a browser, find the menu option that says “View Source,” or “Page Source,” usually under the view menu at the top of your screen. In the page of code that appears, (and probably looks like a foreign language) look for <table>, <tr>, and <td> tags. If you are seeing these frequently throughout the code, it's time to update, as your page is using an outdated form of layout. Also, if you see <frame> or <frameset> in your code, it's time for a change.
Sign #4: Your site fails the W3C validation test.
Go to http://validator.w3.org and click on the tab that says “Validate by URI.” Enter the address of your Web site, starting with http:// (e.g., http://secondoctober.com). When you click “check” you will be told whether your site passed, or if errors were found. If the latter, you should have your site updated to be standards compliant.
Sign #5: Your site is lacking a strong call to action.
A Web site should be an interactive experience for your visitors where they not only can learn about your business and products/services, but can also take an action. This action could be purchasing products from an online store, making reservations for your services or for a table at your restaurant, or signing up for your e-newsletter. If you don't have a strong call to action, you're missing opportunities to get new customers who may otherwise be too shy or busy to pick up the phone or come on in.
Sign #6: Your site is hard to use.
Do you have so many buttons that even you get confused on where to click? Is the text on your site too small, or a color that's hard to read? Do you have empty or outdated pages, or links that go nowhere? Does your page take a long time to load? All of these frustrations can cause users to leave or to not take your business seriously. If you said yes to any of the questions above, or have additional usability issues, it's time to update.
Sign #7: Your site doesn't show up in search engines.
If you Google a keyword related to your business and your Web site doesn't show up in the first few results pages, you are missing out on a huge potential for new customer leads. Not showing up in Google could be the result of any of the signs above, and many other factors that make up a successful search engine optimization campaign. It's time for a change.
Jessie Williams is the owner of Second October Media, www.secondoctober.com, a Web development and graphic design firm in Edwards. Have a tech question you'd like answered? E-mail her at info@secondoctober.com.
