Here's a test: If your website begins with "Welcome
to …" then you need to update your website. How well does your
website fit in with the rest of your company's collateral materials? If
your website is a misfit among your other corporate communications — business
cards, annual report, newsletters — that's another good reason for an
update. If your website is a reprint of your company brochure, if your
graphics are fuzzy, if the background is default gray … these are
all good indications.
Take this simple test, if you answer yes to three or more
of the following questions, you should seriously consider more than a
simple update to your website:
- Has your site stayed the same for a year or more?
- If you have access to your site's traffic statistics,
have you hit a plateau on numbers of visitors?
- Are you missing any online features you think would add
value for your customers?
- Examine your site, does it need to better reflect what
your company does and who you are?
- Check out your competitor's websites, does your website
fall short when compared alongside them in terms of how interesting,
professional, and informative they are?
The race to put up a company website first boomed in the
mid-90s. Many were created through some sort of spontaneous occurrence
without much thought as to how it could best benefit the company and its
customers. It was also quite expensive and technically challenging to
include interesting visual effects, online stores, interactive forms,
or online customer support.
Because the technology has come so far, it's now faster
and easier to create many customer-oriented features, and prices have
gone down dramatically. You might be surprised to find you could actually
afford that zingy new website, and in doing so, increase your exposure
to customers, improve customer relations, and provide up-to-date news
and information which is the most important feature you want to strive
for — currency.
However, if you feel that the content of your website is
still pertinent, you may only need a simple face-lift for your website.
You could add some new graphics, new colors, and throw in something flashy
like rollovers or animation. Creating a space on the home page to insert
the latest press release or news item link about your company is a great — and
simple — way to keep your site up-to-date without throwing the whole site
away.
If you do feel it's time for a whole new product, one of
the beautiful things about website development today is that web designers
can work backwards, anticipating you'll need to change and evolve over
time. A website's design can accommodate upcoming changes so you won't
need to start from scratch every few years. A good web developer will
also design your website keeping new or not-yet-here technology breakthroughs
in mind. Developers in the know keep a watchful eye on the industry and
anticipate emerging technologies' accessibility. So your wish list of
ideas for your new website may not all be able to come true today, but
they can be included in the planning of subsequent phases of your evolving
site. This is also true for budget planning. Start with a fresh design,
and build your site over time adding features along the way.
So, whether you need a simple face-lift, or a whole new
product, you should look at your website as a fully functioning resource
for your company. It should be up-to-date, fit in with your other collateral
materials as part of an overall company branding strategy, increase exposure
to your current and future customers, and keep up with the changing times
of the online universe.