Many people assume that once a website is launched, their responsibility for it is complete. And there it sits. Ostensibly doing it’s job. Sometimes for years on end. Content becomes obsolete. Design sensibilities change. Technology evolves. And yet your website remains the same.
5-10 years ago, just having a website set you apart. It was ok to have a template site that looked like hundreds of other sites. It was ok to have a static website that never got updated. It was understandable if your design broke occasionally or didn’t look good in something besides Explorer.
But times have changed. All your competition have websites too now. A generic template site sticks out like a sore thumb to a saavy customer. The browser wars are back and Explorer is losing market share by the minute. In order for your website to be an effective tool for your business, it requires some maintenance and care. If your website is more than a year old, it is time to go back and evaluate whether or not it is living up to it’s potential.
Go through your site and ask yourself:
- Does it look professional?
- Is the design appropriate for the industry?
- Does it match the rest of my marketing materials?
- What kind of information might a potential client be looking for? How easy is this information to find on your website?
- Does everything work properly?
- Are there any extraneous features that don’t add value to the site or support the message you are trying to send?
- How does your website look on web browsers that you don’t normally use?
Now ask a friend to go through the site with the same list of questions. Best to choose someone who is kind of picky and/or is sensitive to aesthetics. Ask them to be brutally honest.
If you (and/or your friend) have some questions about the effectiveness of your website, it may be time to call in a professional. My Design Garden does website analysis where we go over your website with a fine-toothed comb and create a custom report and action plan based on your specific goals. Your custom report will describe the site’s strengths and potential for improvement. Recommended actions will be ranked in order of importance.
Websites will be evaluated against the following parameters:
Design Audit
- Current web aesthetics
- Uniformity of design
- Brand identity
- Consistency with fundamental design principles
Functionality Audit
- Goal fulfillment
- Navigation and ease of use
- E-commerce positioning
- Relevance of content
Your website is one of your most powerful marketing tools. Simple mistakes could be costing you business. Don’t wait to find out. Fill out my contact form to request a website analysis today.
