toniCarr

I have been designing web sites for over eight years. When I first got started in the web site design business, web sites were very simple and most people felt they did not need one. Today the tables have truly turned and virtually everyone will agree that they need some sort of a web presence. In the beginning, most sites were uncharted territory for my clients; most of them had not gone there before and were trailblazers. Many of them were not sure why they wanted a web site but felt it was a good business decision. Today the majority of my web site design cliental have a web site and are now looking for a redesign.

Most businesses change over time and the business model and focus also changes, but the web site lags behind. The beauty of working on a redesign is the knowledge that has been gained from the current web site, and the existing content that can be expanded on.

What should you think about if you are contemplating a redesign of your web site?

1. What is your budget? A redesign can take as much time as building a site from the ground up. Know your budget.
2. What have you learned from your current web site? Does it promote a favorable experience?
   What is successful and what is not?
3. If you could make a change to your web site today what would that change be?
4. Have you conducted usability testing on your current site, or discussed with some of your users/clients what works and what could change?
5. How important is your current look, feel and branding. Maybe this is a good time time to change those components.

What are your reasons for a redesign?

1. Do you have a new business strategy, is your current site outmoded? Have you added new services or do you have a different audience/cliental?
2. What is your primary objective with your online marketing for this redesign? What is secondary and your long and short term goals.
3. What areas of your business can improve with the new web site design?

In order to get the best site for your time and money be prepared to do planning work up front. Many of us are very impatient and feel that since we have a web site the redesign is a no brainer. Sometimes the more we know the harder it is to communicate to the designer. I will continue this with more details and ideas to identify how to get the most out of your next web site design.

Adding good quality information (content) to your web site is never a waste of time. The process of SEO is really making an investment in your site and business. The goal is to make your web site the “authority” on your product and services. Once you get known by the engines for that kind of content, other sites will start linking to your site (boosting your popularity) as a great source of reference. The search engines will view the site as quality content, due to the popularity in linking, and the site can be depended on, therefore the site improves in rankings. SEO is really about making your site the best it can be.

The goal of SEO is to optimize the entire site so that it’s the best it can be for the search engines as well as your users (viewers). My job (as SEO) is to help it to be found in the engines for  lots of  phrases that relate to it, but as you know I can’t simply *place* a site in the engines for a specific keyword, in a certain position. That is where PPC (pay per click) comes in.

Within your content you want to analyze the key words on each page, that are relevant to your business. This will help your potential customers to find you and educate them about your goods or services. SEO does not happen over night and it really is a process, the rules are always changing and what works one day may not work another. From my experience good quality “content is king” and it will remain that way. Adding links within your content using key words gives you that extra needed boost. It is never a waste of time.