Image by Sean MacEntee via Flickr
One of the worst assumptions a company can make about their website is: “The site is up, whew, glad we have that done!” This idea stands in stark contrast to best web practices and most web savvy business people know it.
However, the more dangerous assumption is that updates and changes only need to happen once in a while, quarterly or bi-annually. Though this belief edges closer to the ideal, it falls short. In reality, your brand and user experience are tied in part to how up-to-date your content and design are.
While instructing, I use the following analogy for my students: maintaining a website is much like maintaining a home. Noticing the big things – a wall that needs repainting, a lawn that needs new seed or a kitchen you want to expand – is simple and obvious. But, what would your home look like if you failed to dust, vacuum or clean the counters? These weekly or, often, daily tasks keep a home usable and a pleasure to be in. The same is true for your website. Content often becomes outdated in a matter of weeks, time-sensitive information becomes useless overnight. So ensuring this content remains accurate and current will add credibility to your brand.
Maintenance supports other goals
The focal point for every website’s post-launch activity is maintenance. Content edits are certainly simple and easily executed tasks a company can complete. But consider other activities which expand your site and offer the visitor additional features of interaction which keep them on-site longer, thereby exposing more of your brand to them:
- Adding a “search” box – This allows your visitors to complete their missions without incident, associating the positive experience with your brand.
- Incorporating dynamic directions – Adding the ability for a visitor to map their way to your business does two things simultaneously. First, it keeps the user on your site (which is extremely important). Secondly, it enhances the experience. By keeping the visitor away from Google or Yahoo! Maps the experience remains clean and simple – two recurring words visitors use when describing sites they like.
- Start blogging – Use this as a forum for announcing business strategies, relationships and decisions. Share some industry standards and tricks alike with your visitors to help them become more knowledgeable. ( such a good idea, I think we should do that! )
- Is your clientele bi-lingual? – How about creating a version of your site for the non-English speaking audience? Providing your content in a different language may expose your brand to a new demographic that until now never considered your company for lack of comprehension.
A mental block site owners have to be conscious of is, as visitors to our own sites, we become blind to the errors or the staleness of content and imagery. Those who come to our sites to find information (especially current information) want to be there and experience the new aspects of the site. So, don’t be lackadaisical in giving it to them.http://www.bostoninteractiveblog.com/?p=39
Why a Website is a Must in the first place:
By having a web presence, you expand your market significantly. You make yourself available to people in other time zones and even across the globe rather than the limited market audience you can reach in your local geographical area. And at a fraction of the cost! With a website there is less need to send out expensive mailings to purchased mail lists that are often unreliable. Even those mailings that do make it to the target audience are thrown away without ever being looked at.
Internet advertising is more targeted to a specific audience. The clients who visit your website are there because they have a specific interest in your company’s product or service, which you can use to your advantage. You can allow customers or potential customers to sign up for a newsletter or sales flyer, which you can send to them via e-mail. By collecting e-mail addresses from willing visitors to your website you can stay in contact with them without having to pay for printing or postage. At IPWatchdog, we use GraphicMail.com to help us maintain our e-mail subscription list and to send newsletters. There are other services you can use, such asConstant Contact, which is very popular. GraphicMail.com is less expensive, but they do not offer the number of features that Constant Contact does. Another advantage of Constant Contact is they offer a free trial. If you are an computer novice, Constanct Contact would likely be a better choice because it is an all in one solution.
The morale of the story is this – whether you are a small business owner, inventor, entrepreneur, artist, author, musician or band, you need a website. In the world we live in increasingly people are turning to the Internet to find information, and if you don’t have a presence on the Internet you will not only be making it more difficult for people to find you, but you will be sending the wrong message.http://ipwatchdog.com/business/the-importance-of-having-a-website/
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