People’s goals, aspirations & desires are constantly evolving. As days go by, businesses change and adapt to the needs of those people. Products are modified and services adjusted to better solve everyday problems. The web should be no different. If you can’t easily adapt or adjust your website as the needs of your customers change where will that leave your online presence?
Update with Ease
Promoting a big event or a new product should be a breeze online. It shouldn’t feel like pulling-teeth to update your website. There are many different assets you could use to publish new content. Website Assets You May Want in Your Arsenal:
- Landing Page Template (a blank page template allowing you to publish new content easily)
- Blog/News Section
- Calendar of Events (event-based businesses)
- Featured Section Across Multiple Pages (imagery/content that is easily swapped out when needed)
- Email Newsletter (a method to inform your customers of news and updates)
Be Aware & Prepared
If you’re going through a re-design or building a new site for your business, here are a few things to look for:
- When looking at designs be sure you understand what can be updated, how complex the process will be and if you will need outside resources to do so.
- You’re website should be running on a content management system. Otherwise it will require HTML knowledge to update and likely cost you more money anytime you want to make some changes.
- Is there room for additional navigation items if you needed to add a new page in the future?
- If you’re promoting a limited time item or service, is there a place to do so? *Remember your homepage isn’t always the first page your visitors will see.
Spend Less, Do More
If you’re pouring thousands of dollars into a website it should be a marketing tool you can easily change when needed. You shouldn’t need to do an entire overhaul each time you want to freshen up the design of your website. Design & development can be costly. It’s best to avoid locking yourself into a customized system that only the design studio who built it can troubleshoot. If anything happens to that business you could be up creek without a paddle. Open source content management systems like Expression Engine & WordPress are great for many reasons. Most importantly, they have big communities. You’ll find thousands of articles, forums and many developers that can offer you support when you need it. Take this into consideration when your reading your web proposals or building your next website.
Mobile Awareness
If you don’t already have a plan for mobile this next year, consider it a goal for 2012. It’s important to consider mobile when developing a website for the future. Mobile is only just at its early stages and look how fast it has grown in just a couple of years.
For More Information on Mobile Design: Why Invest in Mobile Website Design?
