IS IT TIME TO UPDATE YOUR WEBSITE?

This month’s column is brought to you by Michelle Harrington of Emagine Website Design, an associate of Fujita & Miura Public Relations. She has been providing website design and internet marketing services for over seven years.

Growth is an ever-present, integral part of a successful business. Like a well-tended garden, the growth of your business will remain vital and able to withstand the ever-changing landscape in market and economy. Your website is no different – the success of your website relies on the quality of attention and maintenance you put into it.

Think about the ways your business has changed in recent years. Maybe you’ve re-designed your logo, added staff, moved to a new location, added new products, expanded your service area, or won an award. Your website should reflect the growth and evolution of your business by offering current, relevant, and valuable content for your customers.

The design of your website should work in harmony with the images and copy to create an “online ambiance” that makes a memorable and aligned impression of your business. This can include professional photography and copywriting, new testimonials and customer reviews, video, links, and downloads of any press or media coverage on your business.

To be most effective, your website content (text and images) should be updated on a regular basis. There is no strict rule as to when you should update the structure (programming/coding) and “look and feel” (design template) of your website, however, every couple of years it’s a good idea to consider your websites’ overall effectiveness and its compliance with progressing technologies and new browser versions.

When it’s time for a major re-design, be sure to consider the valuable feedback your website visitors have provided over time, find better ways to organize your information, review your website analytics for insight into areas needing improvement, and make sure that the search engine optimization (keyword research, title/meta tags, link building, etc.) of your website are being reviewed and updated as well.

Whether you do these tasks in house or outsource them, your website is a marketing tool that can “work” for you 24/7 – IF you keep it updated, current and fresh.

For more information on search engine optimization, keyword research, or website consulting contact Michelle Harrington at (808) 823-8051 or visit www.EmagineWebsiteDesign.com.