Sure, you put a huge effort into your website all those years ago. But websites, like people, start to look old over time. Is it time for a facelift? New technology and trends give you more options than ever, although that means there also are more decisions you have to make.
Outdated screen size
Online, size matters. Old websites stand out because they are skinny compared to newer sites. The reason is that they were designed for the smaller monitors we all used to have. Remember back when a 15-inch monitor was large? Today, most website visitors have high resolution monitors, at least 19 inches, but often far larger. These are all capable of showing 1024 x 768 or higher resolution. Older websites are built for much lower resolution, 800 x 600 or smaller, and as a result these sites look really tiny on today's large monitors.
Compatibility
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While monitors are getting bigger, devices are getting smaller. Many people surf almost exclusively from smartphones and tablets (such as the iPhone, iPad, Droid and Xoom), which have much smaller resolution than a typical monitor. If you want to accommodate large monitors and small devices, you have two main options: build fluid layouts that automatically adapt and resize for mobile devices or (more common) you can have an alternate layout that displays when it detects a mobile device. Given the small screen size, it often makes sense to have a separate layout geared toward people who are out and about, which will focus specifically on their needs - contact info and address, for example. That's one of the reasons so many companies are designing mobile apps, so that the screen real estate can be used to maximum advantage without having to fight cross-browser compatibility on all the different devices out there.
New programming
For years, web developers have had to deal with old browsers, notably Internet Explorer 6. It was not compatible with web standards, which means it required a lot of exceptions in the code. Now that it's a relic, developers are free to make use of newer capabilities in web programming languages such as HTML5 and CSS3. Why should you care? These languages make it easier than ever to build sophisticated sites with slick features, high performance and a variety of interactive features. Make sure your web developer is keeping up with the latest trends, though, so you can be sure your site makes the most of the new technology.
New design trends
All these factors are impacting web design as well. Designers are creating sites that work on a variety of devices, with a variety of sizes. Some devices use touch screens instead of a mouse, which is yet another design factor - using a finger is a different experience than using a mouse. Add in the new capabilities of HTML5 and CSS3, and designers have more freedom than ever to lay out websites the way they like. Some of the trends are large, full-screen images; heavy use of typography; desktoplike controls to interact with the site; 3-D effects; and more.
Social media benefit
If you aren't on Facebook yet, take another look, as social media continues to grow in popularity. Initially it was best for business-to-consumer companies, but the more social media becomes a part of popular culture, the more ways it can benefit any business. A Facebook landing page is the new "big thing," and it gives you an eye-catching means of attracting visitors and showing off your business. There are many other ways to leverage social media: Twitter feeds can be integrated directly into your site; you can set up a YouTube channel of videos about your company; you can blog; you can set your company up on Google Local; really, the possibilities are near endless.
Search engine options
Even search engine optimization techniques are changing as search engines evolve. One of the biggest shifts is the impact of social media. If you don't think social media has value in its own right, take another look: it can boost your website rankings enormously if used properly. Some experts are now referring to SEO (search engine optimization) and SMO (social media optimization). Google loves social media sites for their fresh content, which is indexed quickly and ranked highly. If you have invested in traditional search engine optimization to generate leads, it's probably time to expand your horizons.
Quick response codes
You may have noticed square barcodes on a lot of things lately: postcards, products, magazines, etc. These are known as quick response codes, and they link you to a website when you snap a picture with your camera phone. It's one more way to drive traffic to your site, and you can even do special landing pages just for QR promotions. Just be sure your site shows up well on the kind of devices normally used such as iPhones, Droids and other camera phones, otherwise you may not make quite the impression you'd hoped.
Update or start over?
Many business owners try to save money by tweaking a few features on an old site instead of starting over. This can be a false economy as it often leaves them with a Franken-site that looks cobbled together. You can do that for a little while, up to a point, but be careful to distinguish between site maintenance and routine updates versus major overhauls that really need a full refresh. As a general rule of thumb, you can expect a well-designed website to last somewhere between 3 to 5 years.
After that, start fresh. Most businesses evolve quite a bit over the years, so brands change, content needs to be rewritten, staff pictures need to be retaken, etc. Unless you are in a very mature business, the image you want to present to the world is almost certainly different than what it was several years ago, which is why all of us need to overhaul our websites every few years.
Wendy Gauntt is president of CIO Services LLC, a technology consulting company that specializes in small business solutions. Visit her Web site at www.cioservicesllc.com for more information, ideas and free resources.
