A common questions we get is, “How often should I consider redesigning my website?” The answer is simple: every 18 months or at any major change in your business. That is not to say that you MUST redesign at those points, but that is the time to look into it. Here is what that evaluation looks like…
How has your business changed?
Heraclitis said, “The only thing that is constant is change.” That holds true for your business also. All businesses change. All businesses adapt to the market and follow what their customers need. We want to look at how your business has changed over the course of time and shift the website to meet the current needs along with any future needs you can foresee.
This is an ever moving target so sometimes our best approach is more general. The way to determine what, if anything, about your website should change is click through it in the mindset of a brand new customer. As (as a customer) questions like:
- How did I get here?
- From a search engine?
- A link in social media?
- What am I looking for?
- Am I calling for schedule service?
- Purchasing a product online?
- What should I do next?
- Do I need to call them?
- Can I visit a store somewhere?
Any rough points should be smoothed out and potential questions answered by your website. When we run into those points, let’s work them out.
How has technology changed?
Technology is always in flux all of the time. We see new methods, new devices, and new trends everyday it seems like. If your website gets out dated it will be less useful for customers. If they hit any barrier that makes the site hard to use, they are most likely to run away and find something easier. We should look at your website in the current state of technology most applicable to your user base. That means we should look at how the customers use the site and adapt the presentation to that.
How have your users changed?
It is always interesting to track how a customer changes over time. This certainly includes life change, but can also be a complete shift in who a business serves. Say you start a business geared to college students and the business grows with them into post-college life then into married life and into parenting. That would be a life change in the customer base that affects how your business develops.
The other aspect of this how your business finds new customer groups and offers services to them. Expanding into new markets and offering new services will often result in completely new customers being found.
Knowing how your business works, how technology is used, and who your customers are is vital to effective online engagement. Let’s get to the bottom of your website engagement needs. If you want to setup a meeting to work on these things, just give us a shout.