Is your Website Depressed?
In an environment where having a digital presence is becoming essential for businesses, having a good website is crucial.
As technology continues to develop and the web adopts new interactive elements, it can be easy to get lost amongst the haze of products available when undergoing a website re-design. But recognising your website needs an upgrade is almost as important as upgrading it itself.
Most businesses will monitor traffic to their website via analytical software – understanding how users travel from page to page is important. Before any business undergoes a redesign, undertaking a review of the existing site is essential. Otherwise how will you know what to change?
Monitoring the global technology trends, analysts at Mashable.com suggest undertaking a content audit as the first step; the main purpose of a content audit is to produce a listing of the site’s content, usually in a big spreadsheet. A content audit isn’t something you’re necessarily going towant to tackle. It’s one of those un-sexy, tedious jobs that hardly anyone talks about but it is important. Once you have the different types of content you can make sure your design is adaptable to all the mediums.
Next comes the design phase. Based on user information and the content your website provides, businesses can understand how people use the website, or not if the case may be. Visitors often judge how a website looks before evaluating its content. If they immediately don’t like your design or are confused by it, they will leave, so design plays a huge role in people’s perception of your business and its credibility.
Mashable.com suggests using heat maps and tools such as Crazy Egg to help understand how users interact with your website, and where you can make changes that increase conversions (views).
Once you understand how your audience thinks, coming up with a design is far easier. However, most companies prefer to outsource the work to a web designer; CrowdReviews.com has released a set of tips to assist those searching for professional website design solutions. They urge customers to look for vendors who have designed similar projects to the vision they have in mind whilst communicating with other companies who have gone through a similar process.
There are even companies out there who will match your website requirements for you! Businessmatch.global matches buyer’s specifications with a number of different suppliers, giving the buyer a range of options not normally available to them.
One of the biggest debates going on in the market currently is the decision to scroll or not to scroll[1] – there are benefits and drawbacks to both: long scrolling feels natural and is easier than clicking but it spaces out content and makes it harder to scan to find info while shorter scroll gets to the point quickly but it may be so quick that causes bounce rates to increase. Technology and web development analysts at Thenextweb.com have compiled a top ten list of trends we can expect to see this year; if you’re a trend setter, it’s definitely a must read.
“For smaller businesses, undergoing a web re-design can be a daunting prospect. But never fear! BusinessMatch’s Web Design Category Expert is Staxoweb.com. Peter Goring at Staxoweb suggests using a CMS (Content Management System) such as WordPress with a bespoke theme. WordPress in particular as its’ highly intuitive interface allows administrators to manage content with ease.”
Undertaking a website re-design is something not to be taken lightly. In today’s consumer climate, having a responsive and effective webpage is crucial for maintain a brand and a reputation. As a result, this process will take time – but sit back, relax, and enjoy! After all, it’s not every day you get to reinvent yourself.