If you created a business website a long time ago and haven’t done much work on it since, the information on it would most likely be out of date. With the world of online marketing changing rapidly, you should definitely consider the following five website development facts when creating your marketing budget for 2014.
1. Redesign Your Website
A single user accesses a website through three different types of devices on average: desktop computers/laptops, smartphones and tablets. Therefore, to make sure your website is at least functional on all these devices, even if not in the best way possible, you should consider adopting a responsive design to ensure that the interface adjusts to the device screen. I wrote a great article a few weeks back talking about how to test your website to see if it is mobile friendly.
Need some inspiration to show your website designer:
However, you can redesign parts of your website instead of overhauling your entire website at once. This would be easier for you to manage and your website will be functional throughout the redesign to some extent, preventing performance issues.
2. 3 Year Old Website is Out-of-Date
If you haven’t updated or redesigned your site in the last three years, your site is outdated. The standard in most industries is to redesign a website after every two years. In some businesses, the changes to the website are made even more regularly considering the nature of the business. Redesigning your website will help you keep the content relevant and organized so that your audience can find it easily.
Insider Tip*:
Make sure before you undertake a redesign to your old website. That you keep all the “Link Juice” by doing a 301 redirect to the critical pages that have value.
3. Don’t Rely On Templates
Website templates are the worst solution for businesses that want to create a strong online presence. You have to consider owning a website that is custom designed for your business in order to create a distinctive branding tool.
By getting a custom website design, you can rest assured that the website contains all the information relevant to your business, laid out in an easily navigable structure to accommodate the needs of your potential audience. A professional designer can help you design your website and make sure that it is more responsive to different platforms.
4. Include Content on Your Site
If your current website doesn’t have much content, you should rectify the solution as early as possible. Content is one of the most powerful online marketing tools used by businesses today, offering exceptional success rate. Not only should your web pages have optimized content, but you should also have a personal blog on your site and regularly update it. This is true even if you are just operating an eCommerce site. You can outsource content development to experts who will maintain a regular stream of blog posts on your site.
5. Go Responsive
Having a responsive website is important if you don’t want to lose your customers to competitors. Many people today use mobile devices to reach business websites, but typical sites don’t function properly on these devices due to the change in layout and interface. Responsive websites are designed to ensure that there are no issues with the interface or functionality of sites when accessed through mobile devices. With more people surfing the web through mobile devices, this is an investment that is considered essential by businesses today.
An investment that is considered essential by businesses today
While making your online marketing budget for 2014, make sure to consider these changes in your website design and development and plan your finances accordingly.
