In recent times, marketing spend has shifted abruptly from traditional media and “real world” environments to the internet, which now provides the means to reach the largest possible audience in a relatively cost-effective manner.
However, all too often companies view a website as a one-off project, rather than ongoing concern. Organisations have a big redesign and then forget about their site, leaving it to fall into disrepair.
Keeping it fresh
Instead, the lifespan of even the most static of websites should be thought of as a staged process, which should be refreshed at least every three to six months. This way, it will be up to date, and will have a longer useful life, rather than potentially spending the majority of its existence underperforming.
Small things count
Instead of tearing a site down and rebuilding it from scratch, find ways to make the existing site work better.
Breathing new life into a site through a design refresh is one such option. Small tweaks to registration and checkout processes can see conversions skyrocket and pay for themselves in no time.
Expense or investment?
The trick is in knowing the difference between an expense and an investment. While some sites are too outdated to make do with subtle tweaks and do need a radical revamp, you can often do a lot with a little, thereby showing improvements even if you have less budget to play with in hard times.
by Thomas Selway
Tags: redesign