What are you missing out on?

29 January, 2010

• cms
• seo
• social media
• website lifespan

Michael Bartlett

Category: Web Design

This week the Feedia team have been discussing the lifespan of a website, and why it's good to always keep your site up-to-date.

On Wednesday, Ismail wrote about changing design trends and why it’s important to stay up to date. Thursday, Letitia presented some strategies for determining if your company site is in need of a refresh.

Today I wanted to give you an idea of just what you might be missing out on if your website is out of date.

Effective Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

SEO is one of the most widely used yet most commonly misunderstood web terms (our glossary has a brief description). Simply put, it's a collection of strategies and techniques designed to improve your performance for specified keywords in search results from providers such as Google or Bing. If your site is outdated, there's a good chance that it doesn't have the structures in place to perform effectively.

For truly effective SEO performance, it's crucial to consider these techniques and guidelines from the very beginning of planning your site. Keywords and meta tags added once the site is live help somewhat, but there's only so much you can do. Google has also been modifying it's ranking criteria over the last couple of years, so the SEO tips your designer told you two years ago are almost definitely not still the best technique!

Even modern sites do not always take this into account, so before signing up with any web agency, make sure you clearly understand their SEO policy and what you are getting, as it may be too late once the site is live! Planning the site with SEO in mind from the start allows you to build the right navigational structure and choose the right technologies to increase your performance. We always take this into account, so whether you're after simple SEO strategies or a full-blown campaign, we can generate the right plan for you.

Dynamic, Powerful CMS

Well-designed Content Management Systems allow for advanced functionality and simple management for your site. If your site is not driven by some form of CMS, then it's likely you are spending too much time manually updating (or paying someone else to!) your site. A sufficiently capable CMS will streamline your update process and provide you with valuable tracking and statistics.

Although CMSes have been around for a number of years, it is only in recent times that newer systems have been developed with a specific end-user focus - previously, CMS interfaces were designed around the developer building the website, and were as indecipherable to website owners as a page of code.

Modern CMSes also provide great flexibility, often allowing your web designer to add new functionality and features to your site comparitively quickly (but not instantaneously). Upgrading software and content is far easier, giving your website more 'legs' in the long run. If your site is not running a modern CMS, then you are likely already placing yourself behind your competitors! We take great care in our selection of CMS for your site, and will always pick the 'right tool for the job', wether it be commercial, open-source, out-of-the-box or completely customised. Find out more by reading about our website design services.

Communities, Social Media & The Greater Web

The last two years has seen a massive explosion in the internet as a hub for communities. This is clear from the successes of social networking sites, community contribution sites and personal blogs. Where once the internet was largely about one-way communication of your product, services and contact details, it is now about conversation, contribution and community.

Your products and services should be a dialogue, not a monologue. Traditional media can still send a one-way message, if that's all that you're after. The internet allows for your customers to discuss, praise, spread the word and integrate your business closer into their day-to-day lives. Yes, you are open to critisism, but publicly dealing with a complaint in a compassionate and timely manner will not only maintain your relationship with the unhappy customer, but improve your standing with those watching.

Tacking a twitter feed or Facebook fan page onto your business is not a solution. Your website needs to be designed from the ground up as a central hub for your online community, supporting and promoting it's diverse elements. Given the rapidly changing landscape of the modern internet, it makes sense that the more modern and well-planned your site it, the more likely it is to succeed.

These are just a few key reasons why a fresh, new, well-designed website is definitely worth your while. Stay tuned next week as we start to delve a bit deeper into just what's required to transition from an old website to a brand-new, capable, business web tool.