New SISCO re-design
The all new re-design of the SISCO website is up and ready. I changed the site over from a mainly Flash site to a browser compliant HTML and CSS site so now it can be viewed on mobile devices as well. The site was re-done from the ground up with additional copy and new imagery. I found some use for some of the old images and gave it a new look. I hope you enjoy the new design!
New Look
Every so often I like to spruce things up a bit around here and create something new. I had a little extra time and I have always had a fascination with airplanes ever since my grandfather who was a WWII bomber pilot took me up for the first time in his Cessna when I was six years old. It also gave me a chance to test out some of my Illustrator skills for my own work instead of for someone else.
This is a good example of how one small change can give your website a whole new look. Well it’s actually two changes as I had to change the color of one of the header texts as it blended into the background. I hope you like the change!
What do I need in a website?
This is an important question to ask yourself when designing your first site or having your current site updated. If you already have a site and are thinking about having a new one built then you probably already know some of the things you want and the things you dislike about your old site. Here are some tips you should think about when getting ready for the new site.
1. Are you going to be updating the site on a regular basis? This is important in that it will help you decide whether or not you may need a content management system (CMS). Content management allows you to control and update much of the content on your site. This is a great option if you are willing to update your own site. If you don’t want to update or don’t need to update then skip on t the next question. If you are still here then there are lots of options available for you. Wordpress and Blogger have come a long way towards offering great sites that are easily managed and don’t just cater to bloggers. I can completely redesign either into the look you want. Need more than that? Well, the next level up is Joomla which is another open source content management system with tons of options available.
2. What features do you want to include in your site? Think about all of the available options out there. Take a look at some of your favorite sites and see what they include. Is it video? Music? Message board? Blog? Store? All of these can be included in a site and they can all work together to provide your customers a great experience on the web.
3. What do you want your site to look like? Do you already have branding and a color scheme in place? Do you want it to have a sleek and modern look or a retro vintage feel? The ideal site should mimic the feel of your business. If a customer visits your site on the web and then visits your store front, they should tie in together to create one unified look.
4. How much do you want to spend? This will effect what you get and if you are open with your budget limitations from the beginning then you can be given a more honest answer as to what is available to you.
So start looking at some other sites and the web and figure out your likes and dislikes when it comes to the web browsing experience. Think of the experience from a customer’s standpoint and view. After all it is for the customer and all the bells and whistles in the world will not bring you in business if your site does not offer them what they need or is a frustrating experience.
SEO and you
How important is SEO you might ask? Well if you want someone to find you through a search engine and your business depends on it then it is pretty important. Think about it this way, how much time do you spend in any given day networking and meeting new potential clients? 10 minutes? 1 Hour? You should be spending the same amount of time working on creating new content and new links to your site.
How does one present a better appearance to search engines? If there was a one pronged easy and simple answer then everyone would be doing it and most would have found a way to cheat the system and do it even better. This is why search engines like Google make it extremely complicated. What the internet and search engines want are new information, links, and compliance to some standards. Will it get you to number one in a search engine like Google? Depends on the keywords and what you are selling.
So what do I need to do? First you need to decide on a plan of action. Sit down and figure out exactly what you are trying to do and where you want to be. The create steps to get to the finish line. Accomplish them one at a time and make sure to implement them into your daily, weekly, or monthly business routine. You don’t need to update your site daily but you should be doing it at least monthly. Most of all keep at it. Things don’t happen overnight, so be patient.
Is your site outdated?
My mother runs a non-profit animal rescue shelter. When she first took over she showed me the website that was a part of the organization. It was, well frankly, quite awful. It had been designed in HTML by someone who had learned HTML before the advent of tables. That goes way back to the 90’s. The site was informative enough but the information was all jumbled and not very asthetically pleasing manner. Pictures jumbled right up against the text and everything was just a mess.
OK. So it is just a non-profit. They are not trying to sell anything. So what is the problem? The problem is that even a non-profit needs to look good. Just because you are not in the business of making money you are still in the business of doing something good. When people visit a site and it looks professional, they think the organization is professional. This means the viewer is more likely to take you seriously.
More than a dozen times now I have talked to wedding photographers who say they got many of their clients because of their website. How is this possible? Most brides do their first round of shopping on the net and they look for quality and professionalism. These photos are meant to last a lifetime so they look for the best they can afford. If you don’t take the time to make your site the best it can be it will show and the client is likely to think you do everything this way. Nothing is worse than giving your client the impression that you do things the “half assed” way.
Changing the look of your site may not even be as hard as you think. If you have an old table based website, they can be converted. New sites can be created from templates to give you an affordable choice to a custom designed site. Can’t find what you are looking for here at JS Design? I can sit down with you and consult you on your needs and point you int the right direction.
Selling with an image
How does image sell something? Take a look at almost every piece of advertising on the market and you will see how image sells products. Whether it be through photographs, commercials, or logos, image sells the products. Knowing who your clients demographics can help you decide on the right image to use. You can’t rightly sell scooters to old folks by using images of Brittney Spears in a bikini. (or can you?) I think you see the point here though, proper image selection is key to success.
Start by narrowing down exactly who you are selling to and see what else they are buying. Is it golf clubs or a certain kind of soda? If so what types of images do the major players in those markets use? Research, research, and then research some more. Coming to the table knowing what kind of imagery you need is extremely important.
Where are you going to get the images? Do they need to be custom made or can they be purchased from sort of royalty free site for pennies on the dollar? There are a lot of good “filler images” out there on the market right now. Just look at the web and see how many of the images you see on business sites really fit the business. Most just do a good job of being informative and filling space. The key is to find the images that grab the viewer’s attention. Once you have their attention let the text and your sales pitch do the rest.
Finding time for your website
Most of you in business have probably had a site up and running for years, but when was the last time you changed it? Maybe some of you even have added a blog recently to help with your SEO but are now falling behind on it because you just don’t have the time to do it.
Making time for your website is very important. Old and outdated information just upsets the visitor to the site. Nobody wants prices from three years ago and nobody wants the old phone number. Your website is your calling card for your business. Large percentages of your clientele do their first search on the web. It’s fast and it is easy and it beats the hell out of looking through the Yellow pages. The site needs to be up to date with the most current information about your business.
So you don’t know web programming and you don’t have the money to hire someone full time to take care of the site? There are lots of new options out there that can help you avoid the pitfalls of site upkeep. WordPress, Blogger, and many other open source options exist for you to easily take hold of your site and the contents of it. Even a computer novice can be trained to update their site.
Still don’t have the time? Then look for someone to do it for you. There are many options for finding someone to free-lance and take care of your site in just a few hours a month. You don’t need to hire someone full time unless it takes 40 hours a week to keep your site updated. In just an hour I can post three new blog entries, add pages to site, and upload new images. That will keep the search engines on top of the site and the site up in the rankings.
