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SCKattered Thoughts

Do You Need a New Website?

Dec 10

By: Barb Cagley on 12/10/2009 5:15 PM

I found an old magazine the other day and had the best time looking at how styles have changed. Cars, fashions, foods and colors are just some of the things that date themselves, and reflect how society is changing. We seem to be nostalgic for the past and keep recycling styles; usually with enough of a change that we can never just pull clothes out of the attic and still look chic. For the first time, as far as I can remember (and as far as my father-in-law can remember) we are even pulling car designs directly out of “the attic” and re-purposing. The Volkswagen’s Beetle, Chrysler’s PT Cruiser’s and Ford’s Thunderbird are good examples of this.

For the most part, a majority of new car designs are different enough from previous seasons to make older models look and feel clunky. The clunky looks alone might not be a reason to buy a new car but the fear that the car will break down at a critical moment (like when you are on vacation miles from anywhere), and the new design features that will make life easier does create a need in us to invest in a new car. Maybe we need a new car because of a change in our lifestyle. A Prius will fit some people’s lifestyle/image and others will have a need for a pickup truck.

It occurs to me that websites are a lot like cars. We might not want to redesign our website just because it is clunky, but we should consider a new website if it is not working for us when we are on vacation or if there are new features that will make our lives easier. Maybe our business has changed and we need to reflect a new image.

As you plan 2010 budgets ask yourself the following questions and determine if you need to consider a new website:

o Does the website include the 2010 company focus, such as new services, or is it a nostalgic refection of years gone by?

o Culture can be a great differentiator; does the website reflect the company culture?

o Content management systems are available, allowing a company to maintain all the content without any technical skills or special software; can your non-technical team update the website?

o Have you established business goals for the website and determined how to measure success? Are you reviewing the website analytics to establish if goals are being met?

o Is the website’s navigation intuitive and highly usable or are customers getting lost and frustrated?

Website trends are changing more than the automobile industry. Fortunately, rather than just depreciating in value, like a car, most of these website changes can improve the bottom line your company.

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