Does Your Website Engine Roar or Sputter?

The Necessity of a Website Tune-Up

Whether it is a complete overhaul or simply freshening up the content, your website must shine for success.

Your company’s website is your public face and is often the first experience a potential client will have with your company. In the early days of website design the focus was on dazzling them with bells and whistles while baffling them with….well, you know. As search engines became the driving force behind all things internet-based, user experience became the coin of the realm. As the search engines evolved and their rankings more sophisticated, content has become king.

What do all of these changes mean to businesses like yours? Simple. It means that your website must change to meet these new criteria so that you are in the best position to succeed. All of this raises the daunting questions of what requires updating and when should it be updated? Both are valid questions but performing a website update is not simply about changing some colors or images or words. First, you must understand the process so that you can pick the right company to help you make any necessary updates.

Before jumping in and making changes to any aspect of your website, a website audit is necessary. This audit should include not only an assessment of what your site visitor sees but also an assessment of the structure of the website. The behind-the-scenes review should identify not only technical issues such as dead-end or broken links, but it will also provide a birds-eye view of the SEO settings. Another valuable analysis tool will be the data captured by your Google Analytics account as to how people are navigating your site and where issues may exist that are creating a less-than-optimal user experience.

From this analysis, a detailed assessment will identify not only what isn’t working but what is. Knowing what is working is vital as you do not want to mess up a good thing. As the old saying goes, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!’ Once the audit is completed, an action plan can be defined to make sure that the website as a whole is strengthened and designed to run like a well-oiled machine. It is worth remembering that a website overhaul, no matter how simple, will not be done in a day. Each change should be tested to ensure that the problems being addressed are correct without causing new issues. To do this safely, having a development version of your site will allow you to keep your existing website up and running. It might not be ideal but working on an active site can cause more headaches than simply having a website that needs a refresh.

Vitally important to this whole process is to choose a company that will make these changes for you if you do not have an in-house IT team. Owing to the importance of your website, the need to screen the companies you are considering this work carefully. It is important to work with companies that are not only skilled in developing and re-developing websites but who also have a grasp on your business model and marketplace. The reality is that if you put out a broad enough net, you will be inundated with web-designers who can build a beautiful website but who have no business instincts for what you are trying to accomplish.

Since 2001, DriveProfit has been helping clients in the chauffeur-driven industry maximize their success by providing expert marketing services including website design & management, social media marketing, email marketing and a broad spectrum of support services. Our clients have come to rely on us to take their marketing to the next level so that they can focus on providing their clients with the best service possible. To learn more about how DriveProfit’s capabilities can help you reach the next level of success, contact us today.