Web Site Remodeling and Renovation

When considering the need for site remodeling or renovation, consider this: On the Web, your competition is global, immediate, and as professional as its form and function. You may be the biggest brand on the block, but any competitor can set up a Web site to offer the same products or similar services. If their Web site is better, you're likely to lose some potential sales. And appearance (design) isn't the only reason a site needs remodeling.

If your site architecture, navigation, and content were designed a few years ago, they are probably in need of an overhaul. Remodeling your site will ensure that all the documents are still relevant, accurate, and logically organized, and that the navigation system and user interfaces are intuitive and use the same conventions that your customers are used to seeing on other sites. Site remodeling is also a great time to take stock and make sure you are capturing all the possible revenue streams that your site could generate.

Evaluating Your Site's Performance

Some problems are easy to see: outdated graphics, poor navigation, disorganized architecture.... But many of the ways that your site can turn off potential customers are more subtle. There are all too many ways your site can let your customers walk away believing you don’t care enough about their time or needs. Web sites are about sales, not technology. If your site isn't selling your product or service, it needs remodeling. It's that simple.

Web Site Remodeling: The Twelve-Step Approach

Our approach to Web site remodeling starts with an evaluation to give you a comprehensive view of your site and what itshould look like. Before starting your remodeling project, we assess:

1. Your Competition.
   Who in your community and your industry or profession is on the Web? What do their sites look like? To what standards will your customers hold you?
2. Your Customers.
   Who, specifically, are you trying to reach? What are they looking for? What turns them on and makes them buy? What features do they see on the sites they normally visit and what will they expect to see on your site?
3. Your Location.
   Can your customers find you in the directories and search engines? Are they being exposed to your branding initiatives often enough to build brand recognition? Do you have the right advertising, marketing, and promotion initiatives in place to bring potential new customers to your site?
4. Your Pitch.
   Once visitors get to your site, what message do they receive? Is this the message you want them to act upon? Is this the message that makes them convert interest into spending? Is your online identity consistent with your real-world presence?
5. Your Credibility.
   Is your presentation professional? Is it well-written? Is it interesting? Is it full of errors and typos? Even if your site is professional enough to get visitors interested, there's a lot of opportunity to lose potential customers between shopping cart and completed order. If your current site is experiencing excessive cart abandonment, we'll need to look carefully for the reasons why your site is failing to make the sale.
6. Your Accessibility.
   Do you provide a way to contact you on every page? Do you make your customers feel as though their comments and suggestions are welcome? Do you invite orders? Does your site meet handicapped accessibility standards? Does your shopping cart work in every browser and platform combination? Is it easy to use?
7. Your Delivery.
   Have you given potential customers every reassurance they might need? Have you provided all the products and services they want? Have you spelled out the policies and shipping costs so that nothing unexpected will give them pause at the last minute? Is your content complete? Useful? Interesting? Or does it just get in the way? And what about your shopping cart? Are you using up-sell and cross-sell features to maximize revenue?
8. Your Architecture.
   How's your site organization? Does it follow a logical order? Does it lead to a conclusion that involves doing more business with you? Is the design so busy that you lose the message? If your site is extensive, do you provide a site search? Is there too much information clustered together on your home page? Can your customers get to the information they need within three clicks? (If not, they won’t!)
9. Your Tech-Q.
   Does your technology quotient match your customers’ capabilities? Can you access abandoned shopping carts and help convert a lost opportunity into a sale? Are you using a content management system to easily and cost-effectively create and edit the information on your site?
10. Your Come-Back Potential.
    Do you provide content worth a second look? Have you built in opportunities for new content that will help you build customer loyalty and repeat sales?
11. Your Current Success.
    Does anyone think highly enough of your current site to suggest it to other people? Do any Internet links on other sites point back to pages on your site? When remodeling your site, it's critical to know what is worth keeping and where to place it, and how to most cost-efficiently migrate the current content into a new solution.
12. Your Bottom Line.
    Even when you know what needs to be changed, what needs to be kept, and what needs to be added, you need a site remodeling plan that will make the improvements without disrupting your customers, staff, or profit-margin. Web site remodeling can be much more difficult than building a new site, and the best remodeling plan is the one that achieves your goals with longevity, profitability, and maintainability as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.

An Edge on Site Remodeling

Our Web site remodeling projects start with careful evaluation and planning, and then progress with the same attention to detail that we build into our new sites. We consider identity, branding, marketing, promotional opportunities, search engine placement, customer loyalty, customer service, and maintainability as well as sales, and we help you define your requirements. Above all, we consider how to get you the best return on your investment, and how to create a site that works for you and your customer.

We take pride in building solutions for the long haul that can be easily updated before they become outdated. That's an edge you can count on.

Not sure about your current site? We'll be happy to provide a free Web site evaluation.