7 top tips to upgrade an SME website

Key issues to consider for a website refresh

Many site owners are painfully aware that a site redesign or enhancement to the page templates and content for their site are long overdue. Websites provide customers with access to your company 24/7. Today a website is an intrinsic element of a company"€™s marketing mix so it"€™s essential to get it right.

SMEs don't have the big budgets, teams and agencies of corporates so the approach of continuous improvement isn't realistic here.

But what are the secrets to success for a redesign which need to go into the business case?

Here are what I think are the main issues which we find arise again and again in a site redesign. They're also useful to forward to CEOs and others that need convincing.

1.       Decide your objectives

• What do you want to get out of your website?
  • To generate leads
  • To reassure existing customers
  • To check stock
  • To enable customers to buy online?
• Before you review your website, decide what you need.

2.       Prepare your content

• Getting noticed in a crowded world has become more challenging and fighting your way up the search engine ladder can be tough.
• It starts with great content.
• Content that"€™s relevant and recent:
  • relevant to people searching for your products or services
  • recent enough to attract the search engines.

3.       Less is more

• Too much information on a website can lead a potential customer to make a negative decision about your business instead of picking up the telephone and calling you.
• Look at alternatives to lengthy text articles.
  • Can you add a YouTube video?
  • Or a PowerPoint presentation?
  • Or a series of great photos?

4.       Looking good

• Design matters when we encounter so many brands on a daily basis but ease of use is more important!
• A great looking site that is difficult to navigate is likely to lose more visitors than a less attractive, but easy to use site.

5.       Don"€™t forget the construction

• Many sites use flash or other plug-ins, but this isn"€™t available for Apple iPad and mobile phone users.
• Sites using this technology may need a re-think.

6.       Make sites search engine friendly

• There are many simple tasks from creating good ALT tags and adding appropriate Title text, to updating content and finding suitable sites with which to connect.
• Get the construction right from the start.

7.       Link it all together

• If you"€™re using YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter or blogs, don"€™t forget to tell your visitors to explore these sites too!