Feature Article

Rational Reasons to Re-Design

by: Lauren Hobson Five Sparrows Marketing Blog

Most businesses already know the importance of having a professional-looking web site that provides visitors with a positive impression of their company. Typically, business web sites offer their visitors something of value, which might be anything from simple company information to a completely interactive user experience.

With web technology changing all the time, it can be hard for small business owners to keep up with what’s new on the web, and even harder to know what’s really important as opposed to what’s simply "bells and whistles."

But as the new, interactive features of Web 2.0 continue to gain widespread acceptance and implementation, many small businesses find that their existing web sites are quickly becoming outdated and are no longer leaving such a good impression on their customers and prospective customers.

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So how do you know if your web site is ready for an update? Do you really need a blog, video, RSS feeds, or other interactive elements on your small business web site? How do you know when it’s time to re-design your web site?

The answer of course is different for each business, but here are some important factors to consider when thinking about a web site re-design:

1. A well-maintained, updated web site demonstrates a commitment to your business. If you want customers and potential customers to take you seriously, you have to provide them with a web site that is useful, informative, and up-to-date. What message does it send to your customers if you allow your site to become outdated, or if you don’t embrace new technology and changing web standards? (And what message does it send to your competitors?)

2. The cost of a web site re-design is often less than the cost of other marketing or advertising initiatives. It also typically reaches more people and lasts a lot longer, too. Of course, your overall marketing plan should consist of a variety of marketing activities across multiple channels, but a web re-design often gives you a lot of bang for your buck.

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3. Your web site differentiates you from your competition, and can even be a deciding factor for customers evaluating your products and services. Studies in consumer behavior have shown that when people are presented with multiple options all at once, they often rely on "mental shortcuts" to help them make buying decisions. The way your web site looks and functions when compared with your competitors will have a great deal of influence on how customers perceive your company, your capability, and your credibility.

4. Decide which new web features are simply "bells and whistles" and which ones are solid, useful web site improvements. Don’t limit your idea of a "re-design" to include only things like Flash animation, new graphics, or a different color scheme. Instead, consider adding useful features such as a blog, an improved navigation system, upgraded content or articles, or even video and podcasts. Anything you can do to provide a better, more interactive, and more contemporary web experience for your customers is an excellent investment of marketing dollars.

Most companies find that investing in a web site re-design ultimately improves their bottom line, mostly because of the positive impact it has on customers and prospects alike. Not only do customers end up coming back over and over again, they also tell their friends and colleagues about the great web experience they had at your site, which leads to more web traffic, more prospects, and more sales. A re-designed, up-to-date web site reflects well on your company, shows that you are serious about your business, and demonstrates that you care about your customers and are committed to giving them a useful experience on your web site.

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Lauren Hobson is the Editor of Biz Talk Newsletter, a free monthly publication designed to provide small businesses and non-profits with tips and techniques to help them make the most of their web sites and marketing efforts without spending a lot of money. Biz Talk is published by Five Sparrows, LLC.

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Second Article

Creating a Favicon

by: Meryl Evans meryl's notes

Once, I attempted to create a favicon (the little graphic in the URL address box) for this Web site, but never did finish the work until now. I used a free program that allowed me to copy and paste an image to create an icon, but I believe it has spyware so I won't share its name. There are many icon creators out there.

In Photoshop (or whatever drawing program you have), I created a 16x16 pixel workspace. Added what I wanted in the icon (never could come up with a logo for the site, so I stuck with the m), select all (CTRL+A), copy (CTRL+C), and pasted it into the suspicious program. There, I saved it as “favicon.ico” and uploaded the file to my server.

It won't work yet. First, add a line to the <head> of the index page. Here's the line to add using XHTML standard formatting (if you're using HTML, leave off the / at the end of the line):

<link rel="Shortcut Icon" href="/images/favicon.ico" />

If you keep the ico file in the root, then use this instead:

<link rel="Shortcut Icon" href="favicon.ico" />

That's it. The first time you try it, nothing might happen. Give it a little bit to take effect as that's what happened with mine. You don't have to specifically create a 16 x 16 pixel image to make it into an icon with the program.

Other sites with favicons for inspiration:

• Big Pink Cookie
• InformIT
• Lockergnome
• Webstandards.org
• Zeldman
• Photo Matt

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Meryl K. Evans is the Content Maven behind meryl's notes, eNewsletter Journal, and The Remediator Security Digest. She is also a PC Today columnist and a tour guide at InformIT. Meryl has written for The Dallas Morning News, AbsoluteWrite, O'Reilly, New Riders, and others. She is geared to tackle your editing, writing, content, and process needs. The native Texan resides in Plano, Texas, a heartbeat north of Dallas, and doesn't wear a 10-gallon hat or cowboy boots.

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