I do it for my clients every day—so why does it take 18 months to refresh my own website?
No more of this lag-behind! I’m going to jump into 2015 with your help. Today, I’m using this post to keep me on track and accountable.
Here’s an inventory of my 6 to-dos for my fabulous website rejuvenation, and why I’m doing them.
- Open up content—let it breathe. Overall, I want to give the content room to breathe. For my clients, I say, “Let’s use the whole screen,” and I’m going to practice what I preach. On my homepage, the questions seem crammed—I’m going to listen to the Dixie Chicks and create wide open spaces.
- Say what I do, service-wise. If you’re on my homepage, I want you to know what I do AND how we can work together—without you having to dig around. I plan to mention some packages right on the homepage.
- Use footer as icing-on-cake. A footer is super-valuable real estate. Mine can do so much more than it’s doing right now. I’m going to amp it up by repeating my free report. Twice is better than once!
- Buh-bye, sidebar. I’ve been dissing side bars for clients for ages now; it’s time to lose it on my site too. This hanger-on of old-school design is not needed anymore, so I’m going to give the rotating testimonials their own spacious section.
- Clarify services. As our businesses evolve, so do our offerings. Under my services section, I have what I can do for you and packages—which are pretty much the same thing. Later, redundancy!
- Analyze the about section. My about section has lotsa pages. I’m going to consolidate the whole thing so it’s easier to digest. With how websites are viewed these days, it’s easier to have one page with information that’s streamlined. When it comes to refining content, it’s about constantly asking the questions, “What’s important?” and “What does my reader want to know?”
Stay tuned for my website updates—and if your website needs to be freshened up, let’s chat.
I hear ya! I finally set a date of Feb 23rd for mine – it’s been forever in the making. The poor cobbler’s children 🙂
I’ve been going back and forth over sidebars. I think they do have a place in some instances. What do you think?
Yay, a deadline!! Please let me know when it’s up—I’d love see it!
And, yes, sidebars can definitely make sense. I just don’t like using sidebars, for the sake of having a sidebar, ya know? I want them to have a purpose, like enhancing the content. If they aid in navigation, or provide supplementary details like author, or date, etc., then, yep, using them is great 🙂
Can’t wait to see how your new website comes together!
Thank you for providing both the what and why of the redesign!