PTH ASSOCIATES, INC.

Is it Time for a Website Makeover?

"Twenty Eleven", I've heard is the "official" way to say our new year. A brand new year is a great time for a website check. Does yours need an update? How can you tell if your website is old? Here's my list of "You might need a Website Makeover...

• If your website is left justified and people get whiplash shifting their heads to see it... you might need a Website Makeover.

If your website isn't centered or if it was made for 800 x 600 screen resolutions, you need an update. There's plenty you can be showing your visitors by getting more info higher on your page (above the fold). Though dropping, 1024 pixel width is still the best to optimize for. Netbooks might keep the standard from rising anytime soon. People would prefer not to scroll down to get the info they need. Check out Google's tool, which shows how much of your website your visitors will see..

• If you think Analytics is something a doctor does to you with his finger, you might need a Website Makeover.

How can you increase your business if you don't know what's working and what's not? Analytics provides all that data and then some. Choose your preferred Analytics software and run with it. None are perfect, but like a bathroom scale, they're consistent.

• If you have to contact your website guy to update the "mumbo-jumbo code" every time you want to put a new article on your website, you might need a      Website Makeover.                                    It's 2010! We're way beyond, and well into the information age. People won't return to your website if all it does is advertise your business. If your website helps visitors make an educated decision, they'll feel they can trust you and return to your site. If you truly want to be the go-to person in your industry, then build the relationship with your visitors by giving them information that educates. There's plenty of software out there that let's you, the business owner, update most of your website yourself.

• If you think offering free envelopes to visitors is a way to make your website content shareable, you might need a Website Makeover.

Whether you've embraced it or not, Social  Media is here to stay. It's a tool to help people connect and build relationships. If you've already started Blogging (great!) and putting up good content on your website, let it be easily shared by the world. Add This, Share This are just  two simple ways to make your blog posts easily distributed.

• If you think an RSS feed is something new you feed to chickens, you might need a Website Makeover.

RSS or Really Simple Syndication is a way to broadcast all these great new articles you have on your website to the world. Make sure if you have a Blog, you have an RSS feed.

• If you have a Visitor Counter and/or Guest Book on your website, you might need a Website Makeover.