Thursday, January 15, 2015

Hi, I'm Your Website. Remember Me?


Hey there, it's your website here. We need to have a talk.

You used to love me, but then things changed. You started thinking that you could more effectively reach your customers on Facebook and Twitter instead of using me for that purpose. You began with the best of intentions of keeping me fresh and updated, but then you got busy and then weeks, if not months, would go by without my receiving any fresh content. And then you seemed to think that I got expensive, because you found yourself paying a writer, a designer, and a programmer each time you wanted to make a change. And then, maybe 5-6 years ago, almost all of your customers started using mobile devices to access the Internet, but you built me back in the days when people only used desktop computers. Now, parts of me don't even show up on people's tablets and phones. Sometimes I don't show up at all. I told you not to base me on Flash!

Why We Lost That Loving Feeling.
Back in the late '90s, we were all pretty amazed at what was possible with our shiny new business web sites. Even if direct e-commerce isn't important to your brand, your site provides a platform for your customers to quickly get information on your products, on where to purchase them, and methods of getting support. But as more of your attention went toward building your social networks, your web site may have become neglected, and that's a shame. Unlike social media platforms, you can really control the entire experience of your customers on your own site, without being advertised to by other entities (and your competition). So why is it that companies seem to be focusing less on their site? It's actually easy to understand.

• Social Media has a built-in audience. Getting people to come to your site requires some compelling reason for them to do so.
• Web sites used to be pretty simple. These days, making sure your site functions in the way you expect across many different browsers, and (more importantly) many devices like tablets and phones, makes site building and maintenance more intensive than it used to be.
• You need to make an effort to regularly update your site with good content that will engage your customers.

Your Website Still Loves You. You Should Love It Back.
The secrets to rekindling your relationship with your business site are simple.

1. Make sure your site works across all platforms and devices. This is not as difficult as it may seem on the surface. Due to this proliferation of multiple ways to access and view a site, there are now standardized technologies like HTML5 (a combination of CSS and Javascript) that allow you to deliver content that works well no matter the receiving device.

2. Use social media in the reverse direction. Use it to make announcements of content on your site, and then make sure that people need to visit your site to get the full story, or to access the content that they can really use.

3. Build your own community. By hosting forums, discussion groups, polls, surveys, and allowing comments on certain kinds of articles, you can eventually develop the most focused base of customers and potential customers you've ever had.

We Can Help
JKC has expertise in developing web sites that allow your business to be successful. We're fine either working completely on our own to redevelop your site, or working along with your in-house team of web and sales/marketing people. Whether it's a complete site from scratch, or assisting in adding new site architecture or content updates, we know how to make it work for you.

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