Something old, something new
A good Web site can make even a small firm look big
By Sara Procknow -- Industrial Distribution, 4/1/1998
Part of the process of having a Web site is maintaining it: making changes, adding graphics and photos, even including a new look now and then. However, if you have the same site with the same features, it can get "old" quickly. And, if it hasn't changed in awhile, it can appear as if "nobody's home."Industrial Distribution Online is undergoing a redesign of its own. It involves more than just a change in the color palette, graphics and the layout. It touches on editorial: what do you, our users, want to read when you visit; and advertising: what do our advertisers want; as well as production/art: what looks good? The end result is, more often than not, somewhere in the middle of all those factors.
One reason to redesign is to get up-to-date information on your site. Take a look at your product catalog for example, and imagine it as the basis for your Web site. If you could, you would update the catalog every time you added a new line or your vendors came out with a new product. Treat your site the same way. Are you running a special for this month? Put it up on your site. Have you added a key line to your product offering? Put that on your site too. Information needs to be fresh in order to better market your company.
Customer input. Test your redesign theories by asking your customers to visit your Web site and give some honest feedback. Encourage this by offering $25 off their next order if placed over the site. Ask your customers what they like and what don't like. More importantly, ask the million-dollar-question: What types of content are they looking for when they visit your site? Do they want pricing? Do they want real-time inventory levels? Do they want to be able to print current MSDS sheets? Do they want to access your product catalog? Do they need to know product specifications?
Distributor Web sites speak volumes. If they come across as poor and unorganized, they reflect poorly on the company. On the flip side, a good site can make even a small company look big. A redesign is more than putting a new look on an old product. It is a process of evaluating and re-visiting what your intentions are for the site. Are you hoping to get new customers with your Web site or are you really trying to communicate to your existing customers?
How often is enough? Depending on the resources available to you, you may want to update information on your site every week. However, beware of posting a "last updated on" phrase on your site if you don't update on a regular basis. This statement can make your site look really old (especially if that date hasn't changed in a month).
By the way, the best part of a redesign project is that you can try new ideas; and, if it doesn't go over so well, redesign it out on your next go-around.
Keep your Web site from going old by following these tips:
1. Consider using an applet (it looks like a ticker) or an animated gif to run across your home page announcing a sale, a new product, an open house or a safety seminar. Because this graphic moves on the page, it makes the site interactive. Then, commit yourself to updating that graphic frequently.
2. Some sites also include the current date and time. Since a software program updates this automatically, it's one less thing you have to update!
3. Visit your vendor's Web sites and download their new products, photos and all, to use on your site for an easy update.
4. Using short-term and long-term goals, commit to weekly (or monthly) updating/maintaining of your site. Then make it your long-term goal to redesign your site every six months, once a year at the least.
As I described earlier, the ID Online site is going through its own redesign. Let me know what you think about the changes we've made. We'll incorporate your ideas into a future redesign.
Send your comments to Sara Procknow at sprocknow@cahners.com or call (617) 558-4289.
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