January is a time of new beginnings, and since mb/i is all about quality, business-centered websites, we thought we’d take a look at 10 reasons you might want to build a new site.
10. Haphazard Growth
Some times a website won’t grow according to plan because there never was a plan to begin with. Poor navigation and uneven development are the hallmarks of an unplanned site. Some pages remain “under development” for years while others grow, and branch, and twist until even a modern Daedalus would get lost in their digital halls.
9. Hard to Update
If you need to call up …

Redesigning a website is like building a new one:

Start with a purpose.

If you know you need a change, but can’t put the reason into words, try answering these questions:

“What do I want my new website to do that the old one couldn’t?”

“What do I want my new website to do better than my old website?”

Maybe you want your new site to reflect a new identity, perhaps you want to start selling products online, or you want to start an online community, or improve online customer communication, or reduce the turn around time between when you decide …

Most small businesses know their business. They also excel at explaining how their business operates and probably have a supporting brochure that tells that story. This knowledge creates operational excellence. But, growth potential is found in identifying why customers buy, who is buying from the company, and how to connect with them; this is a reoccurring question for even the most passionate business owners. A marketing strategy is a foundation built on the answers to these questions, a strategy for success. Building a strategy can be simplified if it is broken into small components.

Moving past operational deliverables, a …

You invested on your website and are happy with the results. How long are you “done” for? The real answer is that a website is never done. You need to keep its content fresh on an on-going basis. But what about the larger overhauls? Assuming there have been no significant changes in your business or industry… how often should you re-design or re-build your website?

The answer will vary depending on what type of site you have. On average, though, we would recommend taking a serious look at your website every 18 - 24 months. Why?

Design trends change. As new technology …

For a website to become a true marketing tool it must have a strategy behind it. To start designing or programming before having an agreed upon strategy usually ends up increasing the budget significantly, delaying the site’s launch, and making the development process frustrating and inefficient.

A true web developer… not a designer, not a programmer… but a developer who understands both business and the web will provide the guidance needed to develop such strategy.

A strategy should cover:

• Business research
• Market/industry research
• Competition research
• Website goals
• Tracking mechanisms
• Detailed scope specifications
• Site map
• Budget broken down by phases
• Time to launch
• Cash flow requirements plan
• Maintenance & marketing plan

The larger the business, …

We have clients that come to us wanting to re-design their websites. The main reason they give is that their sites “don’t work”. What does that mean?

No marketing?
Sometimes the website is just fine. It’s designed well and it works well. But no marketing efforts have been made to drive traffic to it. A site like this one does not need a re-design. What needs to be determined is how to market it. Don’t blame the site. A site with no marketing plan is just like a physical store with no marketing plan. The only ones aware of it are the …