Is It Time for a Facelift or a Surgery?

A question was asked today on an online forum I’ve implemented and help moderate. Here is the question:

“I’m doing a redesign of my site based on comments gleaned from an earlier post. (thank you to all). A point was made that too much is buried and buyers are not compelled to dig any further. My worry is having the home page crowded with too much info. I don’t want the buyer to work too hard. As if this isn’t enough, I have three services which i really want to highlight so I have to make sure those are front and center. I plan to include links / topics such as “client results” / “case studies”, “testimonials”, etc. , but what other elements do you feel are essential for the home page?”

I was surprised that all answers from various members focused primarily on tweaks to design and some minor words enhancements. Here was my reply:

Assuming your objectives are:
1. Create credibility and strengthen your brand.
2. Improve and increase your contact with others, increase your distribution list and potential clients.
3. Make it easier for your clients to do business with you.
4. Implement technologies to easily and consistently deliver your value to your clients

And assuming you want to position yourself as a world-class act, then your site does not need a facelift, it needs a major surgery.

And keep in mind that design, look & feel and navigation are only one small component of desired success. Some of the others are:

1. What valuable content (article, position papers, case studies, booklets, books, teleseminars, workshops …) is on your site to benefit your current and future clients?
2. What are you doing to increase your content consistently and how do you leverage it?
3. What are your strategy and your tactics?
4. What elements of marketing gravity have you committed yourself to and how does your site leverage them?
5. What does your accelerant curve look like (products and services)? how does it evolve? Any chasms in it? How does your site support and leverage it?
6. Are you a speaker? If not, should you be? If so, how is your site promoting you as such?
7. Should you leverage social media? If so why or why not and which one(s) should you embrace?
8. Does your target audience search for you and if so should you engage in search engine optimization (SEO) or paid listings (PPC)?
9. Should you create a blog or build a community around your work. Should you create videos and podcasts and place them on your site and on YouTube and iTunes and others?
10. Should you have an affiliate program?
11. Are you evolving and reinventing your business and your site?
12. How would you rank yourself on my Internet strategic profile and where do you need to be tomorrow?
13. I could go on and on …

Focus on design and you will probably end up with a pretty web site that most likely has missed its mark and objectives. But then again, some say: “if you build it, they will come.” I say: “will they?”

Let me share this with you. The ones that have taken my recommendations seriously and work hard at consistently executing the strategy, recognize the highest success. The others, have pretty web sites!

Best,

Chad