Starting Over Web Site

Part of your Starting Over strategy should include a new web site. As you begin this -  here are Critical Questions/ Comments About Your Website:

• Can you tell someone how to get to your site without having to spell anything? 
• Do you need multiple URL names or web sites?
• Are the URLs human-readable or are they full of special characters and dynamically-generated gobbledygook?
• Do you have an About page?
• Can visitors tell what your site is about without visiting your About page?ow
• Do you have a professional web designer or do you use a sibling or friend?

• Is your site indexed and submitted to Google?
• Do your web pages have too much text clutter?
• Are your fonts and graphics or out of date?
• Is your site a web site or is it a large business card?
• Do you have a video (YouTube) on page 1 ?
• Do you know your - 60 second elevator pitch? Have you put it on YouTube?
• Is your contact information readily available  - or at least from every page?
• If not, what are you hiding from? Your customers?
• Is your home page doing you any favors or is it merely an “Enter Site” gateway?
• Do you have an RSS Feed?
• Do you have a link to Facebook and/or Twitter?
• Does your site link to your blog?
• Does page 1 compel the viewer to take action?
• When is the last time you added new content?
• Why has it been so long?
• Is your site ranking high in search engines for relevant keywords?
• What about for your business name?
• What are your relevant keywords, anyway?
• Presuming the phase “If you build it, they will come” – Even if you achieve the perfect website you still have to take steps to market that site. It becomes increasingly more necessary that you take the time to put the word out about your website online and offline. 
•  Avoid splash pages (intro) to your website – These luckily are a dying fad, but at one time these were what a lot of websites prompted visitors with when they first gained access their website instead of the content they were attempting to reach.
• Lengthy Pages – People avoid reading lengthy pages. Being brief with your message will normally cause those pages will have a higher readership rate. If necessary setup a series of well navigated pages if you have a lot to say.
• Do not use/overuse Flash if not necessary – Not only does Flash increase the load time of your website, it hurts your SEO, and excessive usage of Flash might also annoy some visitors. I suggest that you only use it when necessary. And, there are alternatives. 
• Is anyone linking to you these days?
• If not, what can you do to make this happen?
• Who are you linking to these days?
• How long does it take your site to load at your brother's house?
• Is there an urgent call to action?
• What is the single most important thing you want a visitor to do?
• Is that clear from looking at your site?

• How do you invite visitors to leave their contact information?
• Do you offer a sign up for a free newsletter?
• Does your site look professional, or does it look like a teenager’s MySpace page?
• Do you link out to your other web presences (social network profiles, Twitter account, YouTube page, Flickr photostream)?
• Is it clear what content is protected by Copyright and what is free to take and re-use?
• What one thing can you do to your site today to increase visitors?
• Are you commenting on blogs and building relationships with other site-owners in your industry or niche?
• How does your site look on a mobile device?
• An iPhone? Blackberry? Cheapo-plastic-freebie phone? Amazon Kindle?
• Is your site usable On a computer with no Flash or Javascript?
• In every web browser?
• How many clicks does it take for a visitor to give you money?
• Is your site “fine for the moment” or is it flexible enough to be fine for the next years?
• Are your ads annoying?
• How easy is it for a visitor to leave a comment or write a review?
• Is the entire site backed up?
• Is your branding consistent between your site, your printed material, your storefront, and you as a person?
• Do your product descriptions sound like they were written by a person or by a mentally-ill robot programmed with the vocabulary of an out-of-work Madison Avenue ad guy whose last account was for one of those food processors they sell on TV at am?
• Do you care about your website?
• Is it important to you?
• Are your readers and customers important to you as people, not just as eyeballs with wallets?
• Would you be sad - actually sad - if your site disappeared tomorrow?
• What would you do if it did?