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Rethink. Reimagine. Relaunch.

By Denise Blackburn-Gay, APR, Fellow PRSA posted 09-19-2020 06:16 PM

  

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 I have spent the better part of the week reviewing changes that I want to make to our website. It’s time for a new site. It’s been over five years since our last redesign, and while we’ve kept the site fresh with news and blogs, technology has evolved, and so has consumer preference. I want our new design to be professional, easy to navigate, and engaging. And those, by the way, are the same goals we pitch to our clients.

Being in the business doesn’t make the process easier. If anything, it makes it more difficult. Through the years, we have literally designed hundreds of websites and reviewed hundreds more in the process.  Each one has something unique, something compelling.

If only given 15 minutes to consume content, 66 percent of people would prefer to see something beautifully designed versus something plain and simple. We all know that our website is an important part of our online marketing presence. For most consumers, it’s the first impression they have of you and your business. It’s how they perceive your brand.

 Keeping that in mind, I realize that client or agency, the design elements are the same:

  1. Solid navigation—the ability for consumers to find information easily and quickly.
  2. Responsive design—the ability to access your site from a number of devices.
  3. Consistency—fonts, colors, and compatibility not just within your
    site, but with other marketing materials. Together, these build brand recognition.
  4. Purposeful images—images that support your message, not overwhelm it.
  5. Good content—content that is well-written, meaningful, and engaging.
  6. Call to action elements. Easily accessible phone numbers, and more importantly, an area where consumers can connect with you for more information. More than another pretty site, you want your website to be a vehicle for turning prospects into customers.
  7. Page speed. Your site should load quickly. If not, your visitors will become bored and return to search results where they move on to a competitor’s site. You can check your page’s speed by using Google PageSpeed Insights. This tool allows you to see how quickly your site
    currently loads and where you can make improvements. 

 Now, for me, it’s back to work. Rethink, Reimagine, and Relaunch. I look forward to unveiling our new site soon.

 

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Mindy, thank you for reading the blog and thank you for your response. The statement was presented by a colleague at a conference earlier this year and substantiated through a survey we conducted. The response was actually slightly higher than 66%. I was not surprised, however. Our clients and their customers continue to respond positively to well-placed images and photos that reinforce the message.

10-29-2020 01:26 PM

Thanks for sharing a few of the critical considerations when redesigning a website. I'm curious to hear the source for your statement about people's preference for seeing something beautifully designed versus something plain and simple. Is that from a survey you conducted or found somewhere else?  Appreciate the information and look forward to seeing your redesigned site.