The Goo-Gaa baby is asleep on the couch, giving me a chance to catch up on some stuff. Wanted to post based on some thoughts from a website consult I did earlier today.
Basically, I was looking at a website that had been designed some years back. It's age was showing. To a visitor, they would likely not be able to tell why this, but I think they would either feels its age on a conscious or unconscious level, and this would negatively impact the website owner's chance of getting a client out of it.
To a webdesigner, the age of the site was apparent, in several ways. The font was one used quite often in the 90's but rarely anymore. The photo was black & white, and not sharply focused. The banner and menu graphics were not crisp.
I point this out because your website might need a refresher, and you might be able to do it without doing a full re-design (I know money is tight for many out there).
What kind of things can you do to refresh a site?
1) Change the text font to a new font-face, size and/or color. I might suggest trying Verdana or Tahoma, especially if you are currently using a serifed font.
2) Change how links appear. Make them bold, or non-underlined, or something other than a bright-blue.
3) Post a new photo, a sharp, big, color photo. Even non-web people notice hair, make-up, clothing and glasses that are dated.
4) Just change the banner. Seriously, you'd be amazed how much difference that can be.
5) Update your darn COPYRIGHT notice to 2009!
6) Update any "I've been doing this x years" to be the right # of years.
The sense that your website is well-kept will be a turn-on to potential clients. I've heard the saying "Never go to a therapist who has dead plants", and while I don't think a bad website reflects on one's quality as a therapist, I think it will impact your business success.
All the best! Peter
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