If you Google “Web Design Lincoln Nebraska” you’re likely to see a ton of choices. But are you really any closer to finding a web designer or digital agency? You have dozens of agencies to choose from, but what are you looking for, really?
If you’re like most businesses or organizations looking for web design help, you may not have considered, especially if you’re looking at a website makeover. Unless you’re a startup or pivoting in a major way, it’s not a good idea to “nuke” your old site, no matter how outdated it is.
Maintain a Site Index
Let me ask you a question: if you upgrade your cell phone, do you change your phone number?
Nope.
The same thing goes for your website. Google and Bing need a record of all your pages (a.k.a. a site index) in order to maintain your current ranking. If you don’t, they’ll have to start all over again and you don’t want that! Even the worst site in the world will have some SEO value.
So, before you even think of redoing your site, go to Google and search
site:yourdomain.com
For Rushminute, a web design company in Lincoln, Nebraska, the results look like this:
Now, it’s always a good idea when you’re redoing your site, to do a content audit. It’s a chance for you to comb through all the pages on your site and update the content or, in some cases, delete ones that aren’t performing. Your new web design doesn’t have to have the exact same site index as the old site but you will need a record of all your current pages. That way, you will be able to redirect the deleted pages to new ones.
To use the cell phone analogy again, your site index is sort of like call forwarding. A site index allows you to make sure you don’t lose any important connections – in this case, your connections to Google and Bing.
Brand New Branding
A new website is exciting. It’s a chance for you to upgrade the look and feel of your brand.
And as fun as it might be to embrace a totally different design, it’s a good idea to blend a bit of familiarity into your the fresh, new website. That way, when your existing clients revisit your newly launched site, they’ll say “Wow! This is AWESOME!” instead of “Oh, dear God! What were they THINKING!?!?”
Your customers need to still “you’re still you.” They want to be assured you’ll still be providing excellent services or products and not that you’ve lost your mind.
Practically speaking, it’s best to never to change up your brand colors and logo and redo your website. If you have a good looking logo, that’s great. It can serve as the “design foundation” for your new site.
Zig When The Whole World Zags
A funny thing about web design is that websites often look a lot the same. That’s because of web conventions – meaning site visitors generally expect websites to all perform in the same way. This is especially true of business websites in the same niche.
The trick is to use subtle messaging, image or color difference to give your site visitors that “Wow! I gotta get this!” moment. That’s where the expertise of an experienced web designer can help explain how to stand out without being too confusing to your site visitors.
And you especially don’t want your visitors to have difficulty finding the information they’re looking for. Leave the edgy design work to the hipsters. Keeps things simple and easy for your visitors to do business with you.
Low Cost Websites
The #1 way to reduce the cost of a new website to not start from scratch. Using WordPress and a very popular theme like Enfold gives your site the speed and efficiency of a $30K custom developed site for a mere $60.
In addition, WordPress sites are so easy to get the hang of, that just about anyone can create new pages and make edits. After your beautiful, new site is created and launched, you can easily make all the edits you want – without any added expense.
Now that’s about as low-cost as you can go!
Website Optimization
You may be asking yourself, “Hey, if I can buy a template for $60, what do I need Rushminute?”
Good question.
We optimize your new site as we build it. We rewrite your content so that it gets you more organic SEO traffic – which is commonly an afterthought at best for most web design agencies. And that a huge mistake. That’s because Google reads your new web pages and if it’s not optimized, you’ll be stumbling out of the gate instead of hitting the ground running.
Let Rushminute Help
There’s a lot that goes into creating and managing your website, local directory listings and social media. We know. We’ve helped dozens of clients in the U.S. strengthen their brands with website makeovers, social media management and digital marketing. If you’re in the process of updating your site or need a “go to web guy” to help you manage your digital properties, Rushminute can help. Contact Rushminute or schedule a virtual cup of coffee and we’ll talk about your vision and how a great website can help you achieve your business goals.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robbie Moore is the founder of Rushminute, a digital marketing agency in Lincoln, Nebraska. With 20+ years of experience in digital marketing, Robbie has worked with dozens of companies and organizations, large and small, around the globe. He also writes extensively about design, development, and business in general.
