Savannah
The New Year's Resolution is a long-standing tradition. It's a list of to-dos that will hopefully make you a better, happier person.
However, most people have trouble reaching their goals and many resolutions are forfeited within weeks (or days...) of the new year. With a tiny bit of discipline, you can use these popular resolutions to help both you and your website.
1. Spend More Time with Family and Friends
Okay, your website may not have any "friends" - but you sure do. Find ways that your website can reduce your workflow and shorten your workday. For example - add an online Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) database to reduce phone calls for common questions. Add a Downloads section to your website with commonly requested forms or media to reduce the number of faxes and trips to the post office you make. With a few time-savers specific to your industry added to your website, you can leave work a few minutes earlier and enjoy down time with friends and family.
2. Get Organized
Let's face it - there's more to organization than color-coding your sock drawer. As we've talked about before, an organized website gives the (hopefully correct) impression of an organized company. Take the time to make sure that everything is in its right place, both online and off, and you will save time and get more of resolution #1.
3. Get Fit
Getting up and running in 40 degree weather is a chore. Trimming the fat on your website isn't nearly as grueling. To get your website healthy, learn to be a good editor. Remove what isn't necessary and find ways to expand upon and improve the content that is working for you. Remember, quality is more important than quantity. That goes for your steak dinner, too.
4. Save Money
We all know that time is money and resolutions 1 and 2 are already working to save you time. On top of that, take your website maintenance in-house. If you're not using a Content Management System (CMS), you're missing the boat. Being able to update your own website means timely, accurate, just-how-you-want-it information is always available to your site's visitors. And the money you'd be giving to a design firm stays in your pocket.
5. Learn Something New
Whether it's learning your way around a CMS (see #4) or finally figuring out how to interpret your web site statistics, get more involved with your site by learning something new. Want better search rankings? Research keywords in your field. Want to create your own web icons? Get a copy of Photoshop Elements and dive in. The opportunities are limitless.
But wait, there's more!
The best news is that you don't have to go it alone. Resolutions of any sort are hard to keep. The web development experts at Heideldesign are here to help. We can give you the advice, tools, and support to get your started and make 2006 the best year ever - for you and your website.
Happy New Year!
