Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Planning For a Site Tune Up



If you got past my headline, past the memories of your last site redesign, then I hope you will join me in what will be a much easier project than when you launched your new website. Let me start by suggesting that in all likelihood much has changed since your last site build. Does your site reflect the organization that you are today?  Does it reflect where your members are in the online world? Those are the key questions you need to be asking.  I am sure that many of you will answer ‘yes’ to those two questions. Yet here are a couple of things for you to reflect on:

Mobile
You already know that the number of visitors that are going to be accessing you on mobile devices is only going to explode in the next two years. Is your site mobile-ready? Unless it’s been specifically designed to do so, your existing site will not translate to a mobile platform that will be useful to your members or prospective members. Mobile needs to developed through both platform and content. Are you putting your best foot forward to engage with people in this ever expanding format?

Content
Those who have read any of my blogs know that I am a content beast. And most importantly, a relevant content beast. When was the last time you reviewed your content? When was the last time you updated content? Are you still using the same "about" information?  Is your Rabbi's bio current?  Undertaking a site audit would help you determine what content changes should be made. Not sure how to conduct a site audit? Check out the Jvillage Network Tune-Up Guide.  

Call To Action
Or should I say call to actions. Involvement is what your social media strategy is all about. And your website is a foundation of your social media strategy. Your website should be the start to a conversation. Are you connecting all the dots?  At the end of your "about us" section are you providing a contact link for a potential new member -- or do they need to click elsewhere to find this? Does your "early childhood center" page have a call to action?  Does your "men's club" page provide a link to upcoming activities or a link to a "get involved" form? Your website is all about informing and getting members and prospective members involved -- make it easy and provide them with a call (or calls) to action.

A site tune up is as big a project as you want to take on. It can range from totally rebuilding your site to refreshing all of your content to providing more frequent, compelling, and relevant calls to action.

Whichever route you choose, the key points to remember are:

  • Keep your site current
  • Make sure it reflects your purpose as an organization
  • Make it relevant and valuable to your members

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