You've just taken delivery of your brand spanking new website, all the content is in place and every image looks great.  You've taken great pains to put all the prices on your products and the latest news story is in pride of place on the home page.  All you need now are visitors.

Without a doubt they will come, and they will be back. The question is how many times will they be back if the same old news story is on the front page, the galleries have no additions and you've forgotten to send out email updates. As wonderful as it is to have a dynamic website that you are in control of, it can also have a down side if you don't use that control wisely. 

Important points to remember are:

• That content needs to be current and fit the purpose - visitors are looking for information about you and your products.
• Check for accuracy - people soon get fed up with spelling mistakes and bad grammar.  Remember to proof read all of your information before putting it live on your site.
• Fully functioning - remember to check that uploaded images are working, links go where they are supposed to and text sits properly on the page.  Don't assume that because you have put the information in to the content management system that it is going to be right on the website.  Most of the time it is, but one typo could easily send a link to somewhere you didn't want it to go!
• Communicate clearly - your regular visitors will get to know you and your company through the information that you are presenting them with. Adopt a style that suits your business and stick to it!

One very important factor is your relationship with the search engines. An optimised website will be visited by Google once a month - checking for new information.  If there is no new information for months on end Google will decide to visit less frequently and will only return search results based on the information available from its last visit.  In a changing market this could put you you a long way behind your competitors. It  is also worth remembering the importance of reciprocal links (a link from your website to another that is prepared to link back to you). Search engines trace reciprocal links as a part of their indexing process - we have numerous two-way links with relevant websites such as web-design-directory-uk.co.uk, and the web design directory, this not only spreads our name around the internet, but also makes us seem important!

A final point about up to date content takes us right back to the planning stages.  At wight365 we can build a content management system for just about any purpose.  However if you have no intention, for example, of putting up to date news in the news section of your site then best not to have a news section.  

There's no point in having anything "just because you can"

Keywords: content management system, information, search engines, planning

katie data

Having been one of the first kids on her block to adopt an Apple Macintosh, Katy eased herself away from traditional illustration to become an authority on digital  imaging at a very early stage of her career.  Her popularity and easy manner however, has made her wight365's 'first contact' with clients (both old and new), her charm and obvious breeding providing the perfect introduction into what many perceive as the tricky world of technology.

Katy specialises in graphic design, image retouching, illustration, digital photography and origination of website content.