Every 2 years?
5 years?
7 years?
Whenever you change your advertising?

There is no eureka moment that tells you when you should change the overall look of your site. Typically, you don’t make drastic changes unless there are drastic reasons for change. Common reasons would be:

• You may not be getting enough traffic to the site.
• You haven’t optimized for Search Engines.
• Your marketing focus has changed.
• The product profile or range of services has expanded.
• Your site is simply not user-friendly. There’s no Search Box feature, enquiry form, or high-res images, for example.
• It’s out-of-date – you want to keep it fresh and give your visitors a reason to return.

So once you’ve done the website makeover, what can you do to make sure you don’t have to do it again in a hurry?
When you’re planning for a brand-new website, you need to know what you can do to make sure you don’t have to keep redoing this exercise.

Ask for a Content Management System that you can handle easily. That way, you can upload new pictures or information as it becomes topical, without having to depend on anyone else. Make sure you understand which parts of the website can be changed by you, and which are the architectural elements that cannot be touched. Once you’ve figured that some spaces can be yours to fill, here’s what you can consider at the planning stage itself:

1. Have something on the Home Page that changes frequently.
   • A scrolling banner
   • An updated news tickertape
   • Offer of the week/ fortnight/ month
   • Upcoming events
   • Hot new deals
   • Advertisements
   • Promotional offers
   • Latest projects
   • Awards
2. Allow for additions to your portfolio pages, product catalogue, or project pages to ensure that all the current offerings or work your company is doing is reflected accurately.
3. Allow for changes in the Leadership Team – OK, maybe not you, but the people you work with!
4. Add a slideshow that you can update as new pictures become available.
5. Add a Blog – this way you can post all the latest Press Coverage your company has received, the latest papers presented at workshops or conferences, even just random musings from the CEO, and your visitors will always have something new to read.
6. Add a video – show people your factory, your new store, how to use your product, the range of services you offer, or even a message from the CEO – anything at all. A video is a great way to attract eyeballs, but remember to plan for it at the time of designing your new website, then you can keep changing videos to keep the interest going.
7. Keep collecting testimonials from your clients for every piece of work you complete, and make a provision to display these on your website. Make sure that no testimonial you display is more than a year old!
8. Link your website to your Social Media pages. Since social media is growing and changing every day, you will find that conversations about your company, its products, or its marketing strategies will be accessible and will send the message to your customers that you’re a company that’s willing to listen.

The thing to remember is that you should clearly articulate your requirements at the planning stage of your new website. However, it’s hard to ask for features if you don’t know what’s on offer! Hopefully, this list will get you started on thinking about all the information you can keep adding to the website yourself in the future to keep it fresh and relevant.

Can a new website make such a difference? Surely all this firm needs is a place to display its photographs and give a contact address? Not any more. It had become increasingly necessary for the firm to create a profile on the net that would resonate with the firm’s growing presence in India and abroad.

The Background:
Managed by King Arthur Hospitality in partnership with The Park Hotels, a member of the Apeejay Surrendra Group, The Sol is really a new experience redolent of old world charm.
The King Arthur group manages and develops hotels and resorts in India, offering a unique combination of value and modern convenience across hospitality segments. The proven technical expertise of The Park Hotels contributes cutting-edge systems in customer experiences to all product offerings of the King Arthur group.

The King Arthur group aims to become a leading player in India in the mid- to high-end hospitality segments. Backed by the group’s philosophy of sustainability and social responsibility, it offers high standards of living at affordable prices, targeted mainly at the aspiring Indian. The common thread that weaves across all King Arthur brands is modern conveniences and comfort, presented in an affordable, energizing and rejuvenating manner.

The Problem:
The Sol’s old website had many limitations:

• It was out-of-date and cumbersome. Its design was dated, with none of the features that distinguish contemporary websites today.
• There was not enough emphasis on the very things that set the hotel apart -  its unique ambience, its USP that differentiated it from the typical Goan holiday resort, and its attention to detail that made every single aspect of the experience memorable and authentic. A visitor was likely to leave the website without understanding the core values and special qualities that made the hotel unique.
• There was not enough visual appeal. The stunning images of the hotel spoke louder than any words, and needed to be highlighted to achieve maximum impact.
• There were no celebrity endorsements. Although many high-profile guests had enjoyed the hospitality of The Sol and recommended its privacy and special atmosphere, there was no way for the ordinary traveler to know this.
• Finally the site was SEO incompatible. It did not rank highly on major Search Engines, and it was cumbersome to find unless you knew the exact URL, thus discouraging casual visitors.

What The Sol Did About It:
The Sol undertook a search for the company best suited to develop their vision and chose Cepios Software Solutions, a Chennai-based company offering complete web solutions, to revamp their website. Cepios specializes in delivering world-class websites, and offers a wide array of services from design to deployment under one roof. Cepios also undertakes the creation of a web strategy that drives business, increases ROI on marketing, and builds the brand. The brief was to improve The Sol’s brand perception, raise awareness, and ultimately impact the business.

What Did Cepios Change?
Cepios carefully assessed the requirements of the company, took into account its brand image and strengths, and changed the website from the inside out.

1. Contemporary look and feel:
   Cepios designed a sleek, contemporary user interface that was complemented by dramatic visual appeal. It had a clean, uncluttered appearance, with all the information organized and easily accessible.
2. Brand Association:
   

   The Lounge at The Sol, Goa, an oasis of tranquility.

   A hotel must have a website that has a strong visual impact, with images that are memorable and instantly identifiable. It was important to emphasize the design aspect – the challenge was to showcase The Sol’s unique ambience and old-world charm on every page. By using images as backgrounds, the new website made sure that every distinctive image would be associated with the Sol brand.

3. Quantum of Information:
   It was important to have all the information about the hotel in one place. This served to make it easy for a potential customer to assess the facilities on offer, view the pictures, check availability, and make a reservation online.
4. Content management facility:
   The new website allows the client to easily add new content on every page. This keeps the site fresh and relevant, and attracts first-time visitors into coming back to check out new updates. It also accommodates the company’s growth plans, allowing the site to grow with the company.
5. Compatibility:
   The new website has cross-browser compatibility, as well as being iPad compatible. With the changing profile of web use today, this makes it accessible to a large number of visitors who would have navigated away without these features.

What Difference Did It Make?
The Sol’s new website projects the image the company needed to convey. With a much higher quality and volume of information now available on the site, it is now apparent that it is a specialized boutique hotel, very different in character and tradition from the beach resorts dotting the Goan coastline.

Was It Worth It?
Since every business is different and has different needs, custom-designed website makeovers help to fit your website into a larger marketing strategy in such a way that your website actually begins to work for you, and doesn’t simply serve as decoration. High Search Engine rankings lead to increased traffic, a surge in Brand Awareness, and ultimately more business.
The Sol thought it was worth it. You might too.

E-tailing or The Virtual Storefront:
Putting your products out on the net to allow direct retail shopping has many amazing advantages. 24-hour availability, a global reach, the ability to interact with customers, the chance to gather relevant information to allow customer profiling, making ordering a personal experience for every customer, and multimedia prospects – all make the Virtual Storefront a multibillion dollar source of revenue for the world’s businesses.

The Key to Success in E-commerce is Conversion:
Anyone who has worked in e-commerce for a while will tell you that the name of the game is not just generating traffic to your website; it is getting whatever traffic comes your way to convert into actual Sales. Online conversion can come in many forms. If you’re selling a product, online conversion happens when a visitor makes a purchase and becomes an active customer, and if you’re offering a service your conversion might be getting visitors to phone-in and make contact.

How Do I Increase Online Conversion Rates?

1. Decide what your USP is and mention it on every page of your site: Many visitors coming to your site land directly on product pages, so make sure you stand out from the crowd by telling people what you’re proud of on every page. It could be your prices, your level of service, or anything of real value to the customer.
2. Keep all lines of communication open: Veteran online retailers know that it is important to backup their online offers with a solid communication platform in the shape of telephone and email support. In today’s web reality this might not be enough. Integrating SMS into your website is a neat trick that allows for quick turnaround times.
3. Make sure your customers feel secure: Integrate security features into your site with SSL certification and secure payment gateways so that every customer feels confident enough to take the last step that seals a purchase. Lay out detailed terms and conditions and explain methods of delivery and exchange or return.
4. Keep your Product Catalogue updated: Make sure that all products are current and available, regularly update prices and special offers, and remember – if there’s a better deal out there, your customers will find it! Statistics show that 80% of customers will do their research before buying a product, so never make promises you can’t back up.
5. Diversify your product offers and spread them across channels: Some customers like free offers, some go for discounts, and some want add-ons like free delivery. To become an appealing proposition, consider catering for as many customer groups as possible by diversifying your product offers. Also mirror them across channels – if for example you are offering free delivery for a day, be sure to mention the promotion on the site for visitors coming to you directly, in your paid ads for visitors coming via the search engines and in your newsletter for existing customers.

With just a few modifications to your existing website, you may be ready to enter the world of e-commerce. It promises to have the accessibility, geographical reach, cost effectiveness, and simplicity that will take your business to the next level.

Images can be large and high-res, and large amounts of information can be set in high-resolution type, and nicely integrated with the headlines and graphics in a pleasing over-all layout that allows the eye to move from overview to details in a fraction of a second.

How can websites compete with this? Maybe it’s time to celebrate the differences:

1. Dimensionality:
   Print design is two-dimensional, and layout is critical. Websites, however, are predominantly one-dimensional and the single dimension that matters is time – since the experience depends on scrolling, the only thing that matters is what appears first on the page and what loads later. Page sizes change with different screen sizes, so layout is not as important as the order in which images or information become available.
2. Movement:
   In print, navigation mainly consists of page turning. In contrast to that, web navigation consists of moving around actively. When analyzing the ‘look-and-feel’ of a website, the feel completely dominates the user experience. It is what makes the good websites so much more exciting and eyeball-grabbing than the passive printed page.
3. Canvas size:
   Print is immensely superior to the Web in terms of speed, type and image quality, and the size of the visible space. For the next ten years or so, the differences will dictate restrictions on web design: less graphics, smaller graphics, shorter text (since it is unpleasant to read online), less fancy typography (since you don’t know what fonts the user has installed), and less ambitious layouts. Oh oh. Print wins this one hands down!
4. User engagement:
   Now we get to the crucial stuff. Print can stun the reader with high-impact visualization, but the online medium ultimately wins because of the user engagement that is made possible by non-static design elements. The web can show moving images under user control and it can allow the user to click on a link to go to a specialized page with more in-depth information. An even greater amount of engagement is possible where pointing to objects results in explanations or expansions in context, possibly using pop-ups, overlays, or voice-over. Now, if only your Company Brochure could talk to your customers!
5. Accessibility:
   Lastly, let’s not forget the whole point of having a website in the first place – getting your message across to the largest number of people in the quickest, most cost-effective way. And making sure that your image is up-to-the-minute – by updating your website regularly, every time someone visits, you give them a new experience.

Print design can be highly refined – it’s been around for a few hundred years longer! But there’s no reason why web design can’t play to its strengths with innovative ways of presenting information, actively engaging the viewer using multimedia, and putting the control back where it belongs – in the hands of the viewer.  Make sure your website isn’t stuck trying to compete with your printed collateral, when in reality, it’s on a different playing field altogether.

1. Stated purpose:

   New visitors should be able to quickly get an idea of a website’s purpose and its primary reason for existence. State it clearly on the Home Page. If your purpose involves having visitors take a certain action (such as buying a product, filling out an information request, signing up to a newsletter), they should understand exactly what it is that you want from them.

2. Absence of clutter:

   One of the reasons a minimal approach to design can be so effective is because it gives you more control over the message that visitors are sure to receive. With less going on, visitors will not be distracted by extra items and will see only the primary messages being presented to them.

3. Subtle visual impact:

   Although your colours scheme has to reflect your corporate colours, make sure that the excessive use of colour does not affect readability and detract from what you are trying to say. Similarly, typography can sometimes be a subtle detail in the design of a site, but it can also have a significant impact on communication. Don’t overdo the fancy fonts and italics!

4. Professional quality images:

   The images used in websites have a huge impact on communication, because they will typically be noticed by visitors before text will be read. Make sure they’re professional quality, and use them to complement your text and message.

5. Intuitive navigation:

   Every website will have some pages or sections of the site that are more significant than others. The navigation used on a page will communicate to visitors which pages are most important, or at least what’s relevant to the page that they’re currently reading. Make sure the visitor can easily navigate between key areas on your site without having to return to a landing page every time or retrace a complicated route. Icons are only of value if they are intuitive enough so that visitors know right away what they will do.

6. A clear eyepath:

   It’s a known fact that design decisions can impact how the visitors’ eyes will first explore the page, and the habits of our eyes can also impact what aspects of a page get the most attention, and what may be overlooked. What part of the design will catch visitors’ eyes first? Make sure you direct attention to the sections of the page that are most important.

7. The use of whitespace:

   The whitespace used around text and throughout the design will play a role in how easy or difficult it is for the reader to get the intended message. Earlier we looked at how minimal designs can promote clarity of message, and whitespace is often a big factor in this. Providing some whitespace around the important message will make it stand out more and will give it the appearance of importance.

8. Language as an important tool:

   The words you use will say a lot about the site and the company, good or bad. Professional websites should make every effort to portray professionalism with the language and the grammar being used.

9. Organization to increase accessibility:
   • Headers and sub-headers quickly give the visitor an idea of what content will follow and they break up the text to make it more readable. They are great for getting the attention of visitors and pulling them in to text that they might not read otherwise. Also, headers also have some value in SEO.
   • If used effectively, taglines can be a great communication and branding tool. The tagline gives you the opportunity to tell visitors how you want to be remembered and can help to distinguish your site.
   • Formatting is essential. The same content formatted in two different ways can produce drastic results. When dealing with content on the web, it’s essential to break it up so it can easily be read on-screen. This means using short paragraphs, headers and sub-headers, adequate spacing between lines and paragraphs, lists, etc.

A website is often the first contact someone will have with your company, and you have only seconds to tell them who you are and what you stand for. Make sure that the design of your site helps you in this crucial communication, instead of putting off a potential customer because you did not focus on crisp clean messages, communicated via good design.

The Background:

Founded in 1979 by Sheila Sri Prakash, an award winning Architect and Designer, Shilpa Architects Planners Designers is today an international company based in Chennai, India. Although Shilpa and its subsidiaries have executed projects globally, the company is best known for its culturally-sensitive and sustainable Indo-centric designs, and has been responsible for several landmark projects on the Indian architectural scene. The firm’s award winning work can be seen in Belgium, Japan, USA, and China, and also across India at the Mahindra World City, Larsen & Toubro’s South City Integrate Township, IL&FS’ residential townships, Taj Hotels and Resorts in Pondicherry, and the Madras Art Museum, among others.

The Problem:

Shilpa’s old website had many limitations:

• It was out-of-date and cumbersome. New projects, awards, and media coverage were not featured. All the information on it was yesterday’s news.
• There was no information on the very things that set the firm apart -  its founder, design philosophy, and areas of specialization. A visitor was likely to leave without understanding the core values and special skills that made the company unique.
• It was not a content-management site. It required a Programmer to add inputs, which made maintenance tedious and expensive.
• It was not socially aware – there were no links to Social Media , and the company was conspicuous by its absence on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
• It lacked a Search Box, so information had to be obtained by navigating through the whole site – a challenge given the number of projects in the portfolio..
• There was no Blog to allow the reporting of new developments as they occurred, or to allow the firm’s leaders to reach out with their thoughts and opinions.
• Finally, the site was SEO incompatible. It did not rank highly on major Search Engines, it lacked a Sitemap, and it was cumbersome to find unless you knew the exact URL, thus discouraging casual visitors.

What Shilpa Did About It:

Shilpa conducted a global search for the best company suited to develop their vision and chose Cepios Software Solutions, a local company offering complete web solutions, to revamp their website. Cepios specializes in delivering world-class websites, and offers a wide array of services from design to deployment under one roof. Cepios also undertakes the creation of a web strategy that drives business, increases ROI on marketing, and builds the brand. The brief was to improve Shilpa’s brand perception, raise awareness, and ultimately impact the business.

What Did Cepios Change?

Cepios carefully assessed the requirements of the company, took into account its brand image and strengths, and changed the website from the inside out.

1. Contemporary look and feel:
   Cepios designed a sleek, contemporary user interface that was complemented by dramatic visual appeal. It had a clean, uncluttered appearance, with all the information organized and easily accessible.
2. Brand Association:
   An architectural firm must have a website that has a strong visual impact, with images that are memorable and instantly identifiable. It was important to emphasize the design aspect of the projects executed – the challenge was to showcase Shilpa’s eye-catching designs on every page. By using images as backgrounds, the new website made sure that every distinctive image would be associated with the Shilpa brand.
3. Quantum of Information:
   It was important to have all the information about the company in one place. Therefore separate sections were created to highlight the profile of the Founder and the achievements and milestones of the company. This served to emphasize the breadth of experience, significant achievements and variety of skills and services on offer.
4. Interactive and responsive elements:
   With a Blog that is regularly updated, and links to the company’s Facebook page and Twitter feed, the new website allows for a more active user experience. It also enables the company to be more agile and responsive to visitors, making it more accessible and user-friendly.
5. Content management facility:
   The new website allows the client to easily add new content on every page. This keeps the site fresh and relevant, and attracts first-time visitors into coming back to check out new updates. It also accommodates the company’s growth plans, allowing the site to grow with the company.
6. Compatibility:
   The new website has cross-browser compatibility, as well as being iPad compatible. With the changing profile of web use today, this makes it accessible to a large number of visitors who would have navigated away without these features.

What Difference Did It Make?

Shilpa’s new website projects the image the company needed to convey. With a much higher quality and volume of information now available on the site, it is now apparent that it is a world-class international firm with strong roots in the Indian tradition.

Amrit Sahasranamam, CFO of Shilpa says  “The ultimate aim of building a new website was to drive traffic to the site – by making it socially active, utilizing different media within the site, and creating an active Blog, this aim is well on its way to being met.”

Was It Worth It?

Since every business is different and has different needs, custom-designed website makeovers help to fit your website into a larger marketing strategy in such a way that your website actually begins to work for you, and doesn’t simply serve as decoration. High Search Engine rankings lead to increased traffic, a surge in Brand Awareness, and ultimately more business.

Shilpa Architects thought it was worth it. You might too.

• 1. Be Open For Business 24 Hours a Day
  Your business is open to the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with no labour costs. An online store never closes. And a website faces no time zone barriers.
• 2. Look Big, Important, and Credible
  If you still do not have a Web presence you are inadvertently making a statement about your inability to embrace technology and adapt to change in today’s dynamic environment. Especially for a small business, a well-designed website is a great way of creating credibility and looking bigger than you actually are. When one compares the cost of establishing a website to what it costs to promote a business on the traditional media (newspaper, radio, television), it is evident that a website is the cheapest form of marketing ever created.
• 3. Make Information Always Available
  You can provide 24 hour customer services without hiring any additional employees. Your customers are better served when they can access information about your product or services immediately via your website rather than waiting for a mailed brochure or a return telephone call. Provide answers to frequently asked questions on your website. Information requests can be processed immediately via online forms and autoresponders whether someone is in the office or not.
• 4. Update Your Brochure for Free
  A website is your online brochure or catalogue that can be changed or updated at any time at a much cheaper and faster rate than print material. It saves you money on printing and distribution costs.
• 5. Change Your Marketing Strategies
  You can provide photos and detailed descriptions of your products or services, and show people how your products or services can help them in their personal or professional lives. Link in to Social Media to create a buzz around your brand and boost Sales.
• 6. Ensure Stability
  You may move your place of business, change your phone number, or even change your hours, but your website address never changes, and your website is always open.
• 7. Take Control Over Your Own Internet Identity
  Your own domain name (www.yourcompany.com) establishes a strong online brand identity, and allows you to set up email addresses specific to your own company.
• 8. Promote Your Services
  Lawyers, doctors, financial consultants, entertainers, realtors and all service-oriented businesses should take advantage of the massive reach of the Internet. Millions of users are logging on to the Web to compare various specialists and practitioners before they purchase a specialized service.
• 9. Be in Touch With Your Customers
  You can gather information about your existing and potential customers by using online forms and surveys. Provide a feedback form to make it easy for your customers to send their input. Conduct surveys to find out how you can improve your products and services. Your site statistics can also help you understand how your visitors and customers use your site.
• 10. Function As a Great Recruiting Tool
  Your website is a great recruiting tool for building your business. Everyone looking for a job today checks out businesses in their field for job openings, and some of your best future employees may find you online.
  So whether your business is large or small, you need to use the web smartly and right now if you want to make an impact. Try it and you’ll be amazed at the results.