Spring Clean your Web Site. The Top 5 Things to Do This Spring

1. Remove Outdated Content. If you have flower wallpaper in your living room from 1977, you may want to get rid of it in favor of a new design. The same can be said for old/outdated information on your web site. Go through your whole site and toss out old stuff that isn't relevant anymore. Your end-users will appreciate it.

2. Add Fresh Information. As you go about tossing out musty, old content, you should add in new information. This will help you two-fold. One, frequently updated web sites tend to rank better in the search engine than sites that are rarely updated. Two, it is a step that shows consideration for your target audience. People want timely, fresh content. So, value that and add new content to your web site.

3. Renew Your Hosting and Domain Name. The small details of a web site can be very important. As part of your spring cleaning, jot down and then renew your hosting. Many times a yearly contract is more cost effective than a month to month approach. Also note when your domain name will expire. The last thing you want is for your web site name to be snapped up by someone else because you didn't know it had expired. By the way, it doesn't hurt to do some price comparisons as to hosting services. You may find a lower cost provider (but make sure they offer comparable benefits).

4. Check and Act on Your Search Engine Rankings. Tools are available (such as Web Position Gold. www.web-positiongold.com) that allow you to check your search engine rankings for the key phrases you want to rank high in. In reality, how great is a site that people can't find? You need top level rankings if your site is to draw in new visitors. If you find that your rankings are very low, then start (or restart) your search engine optimization efforts.

5. Review your Overall Design for Usability Enhancements. Look at usability (the process of helping end-users navigate and find information) as an important part of web site re-design. Do some QA with a few target audience members, and see how they move around your site. When do they have problems? What works well? Use the feedback to enhance your navigation scheme and content presentation. Your web site is for your users. Make sure it is easy for them to use.

So get those brooms and mops out, start scrubbing through your web site and the results will make even Mr. Clean proud!

- Kaufman Web Design™