The Wrong Site Look DOES Make a Difference!

A few months ago I noticed that new web sites to develop had slowed down, I wasn’t getting in nearly as many website planners as I had been in previous years. Freelance web designers don’t find it unusual to go through periods of  “feast or famine” and so a business slow-down didn’t strike me as being all that odd. What was strange, was that it wasn’t picking up like it had in the past.

Business Slow? Might Be Your Web Site!

At first I brushed it off figuring it was due to the poor state of the economy. I’d had comments from existing clients to the effect of “I’m not selling as much as I used to. Do something!” I checked their search engine rankings, reviewed their sites and could find nothing that would have caused this to happen. I did notice that those that were complaining were those that I’d been after to have their site redesigned for quite awhile. Hmmm … interesting theme going on! I talked with some other designers and they all had clients who’d come to them with the same comments. The only logical conclusion we all came to was that it had to be the economy, nothing else made sense except for one thing. The other designer’s clients who were complaining were also those in need of a site re-do!

I decided that perhaps my original conclusion wasn’t accurate so I did some brain-storming. It took me awhile but one day it hit me that the down-hill slope directly coincided with the timing of my last site redesign! I immediately took a good hard look at it and began to wonder if perhaps my color choice (I had done a greyscale look) might not be a turn-off for people? Maybe it was depressing? I also had to admit that it was pretty busy looking.

I figured it was worth a try, I didn’t have anything to lose so a couple of nights ago I hit it really hard and came up with a new simplified and more colorful look. I took it live yesterday (although I’m still tweaking) and bingo! It was like someone flipped a switch and the web site planners began to come in! Coincidence? Maybe … but then again maybe not.

So folks, if your business has slowed to a level that has you even a little bit concerned … you might want to take a look at your own web site. Have you got a Pugly web site? Does it need some sprucing up or maybe an entire site re-do is in order? Has the informational content gotten stale because you haven’t changed it at all in the past year or so, or at least not enough to matter?

Maybe I’m right and maybe I’m wrong but no matter what, I’ve always felt that the wrong site look is going to bring about unsatisfactory results. It’s definitely worth taking a look at! When you do, it’s a good idea to get some input from business friends and co-workers. Get some good, honest feedback from others.