As a business owner or webmaster, each and every minute of your day is important and wasted time can have a direct impact on your bottom line and business' ROI. Websites require frequent updates - that is the basis of the Internet - new information is created & needs updated virtually every day. Each website may not require the same updates, but all websites would benefit from regularly scheduled site maintenance and/or new additions.
An e-commerce store or shopping cart may have products whose inventory fluctuates in and out of stock, or even products which are phased out. Leaving a dead product on your website is a great way to upset visitors and lose future site conversions. A news or informational site requires frequent updates in order to maintain its freshness in the eyes of the Search Engines. Adding new content and articles ensures that you stay relevant and authoritative in the eyes of Google, Yahoo andMSN.
Other reasons for website maintenance include adding new customer testimonials, adjusting call-to-action and conversion elements to consistently improve your ROI, updating product images, new products & press releases, copyright notices and other time-sensitive information.
Regardless of what you update on your website or how often you need to do it, there are some proven methods to help you save time and improve your efficiency. Below are a few of the most helpful website maintenance tips:
Use website templates
Depending on how your templates are created, you can save large amounts of time by allowing the template or web editing software to perform repetitive tasks vs. you making them all on your own. A couple examples might be you site's header, footer or common menu system. If each page of your website includes these common items, then you could save time by having all of the pages call a "single file" that contains all of the requisite information for each respective section. The best way to do this is by using Server Side Includes (SSI), PHP includes or other programmatic "inclusion" files. The basis for these files is simple - put the information within a separate file and call it externally. Rather than attempt to re-hash how to do this for you here, I would suggest you simply search for "how to usessi", "how to use server side includes" or "how to use php includes" in your favorite Search Engine.
Save original web graphics
Whenever you make a new image, whether you expect to edit it again in the future, you should always save a copy of the original format - .EPS, .PSD, .PNG or .AI files. Keeping the original artwork intact will help you in the future if any edits are required. You'll simply open the original image file, make your edits and then re-export the file for use on the web. Failure to save your original files will require you to re-create the file each time you need to make even the smallest change - this is highly inefficient.
Avoid overwriting files
This is a common oversight for many webmasters and site maintenance companies; they simply fail to check the "last modified" date on a file that requires editing and then when they upload a newer version of the file, they overwrite important information that was meant to be part of the updates (not replaced). Always, always check the last modified date of the remote files on the FTP server before you upload & overwrite them. One good practice to follow, is to download the latest version of the files you're editing prior to starting your changes. If you build this into your regular processes, it will become second nature and will help you avoid rebuilding work that was overwritten.
These are only a few time saving tips for maintaining your website, but you'd be surprised just how many webmasters and business owners fail to adhere to them. Following good procedures will help ensure that you are able to quickly update your website and get on to other important business matters.
Cory Howell is an experienced webmaster & website maintenance technician for Jen Kaufman Designs, a qualified web development company in Phoenix, Arizona. Cory provides greats tips & help to individuals responsible for updating websites on a regular basis. In addition to webmaster help, Cory is a Search Engine Optimization & website conversion expert.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Time Saving Tips for Maintaining Your Website
Friday, August 1, 2008
12 Benefits Of Having A Website
Do you think having a website is an avoidable cost? Although the Internet no longer remains a "new" technology there are still many business owners who are averse to the idea of having a business website either because they are not comfortable with the new medium or they simply deem it unnecessary. Now, we are not suggesting that the guy selling hotdogs at the street corner should definitely have a business websites (well, why not?), but if there is business somewhere and you cannot do it simply because you don't have a website then we will say that you are missing a big opportunity by not having a website.
Having a business website immediately propels your visibility and reach to a higher level. All of a sudden you are accessible to your customers and clients 24x7. Both old and new customers find you approachable and progressive. We at ForeScene Creative Solutions don't mean to proselytize you but here is a list of 12 benefits of having a website, whether business or personal.
1. Instant visual representation
Just imagine what thrust your business would get if people from all over the globe could visually see the products or service options you have to offer. All information pertaining to your business can be put on your website so that your prospective customers and clients can view it at their own convenience and without you having to be there each time something needs to be explained.
2. Keep your business open all the time
When you decide to offer business through your website, it is like a store or an office whose doors are never closed; people can come in and review your products and services at their convenience. In between if they want to do business with you and if your website is automated enough they can do even that. This way you can run your business non-stop without having to put in the extra hours.
3. New customers and clients can find you through search engines
Once you have accumulated a decent amount of information on your website people begin to find you on the search engines for the keywords and expressions relevant to your website. For instance if you sell perfumed candles and if someone searches for "sandalwood aroma candles" and if you have information on "sandalwood aroma candles" then there is a great possibility that people will find you on various search engines, come to your website, and place orders for sandalwood aroma candles.
4. Easier and cheaper advertising
Publishing on your website doesn't cost you extra unless you are paying for every new page you create. Once you have set up the basic website structure you can keep adding new pages without incurring extra cost.
You can also complement your advertising efforts with your website. There are two ways of doing this. Whenever you publish your advertisement you can include your URL so that the information that you cannot include in the advertisement can be easily viewed on your website. Once your online traffic has gained momentum you can even run advertisements directly on your website. The best way of doing this is developing an online community so that lots of traffic builds up.
5. Highly enhanced public relations
You might not know that hundreds of or even thousands of your customers and clients might be using the Internet for all their information and research needs. Millions of views are exchanged on the World Wide Web. If some disparaging news regarding your organization gets circulated you can easily counter it, or at least present your own side of the story, through your website. High-value content and regular interaction with your visitors makes sure that you have a dedicated community of evangelists who would like to protect your brand and reputation even at the cost of putting in extra effort.
The more you interact through your website the more solid your reputation grows.
6. Reach distant markets
Although ForeScene is a New York based web design company we get web design projects from all over the world and from very high-profiled clients. This becomes possible because our website is easily accessible to everybody who has an Internet connection. If you provide a service that can be delivered via the Internet or if you have a product that can be easily dispatched after taking an online order then you should definitely tap into this vast online market and promote your business in different parts of the world.
7. Create extra income streams
You can start new business ventures from scratch if you run them through your website. Unlike starting business ventures in the brick-n-mortar world the Internet ventures require very little startup income and they can be initiated in a matter of few days, or even few hours. In order to start a new business all you have to do is, have a great idea or product ready, register a domain suitable to your business, obtain a web hosting account, design the website or get it designed and voila! You are ready to go.
8. Interact with your customers and clients regularly and obtain their feedback
Compared to telephonic conversations it is a lot easier to interact with your customers and clients through e-mails, blog posts and regular updates on your website. You can also host a forum where your customers and clients can leave feedback and exchange ideas regarding your service. This will improve your goodwill and reputation a lot and will also nurture a sense of trust and transparency. Getting good feedback to your website can be extremely critical to your further product development and service improvement efforts. You won't have to wait for months and even years to know how your products and services are being received by your consumers.
9. Conduct low-cost market research
Since it hardly costs your visitors any money to participate in quizzes and polls on your website you can use these marvelous tools to conduct low-cost market research and launch new products and services or make improvements to existing products and services.
10. Save on office space
If you manage most of your business operations through your website then you hardly need office space. There are many online store companies that conduct millions of dollars of transactions online every month and still don't need a place to stock their inventory. Some online companies don't even have regular staff; all they do is take orders from the website and then forward those orders to the original manufacturers and suppliers. All they have to do is maintain and promote a website and this can be done from your basement too.
11. Establish your brand
Many artists, authors and consultants establish and promote their brands through their websites and blogs. They make use of their authority and knowledge to create a fan following. Numerous bloggers and webmasters have got great book writing contracts through their websites.
12. A website opens a slew of new opportunities
There is a complete new world out there on the World Wide Web. Millions of people access the Internet for leisure, communication, education and business every day. It is a huge business, marketing and promotion potential for your organization.
About the Author
ForeScene, a New York web design company, develops and deploys cutting-edge websites and online applications. Feel free to browse for articles.