How to keep your website fresh

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Unless this is your first visit here, you might have noticed that we just had a makeover. Our web development and web design team team worked like Christmas elves in Santa's sweatshop get the site done before the new year and we're all pretty excited about it. Personally, I really liked the old website, too. It was easy to navigate, it looked cool, and it was very search engine friendly. We used it for about a year and a half, however, and it was starting to look a little bit old. We're one of the leading web design agencies in Utah, so it's important for us to keep our site looking fresh. But every company, regardless of industry, should keep a close eye on its website to make sure that it is still sending the right messages.

For instance, you might be an insurance salesman, which has nothing to do with web design, but you still can't let this sort of thing happen.

Here are a few tips on keeping your website fresh:

1. Have a good content management system

This is incredibly important because it directly affects your ability to keep the content on your site updated. If you have to send all of your content to a webmaster or contracted programmer every time you want to update, you will do it as little as possible. On the other hand, if you have an easy content management system, you can keep your site fresh. In the past we've used Joomla and Wordpress for websites. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Out of the two, I definitely prefer Wordpress over Joomla. At Advent, we use our own proprietary platform called Obray, which is probably the easiest content management system around.

2. Good design goes a long way

Spend time and money up front to get a quality web design. This will pay off in the long run since a well-designed website will stay fresh longer.

3. Review your website quarterly

About every three months take a look at your website and evaluate how it's working and how it looks. How well your sites works is easily quantifiable. How well your website looks is very subjective, but still important. Many companies wait until their competitors update their websites and are therefore perpetually behind the curve. With a quarterly review, you can schedule your site for updates proactively.

4. Plan phases for your website

Most of the great websites on the internet were not built in a day. They were a process. That's why you should plan out phases for your website that may not be implemented for years to come. This way, when it's time to make an update, you know exactly what you need to do. It also keeps you away from the trap of endlessly revising and upgrading, which could delay or ultimately scuttle a website or business venture.

5. Remember that your website is not an appliance

Check out this great video from our CEO where he explains why websites are organic, living things, as opposed to appliances, which you simply plug in.