Roz designz: E-tip #21|Clients Only

Clients Only
A few tips to consider

This e-tip is not only for Roz designz clients but for anyone with a website. You can certainly apply these tips when updating or developing a website.

Listed below are 5 answers to frequently asked questions by my clients over the past few years. If there are any questions unanswered here in this e-tip, please email me and I will be glad to answer any questions you may have.

Tips:

When submitting an update, depending on the amount of information submitted at one time it may take a couple of days to see the changes on your site. If you have decided on a makeover or a new look, this will take at least a week or two to organize all the graphics and information needed to make the changes.

To see the changes to your website after submitting your updates you will most likely need to refresh each page that has been updated. The reason for this is that your computer caches' (stores) the page(s) on your hard drive or in Internet Explorer so that the website will load faster. This is great for faster web surfing but can hinder others from seeing newly added information on your site. It has its pros and cons. As for seeing updates made to your site click on the refresh button. I have a diagram here to show you the button on your Internet Explorer browser.

The search engine submission that I do is very basic and gets the job done. I make sure that your site gets listed into over 55 search engines including Christian and the major search engines such as Google. Your META TAGS (description & key words) which I call hidden codes are what is submitted as well as other information requested by these various engines. Each search engine has different criteria and does take a significant amount of time to input this information.

These listings in the search engines are not placement and can take up to 6 weeks for your website to get crawled or listed. Search engine placement is an extra service and not one that I currently provide. I am working on partnering with a reputable company that provides this service and will notify all my clients as soon as I have a company to recommend for this service.

Website makeover: I have had several clients over the years ask if making visual or graphical changes to their site will attract more visitors? Yes, but basically no. Changing the words and content on a site regularly is what makes all the difference. It creates visitor confidence and a pleasant overall browsing experience. In the long run what attracts repeat visitors is: consistent navigation, easy accessible contact information, organization and updated content added on a consistent basis. Relying on a high tech experience limits your reachable market. Search engines do not recognize flash or other visual/graphical experiences and they can actually nullify a submission by not recognizing the data on the website. A good rule of thumb, 'stick to the basics!'

Periodically a quick scan of links and the listed information on your website is a good idea. Information can become out-dated and this can easily deter visitors because they will feel the site is neglected or your information is no longer relevant. This is also important because sometimes these links are bought out by X-rated businesses without warning and Roz designz clients are family oriented and need to be aware of these possibilities.

We must realize that visitors are looking for easy access to information and a rewarding web experience when browsing your site so checking all information on your site is a must. Always remember that your website is of course about your business/organization but it is geared to what your visitor is searching for.

Copyright © Lora Rozkowski. Lora is a website designer, author and owner of two Christian businesses. For more information send an email to: Roz@rozdesignz.com Reprinted with permission. Take a look at Roz's portfolio.

Please let me know if I can answer any questions or help you further.
signature Roz

[] [ HOME ] [ more e-tips ] [ back to TOP ]