“Buying” a website is similar to buying a car in many ways. A car is a big decision, an investment, something that you plan on using for several years. Since buying a car is something that you’ve gone through many times in your life, it’s something that you can relate to, where making decisions for your website may still have a foreign feel to it.
A website is also a big decision. It’s an investment of time, money and lots of effort from you, your web designer, and anyone else who helps you with the process. Building a website takes a lot of planning and actually taking the time to sort through options and content to find the best fit for your future online presence. If you’re like most companies, you’ll have your website for at leas 1-3 years before undergoing another redesign.
By looking at the similarities of the two situations – getting a new car and getting a new website – you may gain some valuable insight when starting your next website redesign. Here’s how the processes are similar:
1. The Common Case of Envy
Whether you’re out on the road and see a snazzy car driving by, or you’re perusing the internet and stumble upon a sleek website, you know that feeling of envy. You start looking at your own website and how it could use a little face-lift, or maybe your website could be working smarter – integrated with your email marketing, social media, etc. Take note of the websites that you like, because you’ll never know, maybe those “leather seats” and fancy plugins are more affordable than you think.
2. Options, Features, and Upgrades
Like a car, a website has thousands of features and combinations of features to make it unique to your wants and needs. Just as you’d talk with a car dealership or a trusted friend, talk with your website developer about what is possible and what options you should consider for your specific company and online strategy.
3. Fit Your Needs Now and For the Future
The two seater looks great, but you’ll end up getting a minivan if you have kids, or if you plan on having kids. Make sure you don’t start too small. When planning your website architecture and structure, make sure there’s room for growth and ways to add new content – new photos, products, departments, etc. – when they are ready for roll out. It’s harder to retrofit big changes than know about them from the get go.
4. Routine Maintenance
Routine maintenance is a way of protecting your investment. Regularly scheduled maintenance for your car, and your website, keep everything running smoothly under the hood. For a WordPress website, maintenance means updating your WordPress platform and plugins, keeping your content relevant and up-to-date on your pages and adding blog posts several times a month.
5. Don’t Forget Your Emergency Roadside Kit
Whether your car is brand new, or an old beater that’s been running for years, it’s always a good idea to have an emergency kit. What if you get a flat tire? With a website, it’s the same deal. Even if your website is new, you should have an emergency plan in place. Backup your website on a regular basis and keep those backup files in safe place and in multiple locations. Those backup files could be a life saver in the case your website gets hacked or if your host has a mishap.
Curious about the website process? Want to start looking at options and solutions for what’s the best fit for your company’s new website? Give Orbit a call and we can help walk you through the options.