Every Garden Needs Tending
It’s part of our job to explain complex concepts in simple, understandable ways. Recently, Paul Boag said in his podcast, Boagworld, “You’re website is like a garden. As soon as you’re done planting everything, that’s when the real work begins.” AMEN.
I love this analogy. I wish I had thought of it. Building a new website can be a complex process and when it’s launched, it’s tempting to check it off the list and move on. But, like a garden, if you haven’t planned before planting and you don’t tend to it after it’s in the ground, it’ll die. You need to water and weed, prune and prep. It never really ends.
Make a plan before you plant.
Planting a garden without a plan for how much to grow, where to plant, what tools you need and proper maintenance is one of the biggest mistakes a gardener can make. When a new website project begins, we’ve found that people often jump into the implementation process and never really create a plan to set themselves up for long-term success. The consequences are often lost money, missed deadlines, and a disappointing end result. Do your research. Find a web team that’s willing to ask tough questions and create a functional and technical plan that will work for your business.
Your garden is planted, it needs regular TLC.
Just like watering and weeding a garden, maintaining a good website never really ends. You can launch a beautiful new website, but if you don’t monitor and update it regularly, it’ll dry up and fade away. You want your website to be indexed regularly. In other words, you want search engines to notice you. Making updates is how you get them to pay attention. A neglected website will be ignored by search engines over time which will cause your search rankings to slip. Keep your text up to date, refresh photos or graphics regularly and you’ll be in good shape.
You’ve planted the best seeds, but they still aren’t blooming.
In a garden there are times when you need to dig up a plant and move it to a new spot or get rid of it all together. It happens to even the most experienced gardeners. Are there areas on your site that just aren’t pulling in the visitors you thought they would? If you’re like us, you want to know who’s doing what on your website. Google Analytics is a handy resource for this type of information. You might find that what you thought would draw visitors would do better by moving it to a different section of your website or by adding some call to action on another, more popular area. Of course, you need to take the time to monitor your Analytics. If we developed your website, then you have Google Analytics installed and we can help you access your stats. If not, contact your developer.
Let’s grow your business.
A good website is an absolute necessity for businesses. Just like a garden that’s properly planned, planted and maintained, you ought to get a good yield year after year. Our team has experience with a wide variety of platforms and programming languages, photo manipulation and illustration techniques. If you need a pro, contact us. We’ll help you keep your website blooming and the leads rolling in.
By Ryan Thompson
October 10, 2016