Atlantic Business Technologies, Inc.

Category: Strategy & Design

  • 3 Time Management Problems You Need to Avoid for Web Projects

    In a perfect world, web developers and their clients would live happily ever after, from the get go. They’d gather together, agree on a concept, make a plan, and then execute it, with no issues. Time management would be effortless.
     
    Unfortunately, things rarely happen that way. Almost half of all large web design projects take longer than planned. One of the best ways to ensure your next website launches on time is to know why so many others don’t. Arming yourself with information about the common causes of delays is a solid move. You’ll be better equipped.
     
    Here are 3 time-management problems that hold up web development projects, along with some simple solutions you can put to use immediately.

    #1 Unrealistic Schedules

    Some web development projects are bound to take longer than expected. These are the ones that begin under a banner of unrealistic expectations. Perhaps the web design team gave a highly-optimistic estimate to win new business. Or maybe the client insisted on pushing for a fast launch date. Regardless, everyone was bringing a large platter of Impossible to the planning table.
     
    You can get better estimates from your creative team by asking more questions. How many of their projects reached their deadline on time and for the fee quoted? Can you verify this through case studies or references?
     
    You should also do your part to encourage realistic timelines. Trust those you’re working with to use their time, and your own, efficiently. Web development is a huge undertaking. Your web developers’ requests for time to test, revise, and be ready for any potential issues, are valid. Don’t press them to remove these expectations from their proposal. Then you can avoid disappointment down the road, when reality sets in.

    #2 Client-Side Delays

    Clients tend to worry about web developers taking longer on a project than intended. Alas, it’s even more common for client-side delays to hold up projects.
     
    Don’t worry. We understand. It’s easy for executives to over-deliver when they’re excited about a project. The energy of the idea can mask the amount of work and communication involved. We’ve seen dozens and dozens of websites face delays because of the client. For example, they’ll be unable to provide content for a new set of pages on time. Writing new material sounds easy until you sit down to do it. Suddenly, the entire workday has passed and you’re still staring into the abyss of a blank screen. (Not that we would know anything about that…).
     
    Another roadblock that causes delays is poor communication. Disagreements between different executives or departments can slow down the revision process. A lack of quality, clear feedback can grind a project to a halt. You can prevent these issues by planning ahead. Set the right expectations and workflow processes in the beginning. Be sure these are in place before the creation of actual designs and software.

    #3 Poor Project Management

    Designing and assembling a large website is a complex and intensive endeavor. This fact is often overlooked or completely missed. There can be a ridiculous number of parts to put together. Thousands of images, text blocks, plug-ins, and meta descriptions are the tip of the iceberg. Your team generates, combines, and integrates each piece into the entire plan.
     
    The most experienced web design teams realize this. So, they structure work in a way that makes sure bottlenecks are rare. They’ll emphasize sequential and parallel planning. This helps to avoid the duplication of any jobs. And, no one is ever ‘stuck’ waiting for something that won’t arrive for a long time.
     
    When it comes to institutional web design, artistic and technical skills are important. But, don’t overlook the importance of strong planning and project management.

    We Handle Complex Web Design Like No One Else

    At Atlantic BT, building large and complex websites is our specialty. If you want to turn your project into an example of efficiency, rather than suffering through delays and budget overruns, we can help. Schedule a free consultation to learn more.

  • Executives are Blanking on the Truth Behind Strong Website Design

    Institutional website design is a specialty all on its own. Small businesses have a variety of options to choose from, when they decide to go online. There are hundreds of creative firms, template services, and freelancers available. They all do great work and can make a solid layout for a business at the beginning of their online journey. But, consider institutions like universities, governments, and major corporations. When it comes to updating the websites of these beasts, you’ll need to do a lot more work. Every detail matters.

    At Atlantic BT, we’ve been working on large-scale web development projects for 20 years now. We’ve learned a lot along the way and we know how to best make these web projects successful. The foundation of our role is the website itself. We create sites that work for a wide range of customers, users, and decision-makers. But, another facet of our job is to ensure that our clients stay focused on what matters.

    That can sometimes be a challenge. Why? Let’s look at a few things executives tend to forget about institutional website design.

    Functionality is Just as Important as Aesthetics

    As humans, we naturally gravitate towards the visual. We rely on our sight to identify threats and opportunities on a subconscious level. We can process pictures thousands of times faster than text or words. Psychologists have even shown that what we see impacts us in a more emotional way, than what we read.

    Knowing that, can we blame anyone for placing their priorities on aesthetics? It isn’t hard to understand why executives tend to focus more on the visual aspects of web design. The look is important. Striking an emotional chord with an audience has immense value. But you don’t want to be all surface and no substance. Consider the ultimate goal. You are building a tool to be of service to large groups of people inside and outside of an organization. Of course, this means that website functionality is also as important as aesthetics. Programming and plug-ins provide the body your site actually lives within. So, you need it to be strong, healthy, and smart. A beautiful website that doesn’t work, is of no help to anyone.

    Online Marketing Makes or Breaks the Project

    Alas, despite how functional and breathtaking your website is, none of it matters if it’s never seen or used. The only way to ensure that such a tragedy does not take place, is to market the website effectively. You need to promote it in order to attract customers and users. There are plenty of tools at your disposal. Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, these guys run the world now. They are yours to use. You need their users, and even the media, to take notice and spread the word about your new content and upgrades.

    For that reason, institutional website design is only the first step. Often, it’s online marketing that will make or break your project on the balance sheet. This is through search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, and social visibility. These are, of course, only some of the tools at the disposal of a good digital marketing team. Be sure to prioritize your marketing strategy. Then pay special attention to what happens to your website post launch. Consider these observations when evaluating proposals from creative teams.

    You Can’t Neglect Your Website After Launch

    The marketing and promotional aspects of launching an institutional website are important. It brings you the audience you need. But, once that audience arrives, they will have expectations that you should be ready for. Your users will assume that the website will always be functioning well, and staying up to date. So, ongoing maintenance, updates, and content additions are crucial. Otherwise, the big investment you make in an upgraded web presence can become a sunk cost.

    Remember that large websites are never finished. You can launch them, but they’re going to need work to stay fast, stable, and secure. You will get plenty of value from your web presence as you continue to promote and pay attention to it. But, you’ll be less likely to find yourself asking for proposals for yet another fresh design, as time goes on.

    Learn More About Institutional Web Design

    It doesn’t matter what stage of the website design process you might find yourself in. If you are beginning to think about a large web development project, or you’re now collecting RFPs, we’re ready to jump in at any time. The creative team at Atlantic BT in North Carolina can help you get the answers you need. Schedule a free consultation. You’ll be able to see how we can help make the web design and development process easier.

  • A Project Charter is the Only Thing You Need to Start Your Web Development

    We can see them coming a mile away. Executives and project decision-makers, laden with heavy regret. By the time they reach us, they’re feeling grim. When it comes to their web development project, things took a turn. It had been obvious to their team that changes and improvements were necessary. We know what they’ll say before they even raise their weary heads. Revenue is declining, search visits are trending downward. The most heartbroken among them will deliver the blow. The website has stopped being fully-functional. “What do we do? The project should survive, yes? Can it? Survive?”
     
    Under those circumstances, it’s only natural that our clients want to move as quickly as possible. They are eager to get beyond talking and thinking and into actual designing. But, no matter how pressed they feel to get something done, we can’t let them run amuck. We always encourage them to put together a project charter before any work begins. In fact, they should do it before they even start budgeting.
     
    A project charter is an outline of what the goals are, how to reach them, and what the anticipated outcome will be. It doesn’t have to be a complicated puzzle, with long pieces of yarn attaching each part to the next. But, this kind of document and outline can help clarify things in three specific areas.

    #1 Web Design Needs

    If you don’t know why you are doing something, then how can you do it? Every new web development project needs a purpose. It’s important to not begin your project, without understanding your ultimate goals. This is particularly true of development projects at the institutional level.
     
    As you consider what your project needs the most, separate items into categories. Which ones are absolute must haves? Which ones are pie-in-the-sky hopes? And which ones are insane and impossible? This organizational tip will help you stay focused on what matters the most. In turn, knowing exactly what you need keeps you on the path to your goal.
     
    We build our success on the premise that we won’t begin a new project unless we’re 100% clear on the ideal outcomes. It gives us a beam of light to follow. By following the same approach, you can begin your project with clarity. Knowing exactly what you want to accomplish will help everyone keep their eye on the prize.

    #2 Expectations for the Project

    Expectations can be a big umbrella. When a web design project is large and intensive, that umbrella becomes bigger. You’ll want to define your plans for the finished website as a whole. On top of that, you should outline what you expect to receive from your creative team. You can include internal partners on that outline, as well.
     
    Where does the initiative for the outline come from? How can it best begin? It’s better if everyone is speaking the same language from the start. Sure, you can outline many of your expectations in a contract or agreement. But waiting until that moment can put many people at a disadvantage. Having open and honest discussions about expectations from the get go, helps everyone. That’s particularly true for contributors inside your own building or organization. They need to know what their roles and responsibilities look like throughout the web development process. Or rather, what kind of umbrella they’re working with and providing to you.

    #3 The Resources That Can be Committed

    Now that you know where you want to go and how you want to get there, you have to plan on what you need. Of course, you can start collection proposals for your web design project. Then you can follow that up with some comparison shopping. However, jumping into that lake first only leaves you all wet. When you’re trying to manage budgets and scheduling, efficiency is key. A smarter approach is to decide from the outset what kinds of resources can belong to the project. Then adapt that to your needs and expectations.

    If your aim is to achieve all your goals (and that is an admirable endeavor!) be prepared for some needed flexibility. Based on the proposals you receive, you may have to scale your budget up or down. But, starting out with some general figures will make it easier to make the right decisions. At the same time, your creative partners will have great parameters to work within.

    Ready to Work on Your Project Charter?

    If you’re gathering information for your web design and development project, we’d love to lend a hand. Now is the perfect time to talk with the experts at Atlantic BT. Even if you’re only looking for some advice on pushing your internet strategy in the right direction, we’ve got you covered. Schedule a free consultation and see how we can help.

     

  • How to Convince Clients to Like Your Creative Ideas

    [pull_quote]Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy, both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me. -Michael Scott [/pull_quote]

    Creativity in the tech world is an interesting beast. Everyone wants to use it and claims to love it. But it also causes a great deal of fear, leaving creative employees struggling to be heard. If you are that person, this post, by an experienced marketing writer, will speak to you. 

    When I first decided I wanted to be a writer, I imagined the hardest part would be coming up with good ideas. Back then, creating a new idea meant summoning elegant words, phrases, and story out of nothing more than my daydreams and boredom. Where did the really great creative writers get their ideas? It all seemed like an impossible mystery—which didn’t stop me from wanting to try.

    Times are different now. For one, I’m a marketing writer by profession, so I mostly write for hire. Two, finding ideas worth writing about is easy. There is a tsunami of shared information on social media to mine from. Plus, I’m lucky enough to have knowledgeable colleagues and clients. They always have something interesting to discuss. Then there is the remarkable surplus of quality marketing websites available. And three, I no longer imagine great ideas simply appear out of nowhere. They show up from making connections between people’s wants, fears, and every sticking point between.

    Then there’s the fourth thing that I know now. The hardest thing about being a successful writer for hire is not coming up with a good idea. It’s not even executing on that good idea to make a quality product (though that does take time, effort, and practice). No, if I had to name the hardest thing about writing for hire, it’s getting your client to like your idea and pay you to produce it.

    The Trouble with Good Ideas: Risk

    You know how the pitch process goes. You enter the room with the perfect concept for a client’s new project or campaign—it’s inventive, compelling, and will drive lots of sales. All you need to do is convince the client this idea is worth their investment—which can be really, really hard.

    Why? If you like the idea enough to champion it, shouldn’t that alone speak to its quality? If it inspires you enough, then it’s likely creative, different, and promises to actually be fun to carry out. The trouble is, words like “new”, “creative”, and “different” are all dangerous trigger words to most clients. These words all suggest that the idea lacks a proven track record. Clients may also not immediately recognize the idea. This is most likely intentional on your part. You designed the idea to not be like what the client or their competitors did in the past.

    Here’s the dilemma: you’re proposing something risky, and your client has been trained for years to avoid risk unless it’s proven to be minimal. If you want to sell a client on your idea, you need to prove your potentially risky idea is not that risky after all.

    So, how do you do that? Here are my favorite strategies for how to present your good idea and win your client’s approval so you can actually execute on it.

    How to Pitch Your Ideas So Clients Will Actually Listen

    1. Connect your idea to your client’s brand

    It’s amazing how often creative workers come up with imaginative, unique ideas without thinking about the client’s brand. They present the work with little regard for how well it actually matches the client’s style and voice. The simple truth is that not all great ideas are great fits for any client. Consider a cybersecurity company that prides itself on being no-nonsense, cover-all-the-bases, serious experts. They won’t be happy with a snarky campaign that uses a lot of funny one-liners. On the flip side, a slick 3D animation that never shows a person’s face is not going to work for a brand that focuses on personality.

    As any good writer knows, it’s vital you consider your audience when pitching an idea. Show them how your idea honors their work. Make it clear that it captures their company’s tone, history, and style. This helps your bold new plan seem less like a departure. It now looks like a natural extension of what your client is already saying and doing. In fact, bonus points if you can point to a past campaign of your client’s that links to your idea.

    2. Support your idea by linking it to good ideas that have come before

    This point can seem like compromising your creative vision. After all, what’s less imaginative than pushing an idea based on something another company is already doing? My advice is not to copy someone else’s approach but rather support your idea by showing how it might perform. To mitigate risk in the mind of your client, you need to show how your idea not only will work, but that it has already worked in other situations.

    Before you present your idea, look for examples you want to use from similar brands or industries. While you’re unlikely to find a campaign or ad exactly like your brilliant idea (if you do, your idea might not be as original as you thought), it’s not too hard to show examples that match the tone or style of your big idea. If your client likes your examples, they’re that much closer to agreeing to your creative pitch of a related idea.

    3. Show how you will verify this idea is successful

    If the first two points are about mitigating risk, this tactic is about proving your idea works. In the age of big data, it’s essential you can describe how you will analyze and measure the success of your approach. Provide details about the assets you propose to make, the way you will monitor user engagement, and how you will adjust or alter your approach based on how your client’s customers respond.

    Volumes of blogs and guides have chimed in about how to digitally measure success. However, as you decide between click-through-rates or downloads or new sessions to verify success, keep this in mind: the metrics that most matter to your client are how many leads and sales your campaign generates. You might not be able to directly prove your big idea drove sales without an actual consumer survey about your campaign, but you need to be confident your idea will improve the client’s bottom line.

    4. Emphasize how your idea will stand out—positively

    Consider this a counterpoint to linking your big idea to past successes. If your idea begins to feel too similar to other campaigns, you will need to describe details that set your idea apart. The best way to do this is by doubling down on how you link the client’s brand to your approach. Your client will want to feel like you’ve crafted a custom campaign that’s tailored to their company, so be specific about how your idea will represent their brand well.

    5. Demonstrate enthusiasm and commitment to your idea

    As the creator of your big idea, it is up to you to be passionate about your vision and make that passion infectious. Tell the story of how you came up with the idea. Share the reactions from your teammates. Paint a picture of what this successful campaign will look like. This is the kind of enthusiasm that’s essential to creating truly memorable and effective campaigns—and the same kind of enthusiasm you should present in your pitch and elicit in your client.

    More importantly, you need to communicate to your client that you are invested in this idea’s success. No one wants to partner with “an ideas guy” who proposes grandiose schemes then becomes suspiciously absent when tough challenges arise or the idea needs rework. After all your research, data, and imagination, you must show your client they can count on you to own your big idea and put in the work to help it succeed.

    It’s not risky, it’s just new

    Let this be your underlying mantra as you present your ideas. While these tactics aren’t guaranteed to win your client over, each one represents a different tool to show your client that your potentially risky idea isn’t that risky after all.

    If you want to hear more about the power of creative ideas and how they can best serve you, we have plenty to share. If you have a plethora of creative content you’re struggling to get out into the world, we’ve got your back.

  • You’re Leaving Out the Best Parts of the Story

    Why Storytelling Is More Than Plot

    In the beginning, there was a business. The business made a profit, and saw that it was good. But there was a problem, and the business did not like it. And lo, our agency descended from on high to face the problem. Together with the business, we solved it. And then everything was fine and that’s why you should hire our agency too. #storytelling

    We’ve read-and written (guilty as charged)-way too many case studies and content pieces like this. And while we know how shallow this content sounds, it’s understandable why it so often gets written this way. It’s simple, easy to follow, and has a clear Call to Action at the end. So, even if we don’t love this style, we don’t hate it either. But, if someone uses this style as an example of great storytelling in content marketing? To that we say NO NO NO, THIS SHALL NOT STAND.
     
    Great stories are more than a basic plot. It’s not only about what happened first, what happened next, and what happened last. But, most (bad) case studies are like this. They’re simple plots where one special fix appears and everything becomes magically awesome. Of course, the miracle fix is being sold by the relevant company publishing the case study. Shocking.
     
    That is a story, but it is not a good story. Let’s take a closer look at three strong storytelling methods. Then we can explore how you can weave these elements into your content. You’ll be able to create narratives that actually resonate with your audience. Your content shouldn’t inspire users to close the browser and forget what they read. You are capable of crafting a meaningful connection with your readers that inspires them to stay and learn more. (And thus, the hero’s journey began). 

    Characters: Include Actual Humans in Your Case Studies

    It’s remarkable how many case studies try to use Joseph Conrad’s Hero’s Journey to tell their tale. The intrepid multi-national corporation, bold and brave, boosted its profit margins! A generous description would call this “efficient” storytelling. Sure, a business-owner might read the case study and relate to the fact that she too owned a business. But, there’s nothing in this simplistic model that elicits actual empathy. There is no emotion involved in connection with the story.
     
    No one reads their kids a bedtime story about a company or an organization. (Except for that one guy…with that one kid…). We read stories about characters. We seek out believable people with dreams, feelings, and worries we can actually relate to. The most direct case study story ever, dodging any emotional resonance, might be what you want. Ok, you do you. But, if it’s not, then there is no excuse to erase the people behind a project or client engagement.
     
    Our case studies always include at least one quote and picture from the team who worked on the project. These simple visual additions do a lot to remind readers of the human stakes in these stories and blogs. And don’t limit this to your internal team! It may take more time to secure a quote and profile image from your clients. But, seeing the human face of collaboration makes your content easier for readers to relate to.

    Conflict: Be Honest about the Pains of the Process

    As anyone who has ever participated in a big tech project knows, transformative new technology is never simple to implement, nor does it magically fix everything. Yet you wouldn’t know that from reading the average technology-driven case study. Too often the implementation of new software or systems gets summarized as “after a quick on-boarding” or “with this solution in place.”

    Leaving out conflicts is a surefire way to make your reader disbelieve your story and stop reading. Instead, write content stories that do justice to the real, meaningful conflicts that happen when you introduce a new digital platform in a business or organization. Is the company losing anything worthwhile in this changing process? How hard was it for people at the company to learn the new system? What would they have done differently had they began the implementation from scratch?

    We’re not saying readers want to read angry Slack transcripts between your IT and marketing teams. Instead, we’re saying your readers want to believe your story of success. Nothing makes a reader roll their eyes like seeing all the work of an implementation, or other conflicts, summed up in less than a sentence.

    Themes: Ask Better Questions, Inspire Better Choices

    Too often case studies and scenario-driven content read like badly-written parables. These shallow stories end with some cliched or pithy adage like “design is more than just pictures,” “cybersecurity can save your business,” or “that’s why customers trust [insert your company name here] with [problem].”

    These conclusions aren’t necessarily wrong, but they’re boring. The best case scenario, as a result of these simplistic parables, is that your audience shrugs at the end. The worst case is that the audience feels insulted because you treated them like children who need an easy, clear moral at the end. One sentence takeaways can make the audience feel lectured to or “taught a lesson” rather than engaged and moved. In contrast, quality storytelling asks interesting questions and inspires smarter choices in an audience.

    For example, let’s say you were telling a story about a company detecting a data breach and adopting a new cybersecurity strategy. A simple version of the story would conclude with “And that’s why you need end-to-end security.” A better story would embrace the thorny theme of how security strategy is essentially a question of Control versus Freedom. You can secure your business by forcing employees to change passwords every day, never carry a personal smartphone, and authenticate every email they send. However, that strategy drastically limits how much freedom and agility your employees have to do their best work. This in mind, the best security strategy for your company is a combination of technology and processes that fits your culture of trust and empowerment, while also protecting essential data from breaches.

    This conclusion is more complex than “Security good, breaches bad,” but that’s the point. You want to engage your readers as thoughtful agents of their own destiny, not children who need simplistic morals to do the right thing. Offering meaningful themes shows your audience you want to partner with them rather than just sell them something and move on.

    It’s Time to Tell Stories that Matter

    Content storytelling isn’t some mysterious art that can only be practiced by award-winning writers. Instead, any marketer can adopt proven storytelling methods to make their content more engaging. From memorable characters, to relatable conflict, to meaningful themes and questions, good storytelling shows respect for your readers and inspires them to want to connect with you.

    If you’ve got questions about how to implement these ideas or want to argue about how preposterous this all sounds, we’re game.  

  • 4 Reasons For You to Redesign Your Site

    When cleaning my house, I tend to apply the “good enough” method. Sure, there is a pile of junk crammed into the closet, but the floor is cleared. True, the drawers are stuffed with balls of clothing, but at least I can say that the laundry is done. OK, something clearly smells amiss in the bathroom, but that’s why we have Febreze. The house is still presentable. However, if the house isn’t clean, I’m reluctant to invite guests to my home. It can be hard to even relax in my own environment. If I can see the problems, I know that others can see them as well. I’m aware that I am not presenting my best self. It’s good enough, but nowhere close to what it should be—and too many websites are the same way. 

    The website for your company is its home. Customers come and visit when they want to know more about what you have to offer. It is the best presentation of who you are as a company and as a service provider. Is your website in need of more attention and care? Have you realized that you’ve been settling for ‘good enough’? If the answer is a grimaced ‘maybe’ while your eyes dart nervously around the room, odds are your site would benefit from a deep clean or redesign.

    There are many clues to look for when deciding if a redesigned site is right for you. The ‘good enough’ mentality can easily sweep these clues under the rug, delaying the change necessary for your site to truly thrive. Let’s take a deep breath and look under that rug, shall we?

    Clue #1 – Your visitor traffic is plateauing or declining.

    Growth rarely comes from routine. As consumers receive information from an ever-widening variety of platforms, it can be harder to grab and/or maintain their attention. If the numbers show that users are indifferent to your site or not passing the word around about their experience, odds are your site has become old news.

    “How can that be?” you may ask. “We add new content regularly and promote our site where all of the cool kids hang out online.” While these efforts are not bad ideas, they can’t make up for a site design that fails to engage your users. Your stellar new content can’t be appreciated by someone who has already decided that the site isn’t worth their time.

    The solution is a new effort to make your digital home more welcoming and engaging. Use Google Analytics to see how visitors enter your site, where they spend time, and which pages drive them to leave. While monitoring your site’s traffic, pay specific attention to visits via mobile devices. The number of people who will first encounter your site on their small screens increases every year. Retaining these customers is crucial to growth. Design a responsive site that meets these needs. 

    Clue #2 – Your site makes customers and employees sad.

    • “I tried to use your website and I felt like I was lost in a labyrinth”
    • “While waiting for your page to load, I was able to read all of ‘War and Peace’”
    • “When I look at your site’s design, my eyes hurt and I need to visit eyebleach to wash away the pain.”

    Are you regularly receiving feedback of this nature? If your website is only inspiring agony and gloom, it’s time for a redesign. Our homes can be a physical indicator of who we are personally. Like a home, your website gives customers a preview of what to expect from working with you.

    Accessibility is also vital to the success of your company and you want your website to be welcoming to everyone. It should also be a priority. Section 508 regulations have been in effect since January 2018. That means a specific level of accessibility functionality is now the law. Failure to comply could lead to significant lawsuits. What do we mean when we talk about these kinds of updates? Common accessibility features include meta descriptions for images, captions for videos, and other user-friendly design additions. These features are helpful for anyone visiting your site. 

    When considering your site redesign, focus on what users complain about most and use this as a guide. Is the look off-putting? Are users struggling to navigate their way through the site? Is the general experience tedious? These issues could be caused by a variety of culprits. Poorly-optimized images, clunky coding, and slow loading can all be detriments to your site. One of the best ways to boost your site’s performance is by implementing a Content Delivery Network (CDN). This will cache your content and images ahead of time.  

    Clue #3 – The technical foundation of your site is old.

    New, sharper programming is being created daily, providing better platforms for websites to be built on. If your software is outdated, it will inevitably cause your site to be slower, less professional, and vulnerable to cyberattacks.

    Adobe Flash is an excellent example of ‘good enough’ web technology. While Flash may be keeping your website afloat, this technology is dated and will eventually leave you in the lurch as new browsers (including Safari and Chrome) stop supporting Flash. Websites still depending on Flash can also be unsafe for both the company and consumers. Flash’s programming has already proved itself a high security and performance risk.

    Dated software can be a turn off, aesthetically, for potential visitors. If the interface of your web applications still looks like Windows XP, your site is begging to be updated (something that even Clippy, the talking paper clip, could tell you). Consumers will be less likely to engage with a site that comes across as amateurish or neglected.

    Clue #4 – Your website design has not changed in a good long while.

    Like it or not, we live in a fast-paced culture of change that is consistently adjusting and growing. There is no better representation of this culture than the internet. Of all the mediums at our disposal, the internet remains the most fluid. Unlike print or video, internet ideas and trends constantly reinvent and update themselves from week to week.

    Your customer base is familiar with this kind of rapid change. They will not be put off by the release of a new website design— they expect it. In fact, an unchanged website could inadvertently communicate the company’s perceived lack of interest in keeping up with the modern state of the internet. A site redesign demonstrates your ability and desire to meet the evolving needs of your users.

    Make Your Website a Happy Home

    Your website can be better than ‘good enough’. When all of the clues point to some much-needed deep cleaning, take the plunge and begin planning your redesign. The process may seem daunting, but with the right team and a strong vision, your internet home can become a place to take pride in, and a welcoming open door for everyone. If you need inspiration, feel free to browse some of our favorite redesigns and we will be happy to tell you how we created them.