Redesigning my website was a serious task. And I am not ready yet… I don’t have enough time… but…

I’ve noticed a few things since I reinvented my site. Oh, I think I should first tell you why I did it. The reason is simple. The old website was “too much”. It had no clear structure, it had too much information on each page, too many colors and, frankly, although it was my own creation, I didn’t like it anymore. It made me tired to read it. The number of links within the content was huge; too many graphic images made the site look like a Christmas tree. There were no flashy banners, no animated gifs… but overall the site was not serving its purpose, since the users were not able to focus on the content.

Now back to what happened since I’ve reinvented my site: I have more hits each day. I rank on the first 10 results in Google for the keywords that are the most important for my business. I monitor visitor frequency with Google Analytics and I see with surprise and joy that there are a great number of returning visitors (this didn’t happen before).

I create a new page – so fresh content – at least once a week, to let Google know my site is active, alive and kicking.

I’ve got plenty of positive feedback from my clients: they find the site easier to navigate, clearer and useful. They return to read the articles, despite the fact that they get a newsletter once a month and despite the fact that they read my blogs regularly.

Based on this positive experience I strongly advice you to redesign your site, better said to reinvent it if it doesn’t bring the results you wish for.

You need a website with unique identity and unique content. You cannot offer unique service; no matter how hard you try (there are plenty of online businesses offering the same thing as you read these lines), so focus on the uniqueness of your online presence.

Whatever you do, the design should communicate the purpose of the website. If it’s an entertainment site make it look entertaining, if it is a business site, make it look serious.

But remember: there are web design standards you should not ignore, standards that users are already familiar with and make their online experience easier. Try to stick to these standards.