If you have visited our website before, you’ll probably notice something different this week. It’s … well … everything.
Last week, we launched the new Smart Author Sites website. Our business is no different from before. The services we provide and information conveyed on the site is no different from before. But the design and functionality of the site? That’s drastically different.
With that in mind, here’s why we decided to redesign the site, and why many authors should consider redesigning their sites as well.
1. Age. Our last site was designed about five years ago. That’s like 35 dog years. Just about every website needs to be redesigned twice a decade. It was just time for us. Is it time for you, too?
2. WordPress functionality. When we first built Smart Author Sites, we built the site in flat HTML. Then we added the blog, which was in WordPress. But the rest of the site was still in code. WordPress offers a wealth of features, from SEO functionality to social networking tools to easy-to-use contact forms. Our new site will be easier to use — both for us and for you, the user — now that it’s in WordPress. If you still have a site in flat HTML, you’d be amazed how different the experience would be if you have it rebuilt in WordPress.
3. Mobile version. It’s 2014. More and more people are foregoing their computers and accessing the web via mobile devices (tablets or smartphones). Our new web design is mobile-friendly: people viewing it on an iPhone, for example, will have just as good an experience as someone visiting it with a full-screen monitor. Maybe you’re even viewing this on a mobile device right now. If your author website isn’t mobile friendly yet, it’s time for you to make the switch.
4. Updated layout/design. Remember when we talked about age? Well, things change a lot in five years. Imagine walking into a house that hasn’t been updated in 20 years. Will it look dated? Of course! Websites are no different. Our new site includes rotating slides on the homepage (which is hot in 2014) and a portfolio of sites that can expand or contract, depending on how much someone wants to scroll. It’s like we just renovated our kitchen with modern appliances.
5. Knowing what works. We had five years worth of data to look at on our old site. We know which pages people frequented the most, which pages made people leave, etc… This information allowed us to redesign the site focusing solely on the things that people seem most interested in, and weeding out the information that was unnecessary. Do you know what’s working on your current site? What have you done to optimize it?
If you have an author website that needs some work, reach out to us for a free consultation. We can make your site as beautiful as ours (not to toot our own horn, or anything).