What is the lifespan of a website?

My site was designed several years ago, and now I'm wondering if I should have my site redesigned. What is the average lifespan of a website before it needs to be redone?

Goodness knows websites have changed a lot site the first one launched back in the early 90s. The technology has grown immensely in the past 5 years, and even more rapidly in the most recent couple of years. Now more than ever, it is important to have a great website, as the web is most people's primary means to getting the information they need.Back in the day, websites were created using a code structure called 'tables.' In the early 2000s, a new type of code structure emerged that used divs and CSS in place of the former tables. This era is often referred to as Web 2.0. Divs and CSS remain as the backbone of today's websites, but currently there are a host of additional types of technology, such as the WordPress CMS and Javascript that are used to make websites even more beautiful and useful to their owners.

But technology wasn't the only thing that changed.

Along with the advent of these new technologies, came new styles of design that weren't originally possible. A really basic example of this is standard site width. Back in the 90s, websites were no more than 800 pixels in width (and often narrower) because monitors where quite small and clunky browsers ate up a lot of screen real estate. Now, the current standard is 960 pixels in width, with a lot of websites bucking the standards and experimenting with sites even wider than that. These wider widths are made possible by the affordability of larger monitors.Another way times have changed is the increased amount of devices we access the websites from. It used to be that you sat down at your desktop computer to go online. Nowadays, you've got tons of options to choose from. Desktop and laptop monitors cover a range of sizes and then there are also the smaller sizes of tablets and mobile phones to consider. With all these screen sizes to consider, its no wonder that responsive web design has become widely adopted by modern browsers as a solution that enables the ability to adapt your site content to the device being used, and serve up a better user experience.

Now that you've got the background info, lets return to the question of how long a website should last.

The fact is that there is no set rule for how long a website should last. However, if you site is older than 5 years, there is a pretty high chance that it should be redesigned. If it is younger than that and was built really well from the beginning, you might be able to make it last a little bit longer by doing a bit of realignment, rather than a full redesign.However, you can only stretch a site so far before it just makes good sense to start fresh and rethink it given today's technology and user needs. When it comes to such a large piece of your marketing as your website, it is easy to fall into thinking that you've spend so much time and money on it, it must last a really long time. Unfortunately that just isn't the case.Design and technology are continuing to change at warp-speed, and it is more important than ever to offer your customers a great experience on your site. With the advent of everything being online, it has raised the bar for design excellence, and users make judgement calls about your product or service based on the experience of your website.If you haven't redesigned your site in the last 5 years, or if you created your site yourself when you were just starting out, you might want to determine where a redesign might fall into your marketing plan in the next year. And if you've recently redesigned your website, make sure to take time regularly to evaluate it, making sure the content stays up-to-date and that necessary course corrections are made. This will help to extend the longevity of the site.

What can I expect from my website redesign project?

Several years ago I built my own site, and I'm thinking it is time for an upgrade. Can you tell me about what I can expect during my website redesign?

Taking the step to hire someone to design your website—whether for the very first time or as part of a redesign—can be a pretty scary thing. It is typically a big step both trust-wise and finance-wise. For most businesses, their website is a very important part of marketing their business, so it is natural to be wary of turning to someone else to help with that task. Likewise, your website could very well be one of the larger investments in your marketing arsenal, it makes sense that you will want to truly understand the process of building your site.The good news is that we follow a simple 5-step process, and understanding these steps will can help you feel more confident throughout this duration of the project.Here's how a typical website design or redesign breaks down:

Step 1a: Discovery

During this first step, we'll take some time to talk with you (either in person or via phone) about your website design so we can get on the same page with your goals for the site. We'll walk through what you're looking for in your site, what it needs to do for your clientele, what you like and what you dislike. By the end of this discussion, we'll have brainstormed all of the content needed on the site which will come together to form a map of the site and the pages that it will be made up of (often called a sitemap). The typical timeframe for Step 1 is a couple of days.

Step 1b: Content creation and collection

It is easy to forget about the copy for the site, but whether you're hiring a copywriter or writing the copy yourself before we proceed with the following steps, it is best for us to have a draft of the content for your site. That way, we can design the actual content that will be on the site, rather than guessing about the content.

Likewise, some websites require professional photography to be taken, so it is at this time that photoshoots should be arranged so that the delivery of the final photos don't delay the coding and subsequent launch of your site.

Step 2: Sketches

Once we know the pages and content that are necessary on your site, we'll take some time to sketch out each key page. These sketches are designed to act as a blueprint for the design of the site. The purpose of the sketches is not to provide details about the aesthetic design, but to determine the hierarchy of each page, and to facilitate conversation about which items should be given more or less attention. The typical timeframe for Step 2 is about 1 week, depending on the number of pages on your site.

Step 3: High-fidelity mockups

After we've worked through the sketches, it is time to start working on the actual design! If you don't have a strong visual brand in place, this step would start with the creation of a visual strategy. The visual strategy is a document where we collect a set of brand colors, typefaces, and graphic treatments that the site will be built upon. Doing this step before starting the page layouts helps to separate the discussion about the overall feel of your brand from the discussion about the actual function of the site page layouts.

Once we have a strategy for your visual look and feel in place, we'll start designing the individual pages of your site. We typically start with the most critical page of your site. For many businesses, this might be the home page, however, for others it may be a different page, such as a product page. When designing a site, the first page design sets the tone—and a lot of the page structure—for the rest of the site, so it makes the most sense to make those base decisions on the most critical page layout. We'll work through each of the key pages of the site, designing a detailed mockup of each page for your approval. The typical timeframe for Step 3 is about 2-4 weeks for an average brochure site, this could go longer if you have a site with many pages to be designed.

Step 4: Code and Testing

Once all of the high-fidelity mockups are completed, we'll prepare the files for coding and will provide them to our developer. Our developer will code the designs to be as accurate as possible and will build a test version of your site on their server. Since everything has been approved at this point, you won't see any proofs until all of the pages are coded. Once the pages are coded, we'll give you access to the test website where you can review the site and confirm that everything looks correct and is functioning properly. At the same time, we'll be testing the site as well to make sure everything is correct before we launch the site. The typical timeframe for Step 4 is about 2-6 weeks, depending on the size and complexity of the site.

Step 5: Launch

While physically launching the site only takes a short amount of time, there may be several days after the launch where we're still fixing glitches or bugs that might not have been apparent during the site testing. You can also expect it to take several days for Google to re-crawl your site, so you may notice some results on Google that don't fully match up with the new site. After a few days, Google should re-crawl your site and things will naturally sort themselves out.From start to finish, the total timeframe for a website design or redesign project typically takes about 2-3 months, depending on the size and complexity of the site and the speed of the revision process.

In addition to these steps, there are a handful of other things to keep in mind throughout this process. Understanding these items will keep the process moving smoothly and help you set healthy expectations for the finished product.

Function is more important than perfection

It is important to remember that websites are editable and don’t necessarily have to be perfect to launch. I know this sounds strange, but a website is a living, breathing thing. Even if you think it is perfect upon launch, it will probably only be a few weeks or months before you want to update or improve something about the site. The great news is that unlike paper, websites are super easy to edit if you change your mind on something later. So don’t get too stuck in ‘perfect’ mode. Spending too much time obsessing and delaying your site launch might mean a lot of missed exposure for your site and your business.

The site won’t look exactly the same in each browser

Although your site should function and look presentable in each browser, it is natural that the site might look a little different in different browsers. Each browser has support for different capabilities, so we keep this in mind while designing your site, and will make use of what we can in each browser. It is important to remember that these slight variations probably won’t phase your visitors in the least since most users choose one browser and stick with it. They'll never know anything different from the version they see!

What are some books to help me improve my business?

I currently run a small business, and lately I've been looking for ways to stretch, grow and make it better. Can you recommend some books to improve business?

Around the Strong Design studio, reading is one of our favorite past-times. I always am surprised by the new things I've learned by the time I've completely a new book. Often I've gleaned all sorts of tidbits that might not even relate to the true thesis of the book—tips on process, procedure, culture or the way people think. This just goes to show how you can learn a new business lesson in the strangest of places. Here are a half-dozen of my favorite business books, and a quick synopsis of what I learned from them:

Get Lucky by Lane Becker and Thor Muller

This is a brand-new book that looks into the idea of serendipity and its role in business. It carefully hits home the message that most of what businesses attribute to "luck" is often a long time of preparation that led them to be able to capitalize on a chance opportunity.

Setting the Table by Danny Meyer

At first glance, this book looks like book about Danny Meyer's path to becoming a restauranteur—and it is. But it is also a manual full of real-world examples of how to provide world-class hospitality. It doesn't take much additional imagination to start to see how one could apply the principles to their business to really spoil their customers and capture their hearts.

Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

This book is an incredibly quick and easy read as Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos, chronicles the thought process that has driven him to build an entire brand upon service to their customers. The book is a perfect example of how having a higher purpose behind simply peddling your wares leads to loyal fans and paves the way financial success.

The Millionaire Next Door by Tom Stanley

This might seem like a strange addition to this list, but hear me out a little. This book chronicles the true life of a millionaire in the United States—not the ones reality TV likes to push down our throats. It illustrates with dozens and dozens of stats, facts and tables that hard work, planning, wisdom and frugality are the building blocks of a strong financial house, and always serves as a reminder to me of how to approach not only my personal finances but also my business finances. After all, you can have the best business in the world, but if you can't pay the bills to keep the doors open, what good will that be?

Rework by Jason Fried

This is another weirdo on the list, but I've added it for a reason. By nature, I'm a "doer" and I've always struggled with that fact. However, this book helped me understand how much of an asset that is to running a business. The whole premise of the book is that nothing will ever be perfect, because perfection is unattainable, and that what matters is doing the best with what you have and getting the product "shipped" out to customers so you can afford to continue to refine it.

Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuck

This book claims itself to be a "how-to manual for turning your passion into a business." Although Gary V gives plenty of insight into that topic, the lessons I honed in on in this book were about how important it is as a business owner to have a strong personal brand to help fuel your business.

Anything by Malcolm Gladwell

So I said I'd outline six books for your reading pleasure, but I couldn't resist adding this last recommendation. If you haven't read anything by him yet, Malcolm Gladwell is an absolute genius when it comes to presenting research and conclusions on why people behave as they do. If the dots aren't instantly connecting for you, people are the core of any business—people in the customer role, the staff role or even the vendor role—and gaining the understanding to get a glimpse inside of their heads is absolutely invaluable to your success in working with them, serving them and delighting them. My favorite books by Gladwell are Blink, which investigates the split-second subconscious thoughts that often drive our decision process, and Outliers, which chronicles how "overnight success" stories are often not so much overnight, but typically the product of thousands and thousands of hours of committed devotion to one's craft.So that's it! Over a half dozen books for your reading pleasure and fuel for business' success. Go pick one up or check one out from the library and see what lessons you can extract from it. Happy reading!

What are some recommendations for creating my own logo?

I just started my own business, and I need a logo design however, I can't afford a professional design yet. Do you have any tips for creating something that can get me started?

Sometimes, as much as you value the idea of having a professional logo designed, it just isn't in your budget yet. Never fear, here's a few tips you can take to develop your own logo design that can hold you over until you're ready to have a professional logo designed.

Stick to type treatments

Developing a great icon or a mark is a challenge for even the most seasoned designer, and is probably a task you don't want to take on. It is tempting to fire up Microsoft Word, locate a clipart image and call it your logo, but the problem with this is that any one of your competitors can do the exact same thing. Not to mention that clipart typically looks like, well, clipart. It doesn't look custom, it doesn't communicate any emotion and it isn't very ownable at all. Instead, stick to a simple type treatment. Here are a few tips to creating a nice type logo to help you get by.

Don't use a font that came with your computer

Remember how we warned about looking to Word's clipart gallery for an icon or mark? The same thing goes for fonts. Stay away from any fonts that come standard with your computer. The problem with this is that these fonts are much too commonplace to act as the visual hook to your business. Instead, search out something more unique by using one of many online font websites. Fontsquirrel.com is my favorite site for free fonts, and myfonts.com is my favorite for fonts you can purchase. Both of these sites have hundreds, if not thousands, of fonts to choose from, and if you go with a purchased font, the likelihood that someone else might choose it for their logo is reduced.

Consider the feeling the font creates

Right now you're probably wondering how in the world you're going to pick a font from all of the options available to you. Before you start your search, write down 2-4 feelings that the typeface should evoke. That way, as you are searching for typefaces, you can cross-check the look of the typeface with your list to determine wether it feels the way you want it to feel.Here's a quick reference guide below that explains the general feelings associated with common types of fonts:

Err on the side of simplicity

Once you've started searching for fonts, and have a few possibilities, we'd urge you to err on the side of simplicity. So basically, if you are trying to choose between two fonts and one is more elaborate and the other is slightly less ornate, it would probably be in your best interest to choose the simpler option. The benefit of choosing a simpler option is that a simple solution will create a more sophisticated look in the short term, and will also give you the ability to transition to a custom logo in the future.

What are some inexpensive, do-it-myself website options?

I just started a new business, and as much as I'd really like to have a professional website designed for it, I just don't have the budget yet. Do you have any tips to create your own website?

Although web design has become quite affordable, the cost can still be too much for a brand-new business. Thankfully, there are a lot of options available to create a great starter websites that can hold you over until you can afford to make an upgrade. Although I haven't used many of these do-it-yourself website platforms, I did a little research into some options—and tapped the minds of many of my friends and colleagues—and have outlined some solutions and suggestions.

SquareSpace

SquareSpace describes themselves as "a fully hosted, completely managed environment for creating and maintaining a beautiful website, blog, or portfolio." From doing a little digging around, they seem to offer some standard layout options, and pricing starts at about $12 per month. Learn more at squarespace.com

WordPress

More often than not, if you hire a design firm to create your site, they will probably use WordPress as the engine that drives the site, and then create a completely custom design theme that perfectly accommodates your content. You can take the first step yourself and create your own WordPress site, using a stock theme. Unless you know a pretty hefty amount of HTML, CSS and PHP you probably won't be able to customize the site to the point a web design shop would be able to, but WordPress has a lot of cool themes and plugins that could get you off on a good foot. The only downside of WordPress is that, as a novice, there are so many options (in terms of themes, plugins, etc.) that it can get a little overwhelming, so it is wise to keep it simple. WordPress offers many themes for free, which means you would simply need to purchase your own hosting (which typically runs around $10 per month) for the site. If you choose to go this route, you may with to contact your hosting provider for help installing the WordPress software on your hosting. Learn more at wordpress.org

Virb

As they put it, Virb allows you to "choose a theme, add your content, customize and launch!" They seem to offer a lot of theme options, and pricing starts at about $10 per month. Learn more at virb.com

Wix

Wix positions themselves as a very easy-to-use platform, explaining their services as "Drag & drop. No programming. Search engine friendly." They do offer a free plan, but to get the site to direct to your own domain name (which is advised in order to appear the most legitimate and professional) you would need to upgrade your plan to one of their packages that start as low as $5 per month. Learn more at wix.com

Shopify

If you need an ecommerce site, Shopify seems to be a popular way to go. Their feature set claims "easy-to-use online store builder, fully customizable store design, secure shopping cart provided, and ecommerce hosting included." Their plans are a little more expensive (as ecommerce solutions always are) and start at $29 per month. Learn more at shopify.com

Other things to consider

Once you've selected the option that feels right for your needs, there are a few items you'll want to consider when putting the site together. Taking these items into consideration will help your do-it-yourself site look as polished and professional as possible.

Think simple

With most any site option you select, you'll be able to select some sort of base design template. You'll probably have dozens of options to choose from, which will feel really, really exciting. It will be tempting to select something wild and flashy, just because you can. However, flashy templates can look a little cheesy, unprofessional, and often give themselves away as being a stock template design. Instead, select something clean and simple. You just can't go wrong with a simple design. A clean, straightforward design will blend with almost any image you wish to portray, and is likely to be taken more seriously by your customers. This recommendation also goes for your font and color selections. You don't need a bunch of fonts and dozens of colors—one or two fonts and two to three colors will do just fine. Just make sure to make selections that blend with the other fonts and colors you are using across your visual design (logo, business cards, tags, etc.) so that your business doesn't look like it has a split personality.

Consider readability

Likewise, when you are selecting your template, fonts and colors, always be checking for readability. Make sure your background colors and images don't make your text hard to read, and make sure you select colors that contrast enough that they don't blend together, or create an optical illusion. When in doubt, make sure your text is placed over a solid color that is much darker or lighter than the text color so that it is readable.

Edit, edit, edit

With setting up your own website comes the challenge of writing your own content. More often than not, people think there is no such thing as too much information. This is not the case. Most people don't want to read any more than they absolutely have to. When using a do-it-yourself site, you'll be given large areas you can fill with copy, not to mention endless amounts of pages for no additional fee. Be careful not the be charmed by these open parameters, and be sure to curate your content carefully. Don't drone on—saying the same thing over and over again—and be careful not to add more pages than are really necessary to your site. Constantly ask yourself whether you customer really wants and needs this information, or whether you're just adding it because you can.