Like many others, I spend too much time each day
using my computer, web design, creating, optimizing, buying and selling,
corresponding, learning, surfing, you name it. I read much of the endless stream
of articles on web design, development, SEO, maintenance, e-commerce, you name
it.
How many things can you do to a website to tweak it for optimum performance?
Hundreds ? Thousands ? Endless ? Yes, I think endless.
This over abundance of information is sometimes enlightening and refreshing but
it is too often a rehashing of the same old ideas and techniques, like
yesterday's soup warmed up with some new jargon and maybe some FLASH. As a side
note, how many times have you been distracted by FLASH on a website ? More
importantly, how many times have you left a website because of FLASH ?
You can have the most beautiful store in the world but if the shelves are empty,
adios amigo, you are history. Content is the single most important
characteristic of any website. If you have great content, you can make a lot of
errors and still conduct a good business.
I started my first business in 1979 and I was fortunate to have a seasoned
veteran as my mentor for several years. I still remember one of his favorite
sayings: "Jim, when you do a large volume of business, that erases a lot of
mistakes." I had to grow and learn a lot before I fully understood that comment.
Obviously we do not want to be making any mistakes. But a website that is loaded
with quality content can get away with many more mistakes than one which is not
rich in content.
So before you tweak your website for maximum optimization, make certain that it
is loaded with excellent content directly related to the product or service that
you provide.
Content rules !
Biography: In 1967 I started programming computers as a computer science student
at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. At that time, the computer was
huge. We were not even allowed to see it. We sent our PUNCH CARD data remotely
from the Raleigh computer lab to the computer located at Research Triangle Park
near Durham. Wow, have things come a long way !
I worked my way through college on 3rd shift operating the computer system for
the North Carolina Legislature in Raleigh. Although my life took a turn into a
different industry (lighting and home furnishings), working with computers has
always maintained an important place in my business and my life.
In 1979 I started my own lighting company which continues in operation today.
Web site design and development is now a very integral part of that business.
I speak plain English and I do not attempt to impress with technical lingo. I
custom design web sites that are created to build real world business.
article by Jim Hoyle