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New Year Resolution – Re-design your website!

Written by: Sonny Gupta

Article Overview: When the Romans established January 1st as the New Year Day; naming the month after the god “Janus” who looks both backwards and forward, they surely had a novel thought in mind. On this day we not only take stock of the twelve months that have just passed, but we also feel a surge of hope at the New Year that is being born. This hope begins with a resolution. And, for your business in 2007 – consider empowering yourself with a powerful marketing tool, ‘the website’.

New Year Resolution – Re-design your website!

Importance of a website

No matter how small or large your business is, you can profit enormously from a website. 65% of Internet users in the U.S. do not shop at a poorly designed site even if it is their favorite brand. And, a number of studies have shown that as many as 75% of potential customers abandon their online shopping cart before they have consummated a purchase.
Reduced advertising costs alone are reason enough to establish a website. Imagine the usability of your thick product catalog being reduced to only a few order pages with the rest of your products all online and always up to date! Pictures, product descriptions, newly won awards, customer questions and even instruction videos are all possible on your own website. Whenever you feel like announcing a special deal or sale, you simply update your website any time of day.

Your website is a marketing tool that represents your company, your employees and your products. It can be a personality that portrays a positive or negative image and emotion. A website communicates directly with people who can turn out to be your future customers.
Why Re-design a website?
Sites should be updated regularly, have new features added, and should have working links. However, as your site grows it can outgrow its original foundation which can lead to disorganized content, poor usability, and eventually chaos. A re-design is a perfect opportunity to take a practical inventory of your website and to put things back on track.
New foundation: By understanding what it is people are seeking to obtain from your site, you will then be able to better position that information throughout the architecture of your site.
Home Page design: By making an outstanding first impression with a crisp, clean, professional look, the user gets a sense of trust from the company behind the site.
User friendly: Your site could have the exact information a specific user is looking for. However, if it takes too long for them to locate it, chances are they will go somewhere else to find the information. By making your site as user friendly as possible you will be able to guide the user to specific areas of content.
New experience: New features can dramatically improve the user experience. An online calendar that allows users to register for events is a perfect example of how a simple feature can increase the value of a site.
Getting better results: Make your website work smarter. Add features to your site that help educate your user base, enhance marketing efforts, as well as develop a sense of who your users are.
Future customers: The goal of a re-design is to create a better experience for your users. Maybe it is a new look, a revised navigation scheme, or a complete overhaul. Whatever the outcome, your site should reflect the company behind the site and to ensure a sense of trust with your future customers.
Hiring the right firm to re-design: Last but definitely not least, is hiring the right professionals to redesign your website. Building or re-designing a website is best done with a team that includes both technical experts as well as creative designers. A team can synergize their talents and abilities and create a much better site for you.
Your website is your signature on the Internet. It is often the only way for people to evaluate who you are and what you have to offer. Your profits depend on the quality of your website. It’s time to make that resolution for 2007 and empower yourself with a newly re-designed website!
Sonny Gupta, President & CEO of Web Design Studio (www.webdesignstudio.com ) can be reached at (919) 424-3877.

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Related Forum Posts
Re: New Year Resolutions... - My New Years Resolution is to be earning $500+ with my online business. This includes any freelance work that I do. I'm about half-way there now. Another Resolution is to look into selling more on eBay and maybe finding a reputable dropshipper that offers competitive pricing on high-demand items. I like eBay and the opportunity that it provides. I've mainly been selling personal items, but I'd like to start tapping into a larger market and making some significant income on eBay.
Re: New Year Resolutions... - [quote="Alan Mater":2acona1t]My New Years Resolution is to be earning $500+ with my online business. This includes any freelance work that I do. I'm about half-way there now. Another Resolution is to look into selling more on eBay and maybe finding a reputable dropshipper that offers competitive pricing on high-demand items. I like eBay and the opportunity that it provides. I've mainly been selling personal items, but I'd like to start tapping into a larger market and making some significant income on eBay.[/quote:2acona1t] Hi Alan, Do you mean $500+ per month? And when you're selling items on eBay from a reputable dropshipper... do you think it's still important to pick a product you're passionate about (like what an entrepreneur would normally do when starting a business)? Or is it just about moving a popular item for profit on eBay?
Re: New Year Resolutions... - [quote="Kevin Lee":398jg5d7][quote="Alan Mater":398jg5d7]My New Years Resolution is to be earning $500+ with my online business. This includes any freelance work that I do. I'm about half-way there now. Another Resolution is to look into selling more on eBay and maybe finding a reputable dropshipper that offers competitive pricing on high-demand items. I like eBay and the opportunity that it provides. I've mainly been selling personal items, but I'd like to start tapping into a larger market and making some significant income on eBay.[/quote:398jg5d7] Hi Alan, Do you mean $500+ per month? And when you're selling items on eBay from a reputable dropshipper... do you think it's still important to pick a product you're passionate about (like what an entrepreneur would normally do when starting a business)? Or is it just about moving a popular item for profit on eBay?[/quote:398jg5d7] Hi Kevin, Yes, sorry I didn't clarify. My goal is to make $500+ per month. I would say yes, pick products that you have an interest in. That's the best option if you're going to like what you do. Hopefully you can find a balance between products you're interested in and products that are in high demand.
How to valuate a business - Hi Garth - here is how we did it at Northern Crown Capital when I was helping them raise venture capital for Toronto-based entrepreneurs. Assume the start date is 2003 so 2008 projections are 5 years out: How Northern Crown Capital Valuates a Business 2008 Financial Projections Earnings Before Tax $5,865,000 Tax Rate 42% Taxes $2,463,300 Net Earnings $3,401,700 Amount Seeking to Raise Today $3,500,000 Discounted Value of Future Opportunity, 5 Years Out 2008 P/E Ratio 15 Value of Company in 2008 $51,025,500 Discount Rate Applied 30% Year 2008 $51,025,500 Year 2007 $35,717,850 Year 2006 $25,002,495 Year 2005 $17,501,747 Year 2004 $12,251,223 Value of Company at Investment in 2003 $12,251,223 Less: Investment Amount $3,500,000 Present Value $8,751,223 Discount for Risk & Private Company 40% Less: Discount for Risk & Private Company $3,500,489 Private Company Value $5,250,734 Present Value (What the Owner Keeps) $5,250,734 60.00% Financing (What the Investor Gets) $3,500,000 40.00% Total $8,750,734 100.00% I hope this helps!
Re: HAPPY NEW YEAR! - Happy New Year!


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