WESTMINSTER MARYLAND CLERICAL JOBS

Many businesses are still hosting first-generation sites that went up at the turn of the millennium. Likewise, the majority of these sites are passé by today's "make-it-useful" standards. Sometimes embarrassingly so.

Internet-savvy businesses will refresh the content on their websites regularly. Think about the impression a site that's a year out of date will have on visitors.

It takes a little dated information for visitors to conclude they've hit a dead end . Plus, when a big-deal client clicks on your "urgent" invitation to attend an upcoming seminar, only to find that the event came and went a year ago he will feel annoyed and foolish. And you'll be toast.

So consider this a noisy wakeup call. It's the 21st century. Is your website still looking like it's 1999?

Site Specific Suggestions

1. Business sites obviously run a gamut. But for the purposes of site facelifts, differences boil down to how frequently you must make changes. Consulting services may update sites only quarterly or even annually. Ecommerce sites or research companies may require updates by the hour.

   Whatever your needs, you can now find appropriate and affordable off-the-shelf software and third-party service providers to do the job. You can, for instance, put a fresh "skin" on your old site without disrupting any functionality.

2. Here are 11 ideas culled from web marketers and developers that can modernise your site without excessive costs.

   1. Reduce the Number of Site Pages

   Focus on redesigning only the core 10 to 15 pages, suggests Matt Greer, chief executive at Zeeo Interactive, a Web design services company. You can then archive any remaining popular or highly trafficked pages into Adobe PDF or Microsoft Word documents that are suitable for download.

3. 2. Make the Site a Marketing Tool

If you're not yet capturing data basics, such as which sites and search engines visitors are clicking from or which pages get most visitors, get started now.

Use pre-packaged software or a web services provider to capture detailed information about site visitors. "The first question to ask is: 'When visitors come to your site, what do you want them to do?' " says Erin Duckhorn, spokesperson for Crucial Technology, an online memory upgrade provider. Once you have answers, you can define the tracking metrics and develop the content, navigation and structure that will quickly satisfy your targeted visitors.

3. Set up an E-mail Program

Create an incentive for visitors to register or give you their email addresses.. Once you have addresses, send out useful emailings. But make sure who have explicit permission to do so - and don't cause more harm than good by bombarding them.

4. Create an Online Reward for Prized Customers

Treat your best customers with perks or discounts. "You can give them their own area of the site without any special technology," says Wally Bock, a web consultant. You can also, of course, email special offers.

5. Speed Loading Time

Fancy graphics and animations are obstacles in the path of getting to information. Make sure your visitors can easily find what they're after.