We’ve been evaluating a website to list the steps we need to take to improve it. Do you have a website that would benefit from the process? It’s best to do a complete evaluation now and have some goals in mind. Then, the next steps will be easier and much more effective.

Now we’re into the redesign process. This green and brown website from a company doing flower arranging classes has been examined from top to bottom, resulting in a list of fixes for the project. If you use this method, I’m sure you will have good results. Just be sure to cover all your bases. [If you missed Step 1, click here.]

Collecting the Parts

The first part we need is a custom theme for WordPress. Many web development companies will create a custom theme for you, but since there are so many good WordPress themes out there, I prefer to adapt one we can buy. Let’s find a premium WordPress theme that has the layout and page types we want.

You may think this step is not important, but remember about “first impressions.” What you present in this moment of time will determine whether your visitor is interested enough to explore, or they go on to their next destination immediately. The WordPress theme should work for what you want to have on the website, and it should convey what type of company you are. Let’s see what we can find.

The new theme needs to be a general-use WordPress theme, not just a blog theme. This will allow us to put an introduction to the company on the front page, not the blog.

One feature of the theme that will attract attention is an animated set of images at the top of the page. Photos of the floral classes or the arrangements made in the classes will tell the story well.

Photos!

Photos for the front page – the animated panel, large and small photo for each main page, photos for the new blog articles – we need some flower photos. The existing Classes photos will work, and we have some fine flower photos on the site. If we need some stock photography, iStockPhoto.com is always a good option. Other situations might call for a professional photographer to produce the quality of photos needed to clearly see the class setting, the steps, or the final arrangements. For now, we are going to use what we have.

Writing Customer-centric Content

Our plan is to talk about these classes in terms of what our customer wants and how the flower arranging classes solves this need. The more you can use “you” and “your” instead of “our” and “we” in your story, the better response you’ll receive from readers. If you’ve been using this method of story-telling in your ad copy, this will just be another place to use your skill. If not, it just takes a little refocus to get it right. Give it a try!

Writing:  Rewrite all of the pages turning around the point of view. Add solutions to flower arranging situations your customers have, focusing on the subject of each page. For example, “This class gets you started with the longest-lasting fresh Christmas decoration, the wreath. We’ll give you tips on the best place to find fresh greens and wreaths, then take you step-by-step through some decorating possibilities.” The Classes have good descriptions and photos, but we’ll add some lines in each one about who the class is for, what they’ll take away as a benefit.

We also need several new blog articles. These are best written or at least outlined by the principals of the company. These blog articles – posts –  should be focused on customer problem solving, how customers are using of their new skills, and current company events.

Some good sources for improving your writing and writing blogs, in particular:

Ready for Redesign!

All the steps above take some time, thought, and re-evaluation to get them all right. I now have the template, the photos, and the articles are being written. You’ll see some views of this flower arranging website for your opinion in the next, and final, edition of Website Redesign: Now It’s Newsy and Simple.

There are so many ways to go about this process. What’s your biggest challenge with improving your website? Please share it with us in the comments below.

About Sally Erickson

Erickson Creative's Sally Erickson is a WordPress website builder, specializing in evaluating and improving business websites for more leads and better profits. Making better websites everyday…. connect with me on Twitter and FaceBook.

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