What’s Happening...

Spring is here! The birds are chirping, the days are brighter and the Wired Solutions office temperature is a toasty 85 degrees Fahrenheit! Notwithstanding the effect of the building's screwy boiler thermostat, the office is also hot from excitement with all that's going on! With the imminent release of two large projects, the recent release of Tea Scapes, and not to mention the several other sites in progress, the team is really working up a sweat!

As already mentioned, this month we released Tea Scapes to the public. This e-commerce site, which uses our Wired Cart engine, really showcases how well our team can implement custom features and logic into our e-commerce engine. The site is not only beautiful, it also has custom fulfillment integration with the shipping warehouse for easy order fulfillment as well as custom grouping by tea regions and categories. Check the site out at www.teascapes.com.

Is your website ready for the economic turn around?

Whether you believe the recession is over or not, it's hard to argue with the fact that public perception is that the worst is behind us. Sure, your business numbers might be down compared to 3 years ago but most business owners I've polled recently agree that compared to last year, things are looking up this year (knock wood!). This economic turn around, perceived or real, brings up a question that a lot of business owners haven't thought of.. "Is our website ready for this turn around?"

The question isn't asking you to do a quick check of your website to make sure it loads up when you type in your website address. Instead, it speaks to the fact that your client, whether its another business or a consumer, likely has a different state of mind when shopping around than they did 3 years ago. We all just went through a once in a generation economic meltdown. I think it's safe to say that people's mindset will be a little different when looking at your website to learn more about your company or products. Doing some simple housekeeping and updates can really set your company apart from the crowd when your potential clients are comparing your website to your competition's website.

Some things to consider are:

1. Identifying your audience: Your target audience could have very well changed since your initial development of the website. For example, mold shops that once targeted tier 1 automotive suppliers might now be targeting medical or green energy industries. Make sure your website is speaking to your new audience!
2. Do a full audit of your website text content: Make sure the content is appropriate for the current situation and weed out any out of date pages. As an extension of point 1, make sure the text will make sense to your new audience if the audience has changed. Doing an update to the text content to match your current marketing plan is a great way to make sure your website content is in line with your current target market.
3. Update images: Updating images to coincide with the updated website text is essential in making sure your new marketing messages are fortified visually.
4. Incorporate New Media: Show your visitors that you are cutting edge by integrating new media like company videos hosted on YouTube. You could also integrate your Facebook or Twitter feed into your website. Doing this will show your clients that you are keeping up and that you're in tune with the times.

Lesson Learned! Ensuring that your website is ready for the economic turn around can position your company to stand out from the crowd when prospective clients are comparing your website to your competition's website. If you would like to discuss how Wired Solutions can help you make your website ready, send me an email at sharbel@wiredsolutions.ca or call us at 519-250-7786 / toll free 1-877-549-4733 * Sharbel Lutfallah is the lead developer at Wired Solutions, and has been developing e-commerce applications since 1998