In our last episode, we covered the CTA (Call to Action), the landing page, and whether you should have a blog at all. Remember, repeat the call to action and then repeat it again.
Today we look at three things. How often you should update your website, why it looks different on your phone, and whether video actually belongs on it.
First question: How often should you actually update your website?
You remember those days when updating your company brochure meant a full redesign, a reprint, a minimum order quantity, and a bill that made your accountant cry. And then six months later, half of them are still sitting in a box in the storeroom, just out of date enough to become hamster cage lining.
Your website has no minimum print run, no reprint cost, no hamster. It is the most flexible, most powerful, and most infinitely editable brand asset that you own. A price change, a new service, a staff update, a fresh case study. Done. No waste, no outdated items floating around the world with your name still attached to them.
Treat your website like the living document it actually is. Check your core systems weekly, update your portfolio and reviews regularly, and make sure nothing on your site is embarrassingly out of date. A copyright notice that still reads “2016” in your footer may seem like a small thing, but it tells every visitor exactly how much attention you pay to your own business.
Your website is never finished. It just gets better.
Second question. Why does your website look different on mobile, and what is mobile-first design?
Many people actually believe a mobile site is just a scaled-down version of the desktop site. And that is completely wrong. Your mobile content needs a separate, unique design approach. To be logical, legible, and maintain the same hierarchy, you need to treat mobile design with the same respect as desktop design.
Today, mobile devices account for over 62% of web traffic. But that’s a general average. Your audience might tell a completely different story.
As an example, we have a financial services client whose customers average 65 years old. His traffic splits about 30/70. 30% mobile, 70% desktop. Another client of ours, a California-based dental specialist, has an 80/20 breakdown. Different services, different states, different types of clients.
Mobile first means you plan and optimize for the smartphone screen first, then scale up or redesign for desktop. Personally, I treat mobile and desktop as two separate but equally important tasks. Mobile often needs its own custom banners, headers, and images. Just shrinking or repositioning your desktop layout onto a phone screen is not design. It’s damage control.
Third question, and it’s a big one. Should you use video on your website?
The short answer is yes. The long answer is maybe. If it’s professionally produced, purposeful, and it actually elevates your brand, then yes, absolutely. A short video explaining what you do can keep visitors on the page longer, communicate something complex quickly, and build trust faster than text or images alone.
But poor-quality video, and worse, poor audio, will turn a customer away faster than no video at all. People will forgive imperfect visuals, but they will not forgive something that sounds like it was recorded in a public bathroom with a ceiling fan on.
Video for video’s sake is just noise with a play button. If it doesn’t serve a specific purpose, don’t add it. If it doesn’t look or sound good, don’t add it.
So keep an eye out for an update.
Next episode is a slight detour from the website chapter to take a look at a very important subject. Why chasing design trends is one of the fastest ways to wreck a brand you’ve spent years building.
And that’s it for this episode of BRAND:NEW. Thank you for spending a few minutes with me. I don’t take your time for granted. If this helped you, share it with the business owner who needs it. And if you’ve got 10 seconds, please leave a rating. It would really mean the world to me.
I’m Donovan. This has been BRAND:NEW. I’ll see you in the next episode.
Three questions come up in almost every conversation I have with business owners about their websites.
How often should it be updated?
Why does it look different on a phone?
And does video actually belong on it?
Each one has a clear answer, and each answer says something about how seriously you treat your own brand.
Your website is not a brochure
You remember those days when updating your company brochure meant a full redesign, a reprint, a minimum order quantity, and a bill that made your accountant cry. And then six months later, half of them were still sitting in a box in the storeroom, just out of date enough to become hamster cage lining.
Your website has no minimum print run, no reprint cost, and no hamster. It is the most flexible, most powerful, and most infinitely editable brand asset that you own. A price change, a new service, a staff update, a fresh case study. Done. No waste, and nothing outdated floating around the world with your name still attached to it.
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Your website has no minimum print run, no reprint cost, and no hamster.
So how often should you update it?
Treat your website like the living document it actually is. Check your core systems weekly, update your portfolio and reviews regularly, and make sure nothing on your site is embarrassingly out of date.
A copyright notice in your footer that still reads 2016 seems like a small thing. But it tells every visitor exactly how much attention you pay to your own business. Your website is never finished. It just gets better.
Your website is never finished. It just gets better.
Why your website looks different on a phone
Many people believe a mobile site is just a scaled-down version of the desktop site. That is completely wrong.
Your mobile content needs its own design approach. For it to be logical and legible, a main menu should carry the same hierarchy as the desktop version; mobile design deserves the same respect as desktop design.
Mobile devices account for over 62 percent of web traffic today. But that is a general average, and your audience might tell a completely different story.
We have a financial services client whose customers average 65 years old. His traffic splits about 30 percent mobile and 70 percent desktop. Another client of ours, a California-based dental specialist, sees the opposite: about 80 percent of visitors on mobile and 20 percent on desktop.
Different services, different states, different types of clients. That is why the global average is a starting point and not a strategy. Your own analytics will tell you which screen your customers are actually holding.
Different services, different states, different types of clients.
What mobile-first actually means
Mobile-first means you plan and optimize for the smartphone screen first, then scale up or redesign for desktop.
Personally, I treat mobile and desktop as two separate but equally important tasks. Mobile often needs its own custom banners, headers, and images. Just shrinking or repositioning your desktop layout onto a phone screen is not design. It is damage control.
Just shrinking or repositioning your desktop layout onto a phone screen is not design. It is damage control.
Should you use video on your website?
The short answer is yes. The long answer is maybe.
If it is professionally produced, purposeful, and actually elevates your brand, then yes, absolutely. A short video explaining what you do can keep visitors on the page longer, communicate something complex quickly, and build trust faster than text or images alone.
But poor-quality video, and worse, poor audio, will turn a customer away faster than no video at all. People will forgive imperfect visuals. They will not forgive something that sounds like it was recorded in a public bathroom with a ceiling fan on.
People will forgive imperfect visuals. They will not forgive something that sounds like it was recorded in a public bathroom with a ceiling fan on.
Video for the sake of video
Video for video’s sake is just noise with a play button. If it does not serve a specific purpose, do not add it. If it does not look or sound good, do not add it.
Video for the sake of video is just noise with a play button.
Where this leaves you
All three answers come back to the same idea. Your website is a living brand asset, and it deserves the same care you would give anything else that carries your name. Keep it current, design it properly for every screen your customers use, and only add what genuinely earns its place.
This article accompanies Episode 24 of BRAND:NEW, which is also available as an audio episode.
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BOOK A STRATEGY CALL
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