Web Designs for Small Business

Eventually, every site owner is faced with the issue of what to do when a website becomes obsolete. Technical, economic, and cultural factors may influence these decisions. When a website no longer serves its audience or owner, there are several choices. Some sites simply remain online without supervision. In other cases, sites disappear because domains are lost, site owners retire, or catastrophic technical problems occur.

A typical example can be seen at www.daybreakfishing.com. During the earliest phase of the project, it was simply a hobby site consisting of simple html pages. Later in its life, online forums were added. Throughout its life, content was added, updated, or culled when necessary. Eventually, an array of monetization tools were added to the site, many of which were experimental in nature.

For a number of years the content was intentionally restricted to topics related to saltwater fishing in the states of Maryland and Virginia. Although the site served a niche audience, its geographic limitations made it difficult to manage.

Despite considerable concerns about search engine implications, a decision was made to change the title, content, and design of the site. Part of the project involved closing the forums, which had adverse affects on local audiences. Next, the site was transferred to another web host.

During the construction phase, a number of technical challenges are faced. In preparation for the new design, an initial pruning was undertaken. Obsolete and irrelevant content was removed throughout the site. A page by page review was in order, starting with the most critical sections of the old site. During this construction phase, page names, file extensions, and much of the content was kept the same, although page titles, menus, and other design attributes required editing.

Another important task involves re-defining goals and then working to create content that fulfills those needs. In this example, the site title was changed from “Maryland – Virginia Saltwater Fishing” to “Mid
Atlantic Fishing”. The new title implies not only an expansion of geographical boundaries, but also a wider range of subject material.

During an expansion of this magnitude, the addition of quality content in a timely manner is essential. This aspect of website renovation affects audiences, search engine rankings, and other factors. One of the most important niches to be filled was an entirely new category: Freshwater Fishing. Eventually, this section will include freshwater fish species profiles, techniques, and other information.

To address the issue of species profiles, this page outlines the list of popular Mid-Atlantic Freshwater Fish Species. From here, audiences can read overviews of various species of freshwater fish. As with other sections, this is best addressed by priority, with new pages being introduced as often as practical.

Another challenge centers around the geographical expansion of the site. The project calls for new regional content, including coverage of the Delaware Bay and other Mid Atlantic destinations.

While old content is being edited and new content is added, the planning and implementation of an entirely new site design can be addressed.

Small business owners face significant hurdles when it comes to promoting their businesses. Startup is the most critical time to promote a new business.

Once the business has be launched and operations ramp up, additional promotions are required for most operations.

The list of essential tools for promoting a business can become long, expensive and time consuming. Advertising and other techniques for gaining customers can become so much of a task that it becomes overwhelming and sometimes even a dreaded task.

For many owners, time is in short supply. Whenever budgets allow, business promotion tasks can be sublet. These include chores projects such as printed materials, press releases, social media campaigns, blogging, online content and other services.

One of the most valuable and under-utilized promotional tools for many small businesses in written content. Once created, content can take the form of online articles, blog posts, social media releases, or perhaps be used in traditional printed materials.

When time and resources are limited, the creation of high quality content is sometimes best delegated to freelance writer. Small business owners in need of specialized content are encouraged to contact Daybreak Web Designs LLC for a free consultation.

Outdoor-related Business Promotion Articles

How to Attract Clients to a Fishing Guide Service

Tips for Promoting an Outdoor Tour Guide Business

How to Attract Customers to a Guide Service

Customizable Designs for Anglers, Guides, Outdoor Businesses

Creating content by group allows authors to interlink pages by topic, which in turn seems to drive traffic much more effectively than having a stand alone page.

An example of this can be seen on Squidoo, a web 2.0 site. An older series of lenses included 6 species of American salmon. Next in the series was a lens for Arctic char, a related fish:

More recently, lenses were added for several North American freshwater trout:

brook trout
brown trout
lake trout
rainbow trout

During the research the process,  several other species  were noted that may warrant additional pages.

To compliment this content one or more categories of T shirts, stickers and other artwork were created for each species, some of which can be displayed on pages where content exists related to each species.

An example of  this can be seen in this  section for rainbow trout artwork.

More examples of products create to accompany content can be seen in this category of fish art.

Promoting content is also easier as a group. The technique allows creation of articles that provide important backlinks to several pages at once.

Examples of this can be seen in these articles:

Trout and Char of North America

Trout and Char Art