I recently came across a review of my website that someone had done in 1998, when I first created a site. It got me to thinking about how my website has evolved over the past six years.
In 1998, I decided I wanted a website. I didn't have any reason to want a site -- I just felt that I should have one. Since I didn't have the foggiest idea of how to create a website, I hired someone to design one for me. And, since I really didn't know why I wanted a site, I told the designer that I wanted it done in bright, bold colors so that it would stand out and attract attention. This is what I ended up with -- I was so proud! (See the entire page here.)
I finally had a website, even though I didn't know why. I wondered why no one came to visit it, and why those that did didn't hang around very long. So I solicited reviews of the site. I got a few reviews that were polite and somewhat wishy-washy. But one reviewer really stung me with her comment: she said that it "looked like the circus was coming to town!"
I decided to get serious. In mid-1999, I contacted Rebecca Game of Digital Women, who is a wonderful designer. I still didn't know what I wanted, but I knew what I didn't want: bright bold colors, flowers, cartoons, cutsey stuff. I told Rebecca that I wanted it to look "professional." And this is what I got:
I begin reading about website promotion. I submitted my site to search engines, directories, and anywhere else I could find. I taught myself HTML. I added more pages and wrote more stuff. The result was astounding. People started visiting my site. Other sites linked to it -- universities, libraries, government agencies, non-profit organizations, commercial firms. My site rose to the top ten in the major search engines for my key words. And, I began getting business!
After four years, I started getting tired of looking at my own site. The design seemed old and stale to me. Plus, the individual pages were getting longer and longer with each update. I wanted something new, but I was afraid that if I made a major change, my search engine rankings and visitor numbers would drop. Finally, I decided to take the chance. Hello again, Rebecca -- I need a new design, something new and fresh-looking. She came through for me once again with a new look.
So, live and learn, as they say. I'll be forever grateful to whoever it was that gave me that blunt feedback on my first attempt at a website. If she hadn't, it might still look like the circus is coming to town.
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