Every spring, I get inspired to get my house and yard in order. Anyone who knows me will tell you I am a terrible gardener. In fact, I have a black thumb: put a plant near me and it will die in a matter of days. Yet, come April, I am outside, clearing the weeds, raking debris and optimistically planting flowers in pots. And I hate every minute of it. But, I know I must do it. If I want my home to be presentable to my neighbors and a source of pride for me, I will fill multiple contractor bags with weeds and drop yards of mulch. I will clean it up and make it look better.
The same can be said for cleaning up a company’s website and internal portals. Over time, these channels can get overgrown with outdated material. Like a garden, it’s good to pull out the outdated, unimportant, and frankly stale content regularly to have the chance for new, colorful content to grow. It’s also a task that most people don’t like to do. After all it takes time and resources to dig through that old content that somehow multiplied over time. The problem with not cleaning up your websites or portals regularly is that it creates a bad user experience – much like a prickly weed in the middle of a flower box. It’s not pretty to look at, and it takes away from the overall message.
By taking the time to review your content, freshen the overall appearance and content, you will draw old visitors and new ones, and watch your business grow. So, this spring, take the time to weed your websites and portals. Clear out the old content, dust off the cobwebs of outdated information, and make sure to plant fresh, new content.
Author: Robin Imbesi