{"id":333,"date":"2017-04-28T16:14:38","date_gmt":"2017-04-28T20:14:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/finestkindwebdesign.com\/blog\/?p=333"},"modified":"2017-05-01T14:52:44","modified_gmt":"2017-05-01T18:52:44","slug":"more-duct-tape-and-bondo-than-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/finestkindwebdesign.com\/blog\/more-duct-tape-and-bondo-than-car\/","title":{"rendered":"More Duct Tape and Bondo Than Car"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Don’t let this be your website…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the auto repair business, there is a saying: at some point you have more duct tape and bondo than car.\u00a0 It\u2019s meant as a joke, and describes many \u201cwinter beaters\u201d that are on the road here in Maine.\u00a0 What it means in the Internet age is that some websites need to be given such a complete make-over that it really doesn\u2019t make sense to keep adding onto what is already there.\u00a0 The fact of the matter is, that if your website is over five years old, it is obsolete.\u00a0<\/strong> There are many ways to tell, including the responsive design issues I mentioned in my last blog, but to be sure, it really requires a professional to do a website audit.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s in an audit?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Everyone has a different set of criteria they look for, but some elements of an audit are universal.\u00a0 The length of time it takes for your pages to load, the proper formatting of script, whether images are customized to be efficient at multiple screen sizes, and what a website might have for referring pages, otherwise known as \u201cbacklinks\u201d.\u00a0 The bigger issue however becomes \u201chow easy is this site to manage?\u201d\u00a0 If the site requires 25 edits to change one thing that spans across all pages, then it is definitely too much of an antique to be considered \u201ceasy to manage\u201d.\u00a0 Does the page show up correctly in different browsers?\u00a0 Do your letters overlap in places you don\u2019t want them to?\u00a0 Can you find what you need to on your site or is it an Easter egg hunt?<\/p>\n

Results of an Audit<\/strong><\/p>\n

By getting an audit of your existing website you are taking a look at whether your website is performing correctly for you, or whether it needs a tune-up.\u00a0 To extend the car metaphor one more level, you are looking to see if you have enough tread on your tires to weather another season, or if you might experience some kind of a blow-out.\u00a0 The kinds of blow-out that might happen may have to do with whether you need to update content on your website and it turns into a nightmare because no one has properly maintained the site.\u00a0 It may be that the person who is in charge of website monitoring has left the company and no one has taken time to handle the issue because it is too complicated or the information has been lost.\u00a0 I have had clients who tell me they do not know where their website is hosted.\u00a0 Do you know?<\/p>\n

Making an emergency plan<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sometimes the best thing you can do today, is plan for the problem that might crop up tomorrow.\u00a0 Do you have a backup of your website?\u00a0 Do you have someone who is the designated alternate for handling issues that come up with social media and your website?\u00a0 Can you incorporate cross-training that might handle this eventuality?\u00a0 At Finestkind Web Design, we help you accomplish that kind of plan in whatever fashion you might choose.\u00a0 If you want us to keep a copy of credentials and website backup, we can do that for you.\u00a0 All of my hosting clients have a website that includes a regular backup.\u00a0 Does yours?<\/p>\n

Is your website showing signs that it might be time to overhaul?\u00a0 Please let us know.\u00a0 We are here to help.<\/p>\n

Henry Lyons is the owner of Finestkind Web Design<\/strong> in Dresden, Maine. He can be reached at finestkindwd@gmail.com, or through his website www.fineskindwebdesign.com.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the auto repair business, there is a saying: at some point you have more duct tape and bondo than car.\u00a0 It\u2019s meant as a joke, and describes many \u201cwinter beaters\u201d that are on the road here in Maine.\u00a0 What it means in the Internet age is that some websites need to be given such … Continue reading “More Duct Tape and Bondo Than Car”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/finestkindwebdesign.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/finestkindwebdesign.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/finestkindwebdesign.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/finestkindwebdesign.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/finestkindwebdesign.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=333"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/finestkindwebdesign.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":340,"href":"http:\/\/finestkindwebdesign.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333\/revisions\/340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/finestkindwebdesign.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/finestkindwebdesign.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/finestkindwebdesign.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}