Your Own Site Review
For several months this summer I saw numerous problems with various hosting companies. I was on the verge of no longer recommending a few of the biggies because of chronic problems. Fortunately, most of them have gotten it together but it's still important to recognize that quality of service does vary and unlike 'utilities' you do have a choice. I'm mentioning this because it's troubling to me how few of you notice these things, let alone complain. It's sort of like the phone: how often do you call yourself? You might have the crappiest phone in the world and never know it!
if you do nothing else on this list, I hope you'll take five or ten minutes and go through each page of your site as if you were a new user. Take note of issues like speed and readability. Really try to see the site as a complete stranger does. Google your site. See how the rest of the world sees you. And if you don't like what you see? Call me. (By the way, this experiment is best done on some other computer, such as one of those ancient PCs in hotels or a tablet device at the local Big Box Store.)
“Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?”
OK, that's as spiritual as I get this season.  My point is that many of you accept issues with your own site that you would never tolerate when visiting another URL. I get it; I'm that way with my car. I tend to ignore all the pricey 'maintenance' stuff the dealer wants me to do until something 'breaks'. It's all marketing fluff to get me to buy something, right? Maybe, but that's not what this is about. Now is the time to start holding your web site to the same standards you expect from sites you use. You have to be your own harshest critic because most visitors will not tell you if they dislike something or if there is a problem. If they already know you, they ignore issues. If they don't? They simply move on to someone else. As we all do.
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OK, back to work! Sorry this was more 'brussel sprouts' than 'yams' (There will be time for that soon enough.) As always, I hope I've given you some good ideas to increase traffic and make your visitors even happier. But even if you don't have a thing for me to work on at present (shocking but possible), please drop me a line anyway and let me know how things are going. It's always good to hear from you.
Sincerely,
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