Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

That`s the point ... if you had to think to find it, something is wrong there.

But in any case, it wasn`t so much a discussion on house of jerky ... more of a discussion on freshness in general. And Craig, you have a point - I hate going in different Targets to find items in different places (I mean, not just the section locations are different, but the products are in different sections depending on the store`s whims). But I do think you can keep things "fresh" without "overhauling". The blog entries update on the front of my website every time I post ... but that doesn`t change the whole site. So that leaves us with a good point ... it`s good to designate areas of change. For example, the navigation on Site X will always be located in the top of the left sidebar. New categories might be added, but for the most part, the navigation stays there. But the right sidebar might have an area that announces new specials, and that section is updated twice a month. The specials change - the designated area for them does not. Craig, I think this fits in with your model of the department store as well ... you might have a display for women`s shoes on the corner of one walkway at all times, but what is displayed on that table changes. IMO, this is a much better model for "freshness" than relocating everything ... unless (through tracking) you realized no one even saw your display, in which case you may want to find it a new permanent home. So yes, by all means ... rotate you specials banners, announce your blog posts, make your jerky guy wear a santa hat ... but keep it all in the generally same place!

In case there are any misconceptions, the house of jerky site is changed on a regular basis to reflect the holiday or other specials Janie runs. She is very proactive in running specials and promoting them to her existing and potential customers.

Because we are viewing houseofjerky.net today and not during a holiday, here`s a brief summary of the changes to houseofjerky.net.

~Roland

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I like that phrasing, that there`s room for "freshness without a complete overhaul." That`s all I`m bringing out, that sometimes people sacrifice what works for the sake of change. It`s like change for no reason other than change, and I think that`s a bad idea. If there`s a reason behind the change, then hopefully it`s a good reason.

Amen to that.  For one thing, don`t change the navigation model unless you have to!  

Presenting fresh content in a sidebox ("What`s New?") or in a specific location on your home page ensures that visitors are always seeing something different, but not  getting  overwhelmed  by constantly having to figure out your website on every visit. 

Good luck,
Scott



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I think that change can be over done and that this is what CraigL was trying to explain.  Sometimes it is totally necessary for example, some link doesn`t work or whatever.

But if a change is made and not really noticeable, is it really a change?

jillybeans