Bikeshedding is a term that was coined as a metaphor. Focusing on minutiae while neglecting the bigger picture sums it up quite well. Below is a discussion of how bikeshedding can be utilized in an effort to maintain perspective while still creating a compelling, relevant, and functional website.

Content is King...Still!

Clients have often come to us with minor issues such as the color palette utilized on a page, the fonts being utilized, and various other aesthetic concerns. Quite often we find that configuring extensions which are more relevant in terms of the appearance of a website rather than promoting its functionality. Many clients would rather pay attention to the layout of a site rather than take a peek ‘under the hood’, but it is vital to realize that without the proper underlying mechanics, your site is at risk of becoming less relevant than it could be. Your content...what your website is putting forward and sharing with other people is what needs to be top-notch, it needs to draw people in so deeply that they want to share it with others. It is the heart and soul of your online brand.

• Unique, involving, and ultimately exciting content is where your site will shine to people and search engines alike.
• Overall design, visual layout, and the first impressions a website’s design might leave with a visitor are indeed relevant, but they take backseat to anything which is entertaining or different.
• New content is what Google likes to see, and you want your site visitors to share/talk about your content just like they share/talk about something new they saw on TV.
• Multimedia is also very helpful in promoting interest in your content, and taking photos and creating videos to further enhance your content makes it that much more marketable/exciting.

An Online Presence That’s Relevant

Skin-deep, aesthetic changes to a website’s appearance or even its user experience will not serve to increase a site’s presence online if the end result for the visitor is all fluff and no substance. Below are some ideas for creating awesome content:

• Social media can be an awesome way to get in touch with the community at large and find new people to take an interest in your content, but be selective in choosing the best option for your particular niche.
• Facebook and Twitter are certainly the biggest options in the world of social media, but they are not necessarily the best for your business.
• Make sure and post consistently, respond to comments as much as possible in a way that is professional, succinct, and useful.
• Immediately upon site completion begin utilizing Google Analytics, and make sure someone at your office is Google Analytics certified so as to ensure competency when analyzing + reporting on data.
• Find a reliable, professional SEO (Search Engine Optimization) professional to assist you in creating/maintaining both an onsite and offsite schema for creating amazing content that generates a buzz.
• Start building relationships - post on forums, create articles for third party-hosted blogs, and get involved in the community/niche that your website is a part of. If your website sells flower seeds for instance, head to the gardening forums!

Improving Site Performance

When browsing the Internet, patience is not always a virtue…and so it stands to reason that having a site which is largely focused upon delivering content to visitors quickly should be a top priority. Speed boosts the conversion rates of all sites, because it is a matter of convenience (which all customers appreciate). Below are some useful tips on how to boost the rate of speed at which your site delivers content:

• Enable Joomla cache and Gzip compression for your Joomla sites directly from the backend under Global configuration.
• Optimize images - there are many tools available that can optimize images without making overly costly sacrifices to the quality of the image
• Optimize CSS and JavaScript
• Utilize Joomla extensions or Wordpress plugins for your sites that will automate and streamline much of the associated work involved with SEO. Be very careful however when utilizing third party plugins and extensions, check to make sure they are well reviewed and come from trusted publishers/developers.
• Use CDN (Content Delivery Network) - this network allows for the quick transfer of assets needed for loading content online including HTML pages, javascript files, stylesheets, images, and videos. At Cloudaccess.net we offer CDN, and you can learn more about it here.

Below you will find some tools for testing the speed at which your site operates:

• Pingdom
• Google PageSpeed Insights
• YSlow Browser Plugin
• GTmetrix

Conclusion:

A high performing website will be very important as your site and brand gain steam online, because you will have the online infrastructure to accommodate the growth in question. Now that you’re aware of the existing options available to optimize your site for search and overall functionality you can leave the small things behind, and focus on the big picture.