Redesign Your Website + Prune Your Content

Occasionally pruning your web content is a key to success

It's late summer in Eugene, Oregon. Gardeners are enjoying bountiful harvests as we begin to cut back dead growth. Many businesses are also gearing up for a new season. Yesterday, I was redesigning a psychotherapy site. Today, as I was pruning my berry bushes, I began reflecting on the similar strategies I use to prune a garden and redesign a website. I'm sharing in case the analogy is helpful for other nature enthusiasts and concrete thinkers.

1. Cut back dead growth

I begin redesigns by learning what content is not working for my clients:

• What is outdated? Contact information, certifications, services, unsupported or inaccessible apps, etc.

• What is confusing? While most people think of a new look when they think of a redesign, equally or more important is identifying places website users get stuck or give up. Maybe an image isn't conveying the message you want, or a key service is hard to find.

• What is redundant or unnecessary? Some repetition (like calls to action and contact info) is okay, but most website users are impatient: they want to solve their problem or find the information they're looking for ASAP. Too much text frustrates them. Think phrases and sentences rather than paragraphs. Keep top-level pages simple and to-the-point. I can be verbose myself; one solution is to break big ideas into smaller steps or strategies. People find content more engaging when it's broken into chunks. Sharing right-sized bites on a blog and social media platforms will boost your online visibility.

2. Reinforce your areas of success

   
   

By trimming or de-emphasizing outdated and unnecessary content, you make your main message and call to action stand out. In plant terms, you're giving the strongest branches nutrients and space to thrive. This fosters a positive growth cycle: users easily find what they're looking for on your website, reinforcing "paths" for search engines (part of SEO, or search engine optimization).

3. Plan for new growth

Pruning also gives you room to diversify and experiment with new offerings and techniques. Based on your previous experience . . .

• How can you restructure your site to make it easier for your target audience to find what they are seeking? For example, if you are a therapist specializing in EMDR, include EMDR as a menu item and mention it near the top of your homepage. It might warrant its own page, FAQ, or blog post. Sharing useful, unique content on a topic signals relevance to search engines. If you talk about EMDR on multiple pages, make sure to connect them with links (like buttons) to help users on their quest. Interlinking related content also improves SEO.

• What trend or growth area could you target by offering a new special or service? Wix Analytics show you what searches most often bring people to your site. Offering a small discount through a pop-up, or posting it in relevant social media communities, is a low-stakes way to test the waters.

• How has your business grown in a way that you want to highlight and encourage? Do you have new testimonials, qualifications, partners, equipment, or processes? For example, if your restaurant has begun to incorporate some local ingredients, mention that on your About page and trumpet it on social media! Make sure the locavores in your community know you exist and offer them a small incentive to try your food.

  
  

Don't hide your light under a bushel!

The most effective marketing isn't deceptive. It highlights your organization's true strengths in ways that catch the attention of your ideal customers. It also values your customers' attention by making frequent tasks easy to do and key info easy to find. An important part of catching and directing attention is cutting back content that's no longer serving you.

I hope this pruning analogy makes sense to some fellow gardeners! If you're getting ready to redesign or update your website, we'd love to work with you.