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There are are a number of reasons why you may consider re-designing your web site. The most common is because it is simply outdated. A lot has changed over the last three to five years, technology has improved, trends have changed and peoples expectations have grown. Some of the scripting that was used a few short years ago to overcome the inconsistant behaviours of competing browsers is now obsolete and could in fact be having a negative affect on the site causing long load times and in some cases simply not working any more.

The thing to keep in mind is that this is the face of your business on-line. When somebody lands on your site either by discovering you in a search engine or perhaps from a web site address printed in an advertisement somewhere they will quickly make up their minds whether they are going to do business with you or not.

How does your website compare with your competitors? Is the layout flat and boring, even amateurish? A well designed site with an attractive layout tells potential customers that you are serious about your business. They will have more confidence in starting a business relationship with you. 

A well thought out navigation structure is also important. Information organised into logical categories and presented cleanly, in a consistent menu structure, will help visitors find the information they are looking. After all they chose your site out of all the results presented to them in the search engine, don't make it hard for them.

Two pet peeves of mine which I see time and time again involve generic domains. Forget for the moment that a generic domain does nothing to support your brand identity. Using the free 3Mb that came with the dial-up account from your service provider means that you are locked to that provider. If you decide to shop for a better deal somewhere else you will have to move your site and all the hard work building links and on-line credibility will be lost.

Similarly, email addresses for your business are more ammunition in your aresenal for brand recognition. If you own a domain name for your business you should use it in your email address. Using hotmail or gmail detracts from your professional credibility and in many cases will be harder for potential clients to remember later on.