March 2005
From the Editor: Learning to love your Web site

Let’s be honest. Most of us have a love-hate relationship with our Web sites. It’s time-consuming to keep it updated and difficult to create new content. No one has time to work on it, and it’s often difficult to decide who should — IT? Operations? Marketing? But Web sites also provide a growing revenue stream and a way for us to extend relationships with our customers.

So last March, we began the unenviable task of redesigning our Web site. “Redesign” is generous; it was really more of a complete overhaul. Instead of trying to fix it, we decided to scrap it and start over.

Our first step was to create a strategic plan by identifying our goals and objectives. Instead of focusing on the technology, we thought about the functionality — what we wanted our Web site to do. Our primary goal was to make it a resource for readers, as well as a tie-in to the magazine. On the advertising side, our goal was to increase traffic and value for advertisers. And the only way to do that is to create a dynamic, interactive, content-rich Web site that readers visit regularly.

For us, increasing traffic meant increasing content, which meant more work for our staff, so it was important to get buy-in and generate excitement in the project. Everyone had input on the development and design of the Web site. And as we watched the site take shape over a three-month period, we couldn’t wait for it to go live. Don’t get me wrong, it was (and is) painful at times.

We update industry news daily and offer an RSS news feed. Our newsletter goes out weekly instead of bi-weekly, with a new tip-of-the-week and industry poll in each one. All features and departments are now available online, along with 16 years of EXPO archives. Key industry research is also available. On the advertising side, we’ve added a number of unique sponsorship opportunities, like mouseover buttons and exclusive content sponsorships.

Our traffic has exploded to 700,00 page views a month — and continues to steadily rise. Readership of our e-newsletter has nearly doubled. From 2003 to 2004, our Web revenue increased 85 percent, and the new revenue more than covers the cost of the redesign.

Why should you care? Like magazines, show Web sites will provide a key component for revenue growth in the future. According to our Marketwatch survey in January 2005, show organizers expect to generate $124,768 in Web revenue this year — a 19 percent increase over 2004.

If you haven’t redesigned your Web site recently, it’s time. Even though it can be a daunting task, it’ll be worth your time and effort. I know it was for us. Last month, we won the min’s Best of the Web Awards for Best Redesign, presented by the Media Industry Newsletter, min’s b2b and min magazine — with Better Homes & Gardens and Epicurious.com as honorable mentions behind us. And believe it or not, we were able to accomplish this without adding any new staff. We’ve learned to love our Web site. Hope you do too!