Controlling Your Website Content In-House

Jeff Smith, Trussway’s CEO and president, shares that “it’s crucial to keep your website updated as the ways people want to see things online has changed and current trends and styles of websites have as well.” We previously discussed how an attractive web presence can impact your business (May 2019) but what about maintaining that content and keeping it up-to-date and fresh? The beauty of a website as a marketing tool is the fact that it's always evolving and easy to update. As a result, companies can bring website content management in-house to streamline marketing efforts and more efficiently maintain their web content.

Jeff understands the opportunities that come with maintaining website content in-house. “We had a very old website and realized it needed to be refreshed,” he explains. “We wanted something we could update ourselves. We didn’t want to have to reach out to have other people make updates.” 

Trussway maintains their website using WordPress, a content management system (CMS) commonly used to build websites. A CMS uses a front-end user interface to make it easy for anyone with limited programming experience to make updates. By having someone on staff that can log into the system and make changes, a CMS provides a more efficient and convenient way to manage web content on a regular basis.

Jeff explains that although they haven’t made a lot of updates since the current version of their website launched three years ago, he knows that having the website management brought in-house has made their online marketing approach more efficient. “We’re looking to bring in someone to help us on social media and web updates. We feel it’s now necessary to have someone focused on doing that regularly.” 

Wilson Lumber is another component manufacturer taking advantage of a CMS after recognizing that they could streamline processes by managing more content in-house. “We are shifting to a WordPress website so we can control more of the website, from the blog posts and comments to overall web content,” says Heather Smith, the marketing coordinator at Wilson Lumber. “Nowadays with a tool like WordPress it can integrate with other tools that companies offer so it can simplify and streamline processes.”

“We embarked on a website redesign about two years ago and wrapped it up in 2018,” Heather shares. “We wanted a new design that would include a blog because we recognized the value of staying in touch with our customers and the value of fresh content.”

Heather’s team also looked at different ways to get people to their website in the hopes that they would explore other areas of their website. “We use social media and newsletters to get information out and then we direct them to the website for the content,” she explains. “We could just type this out in an email but by putting it on our website people are more likely to browse other sections of the website and maybe they’ll learn about other services we offer.”

Other motivating factors for Wilson Lumber’s website redesign was understanding the younger generation and looking at their website statistics. “The younger generation typically doesn’t just walk into a store and start looking for a product. They want to look online and find quality results before they talk to you. All of those impressions are being made by your website even before they’ve talked to you,” Heather says. “I think you’ve got to think about the different age groups and dynamics. You also need to make sure your site is mobile friendly. We look at our Google Analytics regularly and typically have over 50 percent going to the site on a mobile device.”

Both Trussway and Wilson Lumber know firsthand that their websites can be powerful marketing tools and that having someone on staff to manage content can help streamline the marketing and recruiting areas of their business. If you haven’t recently thought about the content on your website or you have but it’s stale and hasn’t been touched in ages, consider a CMS as a way to more easily maintain your website content.

To get started, simply determine who on your staff could get involved with managing your website content and direct them to SBCA’s webinar recording, “Take Charge of Managing Your Online Content,” to learn more. There are a number of CMS options to choose from and partnering with a web designer or using a simple website builder may both fit your website needs and be a great way to bring your website management in-house.