Does your website work for you? Not the only question you need to ask.

Does your website work for you? That’s a great question, but that’s not the only question to ask. Our clients often come to us with a web redesign project, but they don’t just come with one website; they have many. Campaign sites old and new, division sites, chapter sites, and not to mention Facebook, Twitter and other social media. (Pinterest, anybody?) So to ask solely about the one online property misses the point. The sum total of all of these online presences is what we call the organization’s Digital Ecology. It’s much more relevant to ask, “Does your digital ecology meet your organization’s needs?”[Try our online diagnostic now:Êhttp://www.agentic.ca/digital-ecology]We are launching a new kind of thought leadership service for our clients. We will take a look at your entire online presence and evaluate it in the context of your Digital Ecology. This is a key first step for any organization that is thinking about redesigning their website because it is not just the website that matters, but your entire digital presence.We use a specific methodology to assess whether your online presence effectively meets your organization’s needs, strategic objectives, and requirements going forward.ÊMany firms offer web design, but we consider web design and development in a holistic way, looking at the digital ecology of our clients. We know that most organizations revamp their main website only every few years Ð three on average. And when an organization spends on average between $40,000 and $60,000, we realize that these decisions cannot be taken lightly.We still think your organizational website is the most important part of your digital ecology. It’s effectively the “brain” of the organization online. It’s the hub through which other activities occur. And it’s always the first place that potential members and donors think to go to. That’s not to say that they might not see campaign sites, or be intrigued by a twitter post, but they will always end up on your main site to find out who you are and understand what your organization is looking for them to do.Through our digital ecology methodology, we look at all of the pieces and what they mean together. We provide specific recommendations around what pieces you need and how to integrate them seemlessly together. With this, you’ll understand much more clearly what your new site should do to smartly manage the interlocking pieces of your digital ecology.

• Author: Phillip Djwa