Your new website is not bad as you think
A message of hope for those who are late in the game
Many people running a relatively new website or blog are not satisfied because they are not getting the expected outcome from their websites. Many new websites fail because they are trying to mimic the leading websites in their industry. Webmasters of new sites compare their websites with top ranking sites. They try to catch up with these sites in terms of functionality and features. Naturally they feel unhappy about their performance. By constantly comparing their sites to leading websites, these site owners are loosing their focus from real opportunities that are available.
Unique Offering
Many new website owners feel they are too late in the game. They often complain saying something like “I should have created this website 3 years before”. They feel that their website is less popular because they came to the scene in the last minute. Being the first does give a website a competitive advantage but, this advantage does not remain forever. If first is the best, the Sony Walkman would be the most popular personal audio player in the world, Netscape would have the largest browser market share and Yahoo would be the most used search engine in the world. But what is the reality today? Apple’s iPod is dominating the personal media player market, Internet Explorer and Firefox have killed Netscape and Google is every one’s favorite search engine. So what can we learn from these late comers who changed the game. These new comers did not try to copy what the leaders in their field did (with the exception of Internet Explorer:) ). Instead they offered solutions that are fundamentally different and much easier to use. Therefore in order to bring your new website to the top, you have to offer something that is unique and useful. Do not try to blindly follow what other sites do, make your offering unique.
Ability to Leapfrog
If you are late in the game there are reasons for you to be still happy, because you have tremendous ability to leapfrog. You know what works best, because you can learn from the successes and failures of the leaders in your field. You can make better decisions on choosing the right technologies for your website. Because you are the new kid in the block you are adapting the latest and greatest technologies straightaway! The adaptation of mobile phones technologies in developing countries is a good example of leapfrogging.
Ability to Adapt and Serve Better
A newer smaller website, due to its size has a great ability to adapt and change. Mistakes can be easily rectified. As your website grows it becomes harder to manage. Reverting changes and fixing mistakes become very costly. So as a small website owner you have the unique ability to change and adapt easily. Since small websites have fewer users they can provide better personalized services to their customers.
It’s a Matter of Time
Finally remember that most of the leading websites on the Internet did not become popular over night. They became popular over a long period of time. The same applies to your website, do not expect any miracles to happen in the short term.
So be positive and stay focused, make a unique offering to your customers and one day you will hit the high roads!
Photo Credit: Fort Photo’s Photostream
