Oh look. Fabulouslyrichpaysite.com had a makeover. Yes. It's awesome. The site looks way better than the previous design, or the one before that, or the one before that, etc. Yes, those fabulouslyrichpaysite.com folks got it going on. They are moving and shaking and leading the way.
Yawn.
Seriously. How many website redesigns is a domain allowed? Three? Ten? Twenty? Fifty? Is there a point to completely overhauling an adult website when there's nothing wrong with the design to begin with? Is there such a thing as a perfect site? What happens to the old design? Does the old layout end up in some template limbo or forgotten hell? Why do adult webmasters do it? Why do they feel the need to eternally tweak, rearrange, and otherwise manipulate their virtual storefronts?
You know me. I'm the analogy queen and I'm pretty sure I've used this example before but I'm going to use it again to explain one reason why adult webmasters are never satisfied with the way their sites look.
| "Next time you see fabulouslyrichpaysite.com pimping their fabulous new paysite design, resist the urge to yawn or laugh and give thanks and take heed. Change is good. Change is growth." |
A million years ago, I worked in a busy, high-end, casual restaurant. Being a server, my priorities were always dependent on the comfort level of my customers. If my patrons were unhappy, my income suffered. Or at least, I thought it would suffer. Then my boss decided to bring in a small construction crew to spruce the place up. During business hours. I was sure the pounding, bare wooden beams and the screeching drills would drive my customers away. That crew worked on the restaurant for almost two months. During that time, not only were we busier than ever, my tips were better than ever. My fears were unfounded. The noise and chaos of construction brought in the crowds.
I remember asking my boss if he was worried that the renovation would hurt business. This was when I learned one of those unwritten secrets that can only come from an experienced businessman. He said to me, and I paraphrase:
"I'm not worried at all. People like to see a business in transition. Why do you think retails stores are always moving the shelves and products around? Construction means growth. Growth means success. Improvement shows the public I'm paying attention. I wish I could have a construction crew here every day."
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My old boss was a complete jerk. He yelled at suppliers, customers and employees. Just the same, his place was always packed. As much as I hated that guy he was right and he was a damned good businessman. I may despise his lousy interpersonal skills, but I can't deny his wisdom.
When my current (and completely wonderful) boss, C-Pimp tells me he and Girly are going to overhaul one of the Cozy sites, I am still flummoxed. To me, their pages are perfect. Each time he tells me they're going to redo Cozy Frog or Cozy Flash I simply cannot imagine how they could improve on an already flawless design. Yet, somehow they manage to alter the colors, tweak the layout and add new content and make the thing better than before. As if by magic, a great design transforms into a brilliant design.
The glowing press release about an upgrade from fabulouslyrichpaysite.com 5.0 to fabulouslyrichpaysite.com 6.0 may be a little irritating to fellow webmasters but it's certainly nothing to condemn. That upgrade can directly affect sales, especially if fabulouslyrichpaysite.com's affiliate webmasters are promoting via a recurring sponsor program. Members can sift through a hell of a lot of content in a month or three. A new design can be just the thing to entice members to re-up their memberships.
A website redesign can be an arduous, months long task or it can be as simple as adding a new logo and inserting fresh decorative graphics. Sometimes the overhaul is less cosmetic. Cleaning out dead links, broken images and properly archiving old content are also considered part of the remodeling process. The point to remember is that redesigning a site is not about fixing the unbroken, it's about pleasing the surfers. If your site's most popular model isn't part of your logo, then make her part of your logo. If the heaviest visited pages aren't accessible from the front page, make them accessible. Of course, you'll want to backup all your data before you go changing things. Occasionally, a redesign fails and you'll want to resurrect the old stuff in case that happens.
So, next time you see fabulouslyrichpaysite.com pimping their fabulous new paysite design, resist the urge to yawn or laugh and give thanks and take heed. Change is good. Change is growth. Change means more money for you!