The best businesses are ones that have repeatable systems; your business deserves no less. Image: Flickr / fcminutti / CC-BY-SA
When facing any large web challenge, be it SEO, a website redesign, or even creating a website from scratch, it can be tempting to just do what works. Before you do something rash, however, keep in mind that you should set up systems, not solutions.
Creating extra work for yourself
In search engine optimization and web design, it is easy to create a lot of work for yourself. Making changes on a few pages may not sound like much work, but when you multiply small changes across dozens, hundreds or even thousands of pages, it can mean days or weeks of work. Nobody gets everything right on the first try, but minimizing this additional work from the outset can save you weeks of your life later on.
Things you should keep in mind
A few things are important to keep in mind when you start setting up systems. First of all, URLs are and will continue to be important in search engine optimization. Set up your URLs so they can be easily read and easily expanded upon in the future. You should also build an XML sitemap that you update and check on a regular basis; if you plan on changing these URLs, then the sitemap can help save you from losing search engine power attached to those links. You should also keep in mind that the solutions you come up with are likely going to be the solutions you will be using for a while, so test and re-test before you settle on a final answer.
The best systems are flexible
Websites change and grow over time, and it can be impossible to guess where that growth may happen. That growth will generally show itself when you run into questions about how to do something or how to expand the functionality of your site. If someone asks for something to be added or wants to do something different than what your website is built for, then consider how your current systems could handle them. If your systems cannot, then consider setting up something else.
For example
As a matter of example, imagine that you have started up an affiliate blog about cameras. You may currently be the only person working on the blog, so you are handling writing, editing, advertising and link building. Think ahead, though. If your blog grows, then how would you expand your work? Create both editor and writer users on the blog. Write out how you decide on advertising, so you could hand that piece off to someone else. Consider how you choose topics and how you would describe that to someone else. When do you decide to add a new category? How about which video sharing service to use? Create systems from your solutions.