Is it time to replace that website of yours?

With web coding standards moving to HTML 5, and browsers evolving to meet these new specifications, many companies might well be taking a look at their current websites and wondering 'Should I take this opportunity to make some changes?' Indeed, new technologies can cause the appearance of older websites to be altered, resulting in users not seeing what quite what is intended.
As any business moves forward, their website should reflect this. With the advent of social networking and mature blogging, there's even more pressure to keep online presences fresh.

Why then, are companies often resistant when it comes to rebuilding their websites?

Investment
A fully functional website, which might encompass everything from e-commerce to blogging and social networking can be a costly proposition for any business. However, a website should be considered an investment, and with any investment, it is the return that gives it value. A website is there to attract customers, and bring them back for return business.
After such an investment has been made, it is sometimes very hard for companies to take another look at the site at a later date. It is human nature to resist replacing something that will involve a large investment of time and money, even if just adding to it would cost more. The idea that spending more money to try and fix something that is not working as it used to, even if it is not exactly what is wanted, is easier to accept than writing it off and starting from scratch.

Look at it this way...
What if your kettle stopped working, and the repair would come to £20, but a new one would only cost £15. No question, buy the new one, yes? However, a third kettle is available, this one has a shorter boil time, has a price tag of £25 AND matches your toaster. Would you have the old one repaired, or would it be worth the extra to get the new features you want along with the manufacturers warranty?
It is the same with websites, older sites are increasingly harder to maintain and it can be difficult to add new features. A patch may be cheaper initially, but turn out to be a more expensive decision in the long term.

Where do you go from here?
Take a good look at your website, does it still do what you need it to do? If not, what would make more economic sense? An update or a replacement?

Work is well underway for London's glass 'Shard', designed by Renzo Piano, one of the most respected of living designers and chief architect for the Qatari-backed development.

Having shot shot to international prominence in 1977 when, together with Richard Rogers, he designed the Pompidou Centre in Paris he has since gone on to deliver a sequence of highly acclaimed buildings around the world, notably the Kansai International Airport terminal, built on an artificial island in Osaka Bay, Japan and, at 1.7km long, one of the largest buildings ever constructed - and the masterplanning of Potsdamer Platz in Berlin - the symbolic new heart of the reunified German capital.
Indeed, having initially come up with the the concept and the dramatic form of the Shard in a few seconds (reportedly, on the back of a restaurant menu in Berlin itself), the Shard will be a tower like no other, both architecturally breathtaking and technologically advanced.

"The shape of the tower is generous at the bottom and narrow at the top, disappearing in the air like a 16th century pinnacle or the mast top of a very tall ship. The architecture of The Shard is firmly based in the historic form of London’s masts and spires".

"The tower is designed to be a sharp and light presence on the London skyline, and to be sustainable from every point of view: human, technological, energetic and economic".

"I foresee the London Bridge Quarter as a vertical city, for thousands of people to work in and enjoy, for hundreds of thousands more to commute to from all over the region, and for millions to take to their hearts".
- Renzo Piano

Follow the project at: www.shardlondonbridge.com (and download the excellent brochure pdf for more insights and interviews with Piano)

Together with Chelsea Barracks and One Hyde Park, Qatar certainly seems determined to provide a counterbalance to the turbo-charged skyline of Dubai with the latest property masterplan. Set atop London Bridge station and with not a car park in sight, Piano's utopian vision of a mixed-use vertical 'city' looks stunning and has the right environmental credentials too.

We like it, what about you?

This cracking short movie from independent brand agency Moving Brands sure is a a timely piece and as the London Design Festival kicks off this week, catch up with them over at movingbrands.com

Quality stuff.

Seen as though we're celebrating, how's about a round of applause for our new site design and more importantly, our undoubted star of the show; the resolutely Euro-centric and blissfully solid typeface that is 'Helvetica' - it just IS!

Check out the New York trailer for the indie film 'Helvetica' typography, graphic design and global visual culture.

More about Helvetica and the film here