Many people experience a bit of a slowdown this week. As vacations hit a peak, and Fourth of July weekend events take a bit of time to recover from, you may find that the phone is ringing a bit less and your to-do list isn't quite as out of control.

You may naturally feel like sitting back a little yourself, but this is a great time to take advantage of a little available time and take stock of your web goals.

So here's a few suggestions on the top 5 things to look at.

1. Design - Take a hard look at your website's design and branding. Is it still in sync with your overall efforts? If not, make a list of the top 5 things you'd like to address.
    
2. Navigation - Pretend you know nothing about your company and start a web visit. Can you easily navigate  your site? Is it intuitive? Are you reaching the pages you want your visitors to find? If not, make a bullet list of the top 5 areas in order of importance and then think about how you can re-tool your navigation to help people get there.
    
3. News - Remember we don't call these items "Olds" so why is your newest item so old? Take 10 minutes and jot down 5 recent newsworthy items. These could include new hires, new offerings, a new location, a trade show you're attending, anything can be news. Take the time to make it newsworthy.
    
4. Use - How are people using your site? How would people like to interact with your company's web site? Pick up the phone and call 5 customers and ask them. And pick ones that you aren't as likely to talk to on a day to day basis. Not only will you be less likely to know exactly what they are going to say, but you may just convert the call into a sales opportunity.
    
5. Explore - Choose 5 websites that you enjoy, or find to be well done. Explore them. Understand why you feel these sites are winners. Make a list of these features and ask if you may be able to emulate them in some way.

Give my top 5 a try, but remember you should work this exercise into your routine once a quarter to maximize your web site's success.

-- Mike