With the New Year around the corner, what better time than now to provide your website with a fresh aesthetic and to enter the new decade in stride. Whether you typically update your website with each new project or whether you still need to build your website in the first place, the New Year offers an excellent opportunity to evaluate your web presence and establish your goals for 2010.

When approaching the resolution of building or updating your website, consider these five simple, yet essential tips:

1) Take a step back to consider your future goals and how to present yourself and your work on the web with them in mind. Sounds obvious, but effective communication always takes work. Content, usability, and design form the key components in connecting with users.

2) Incorporate and build on current web design trends to keep design aesthetics up-to-date. Some significant trends not about to disappear include retro graphics, hand-drawn designs, vector illustrations, and large headers. Also, the focus on the "less is more" clean, minimalist approach will continue.

3) Personalize your site and take risks. Playing with design elements expresses individuality and draws attention to certain aspects. For example, applying type in innovative ways or creating a unique welcome to your site will help you stand out from the crowd.

4) Strengthen your web presence by branding across social media sites and linking all of these sites together. Keeping the design elements consistent throughout all of your social media profiles will establish effective marketing by reinforcing your image.

5) Connect with community resources and expand your local network. Don't work in a vacuum. Local organizations such as LA Web Professionals Group provide great ways to meet web designers and learn essential tips.

So, seize this moment to set specific and realistic goals for your website, connecting to web users and putting your best foot forward as we launch into the New Year.