10 Reasons To Update Your Website!

Your website can be a huge asset for your business. Digital presence has a massive impact on helping page visitors turn into happy customers! If you’re not sure whether your current website does a good job, here are 10 aspects you can look into to decide whether it’s time for a revamp. So without further ado, in no particular order:

1. 1. Improved SEO
      Over time, content loses relevancy and value. Search engines are designed to find the most helpful and accurate content for users. Whilst new, fresh content is favoured, websites with old content will slip down the rankings… Which significantly lessens your website traffic and performance. By updating content or posting a blog or news item, search engines read that your website is still relevant and continue to present it. In addition, search engines generally update their own algorithms frequently. By updating your site regularly you’re more likely to keep on top of these changes.
   2. Same old, same old.
      What was cool 3 years ago, probably isn’t anymore… Sorry! If your website was one of the early adopters of a new design style or technology 2-4 years ago, it’s likely that it no longer stands out and isn’t memorable to users anymore. Website technologies and trends rapidly change, and users and Search Engines can easily tell when a site is old.

New year, New website?

1. 1. It Doesn’t Reflect Your Brand
      It’s no secret that your website promotes your business online 24/7. If you’ve rebranded recently, if your photography style changed, if you’re offering new products and services to your customers – your website should reflect and advocate that change. Otherwise, you’re attracting the wrong type of clients — those who are after your old type of work. 75% of consumers admit to making judgements on a company’s credibility based on the company’s website design.
   2. Outdated Design & Technologies
      We’ve already mentioned how quickly the digital world changes and evolves constantly. With these advancements, web standards shift each year, developing new tools and technologies for a good website. Not only that, but your users preferences and tastes shift even faster. Hence, if you want your business to succeed, you need to be agile with your visual presentation and website design.If you’ve built your website over 3 years ago, it’s likely to be far behind in terms of looks and functionality. It probably has outdated code that can slow down its loading speed or the way it responds on different devices. It may also not be compatible with some of the latest popular browsers.
   3. Mobile Friendly
      Now, I’m going to be blunt here. If your site is not fully responsive – get a new site NOW! Remember that ever changing digital world? Well, the same goes for screen sizes and responsiveness. 4 years ago our laptops, tablets and smartphone screens looked a lot different to today. Newer sites include up to date styling code which allows your site to adapt nicely to any device. They also allow you to hide certain page blocks for mobile and ensure a faster and smoother user experience. Plus, it helps with SEO – Google ranks responsive sites over others, since over 50% of website traffic comes from portable devices, responsive sites are seen as more relevant and helpful.Mobile is important and it won’t go away any time soon. A poorly performing site on mobile will have a huge negative impact on your business, here are a few facts to prove it:
      1. 57% of internet users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed website on mobile.
      2. 85% of adults think that a company’s website when viewed on a mobile device should be as good or better than its desktop website.
      3. Nearly 8 in 10 customers would stop engaging with content that doesn’t display well on their device.

1. 1. Your Bounce Rate is High
      A high bounce rate is the percentage of website visitors that leave your website without a single engagement. A high bounce rate indicates that you’re doing something wrong, as customers aren’t doing what you want them to on your website. The issue could be in regards to content, user experience and navigation, or the overall look and feel on your site. On average, a bounce rate between 40-60% is considered to be OK (this varies depending on your industry). If your bounce rate is higher than around 70%, get in touch with us for recommendations on how to improve.
   2. Security.
      Unfortunately, the truth is that any website could be hacked, old or new. The experience is stressful and painful, especially when valuable information is stolen or lost, and things have to be rebuilt from scratch. However, older websites rely on older technology, therefore chances of security breach are much higher.
   3. Call to Actions, What and Why?
      Call to actions aren’t just buttons or links added randomly to pages. They are strategically placed, to keep users engaged with your website, spending more time on pages and browsing through more content. Older websites might have limited, or irrelevant CTAs (Call to Actions) with little room for customisation, if this sounds familiar it’s time to get something more flexible and powerful. Did you know that 70% of small business websites lack a Call to Action (CTA) on their homepage?
   4. Shiny New Apps & Integrations
      An outdated website not only ages on the front end, but in the back end too. If your site is dated, it might not keep up with all the new apps, plugins and integrations available out there. These plugins and useful tools simplify your workflow and make your site run smoother! If you want to ensure that your website is working with the most functional, easiest technologies be prepared to update your website on a regular 1-2 year basis.

Animation is a 2021 website trend. Get in touch to get with the times!

1. Measuring Effectiveness
   Website data is gold dust! The wealth of insight and knowledge you can get from your website analytics is limitless. An old website may not be equipped with the necessary tools that will help you measure how effective your online presence is. Examples of this include heat mapping, conversion tracking & user recordings. Nowadays, there is an assortment of online tools you can invest in to help you measure what works and what doesn’t on your website, right down to the minutest detail. However, to use those, you will need a modern website.