We have often had clients ask us, why they should update or upgrade their website and in some instances this seemed like a foreign concept to them even. They created a website once, and left it there and have no intentions of having to go through the pain and anguish of redoing it again.
So why should you keep updating or upgrading your website?
Public perception
If you eave your website long enough, it’s design will no longer be as appealing as it once was in comparison to your competitors. First impressions last, and if your competitors’ websites look more appealing than yours, you will lose customers to them.
Additionally, if you do not add articles to your blog or news page regularly, people will notice this and they will suspect that you are no longer in business and not even bother to contact you.
No one likes to see an old ugly website, and just as you would not go see a client in a torn and ragged suit, you should not have a website that is an eye sore.
SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. It simply means a bunch of stuff that you can do on your website to try and make it appear higher in the search results of Google and other search engines.
If you do not keep adding relative content to your website in the form of a blog or news area or through any other static pages, then Google will notice and you will slowly start dropping down the search results.
Security
If you have an old outdated website, then the chances are that it is vulnerable to some kind of attack, because the software on which it was built could be out of date.
Hackers love finding websites with poor security, so that they can put a piece of code on it that either misleads the public, or they like to hijack your email server to send out tons of spam. You will only notice this when it is too late. And once they have successfully hacked your website they will try and try and keep trying again and again and again to hack it again. They were successful once so why shouldn’t they be again.
Upgrading/updating your website should not be painful
Most of our customers think that they have to completely reinvent the wheel and rewrite every piece of copy on their website when they revamp it, but this is actually not a good idea. Since your website got ranked on Google with the same content as you have now, you should rather just look at updating only the most critical information when relaunching the site.
Also, we have found that most companies had a very bad experience with the web designer they used to build the site originally, and so they are afraid to repeat this same uncomfortable experience. This should not be a deterrent, but rather you should realise that just like in any industry, there are pros and there are amateurs. Your website is an important part of your marketing and you should only leave it in the hands of a pro. If you need help from a pro you can get in touch with us.
We advise that your website be revamped at least once every 1 to 2 years, and you should be adding new content to it at least once a month. This is challenging sometimes, but there are content writers and web designers like us who can help you in the process.
Hoping this information helps you in your promotional efforts. Happy browsing!!