How do you know when you need to update your website? Technology is moving faster and faster — with the latest upgrades and newest programs rolling out every day, it’s important to keep up with the movement. Here are four major signs that it is time to update or create a new website.
Lack of “Mobile-Responsive” View
First and foremost, this is the MOST important feature you need to have on your website. Why? Mobile traffic now makes up more than half of all internet traffic, so if your website is not easy to use on a mobile device, you could miss out on a huge number of potential visitors. Almost everyone who owns a mobile device has a smartphone, which gives them access to the internet 24/7. Not only is this how many users are accessing the internet, but Google has also started to boost the rankings of websites that it identifies mobile-friendly. This means that if your website is responsive, it is more likely to rank highly in Google’s results when someone searching for a similar product or service on their phone. So making sure your website is responsive is a MUST and something you will want to update as soon as possible if yours is not!
Your Website is 5+ Years Old
Technology moves fast, and it’s important to keep up with it so that your business doesn’t get left in the dust. These days, it’s crucial to keep your website looking fresh and frequently updated. Websites should look clean, be easy to navigate, and load quickly. One modern trend in website design is a simple, straightforward main landing page, with clear calls-to-action and original, high-quality photos. Not only is an updated website going to function better overall, but studies show that the more professional, up-to-date, and clean your website looks, the more trustworthy it seems to users. Your website needs to be fast; the average user expects a web page to load in about 2 seconds. Almost half of your visitors will leave your website if it takes any longer than that!
Not Search Engine Friendly
Search engine algorithms change often these days, so if your SEO rankings are low then it is probably time for an update. This will help potential customers find you so it’s important that it is up to date. SEO use to be more effective with as many keywords as possible stuffed onto your website, but now it’s more about having content that is original and high quality. Having a blog attached to your website is also going to help your website search results. Blog posts are an easy way to generate organic traffic to your website with relevant keywords and content.
Any Outdated Content
“Keeping things fresh” not only the aesthetics of your website, but to the content on the site as well. As previously stated, relevant keywords should be included in your website’s content to boost your search result rankings. But you should also be keeping the content up to date as well. If you have any new products or services this is something you will want to make sure to add to your website. Each service and product should have their own landing page as well, that will help increase organic search traffic to that page. Any upcoming events is another big piece of content that should be updated frequently. The last important piece of content to keep updated on a daily basis is any case studies or client portfolios. This are very important if your company is selling a service of any kind because these are actual examples of ways you’ve helped previous clients. Portfolios are important to keep updated because you may have added new services or changed the look of a product, so you want to make sure any portfolio content reflects what your company is currently offering!
Keeping an eye out on these four signs will help your website stay relevant, and a relevant website is always appealing to site visitors! Creating a new website can be a very time consuming and technical process. We are here to help, request a quote today!
