People often ask us “How often should we update our website?” and there is no straightforward answer to that. There are many factors that affect the vitality and lifespan of your site. But typically, the answer lies somewhere between 2-5 years.
Well that isn’t really a proper answer, is it?
We understand that hearing a range like that can be frustrating, so we wanted to fill you in on why regularly updating your website is necessary and what some of the features and aspects of your website are that you should be keeping an eye on when trying to determine if you are going to do an update or not.
There are more technical aspects like links breaking or coding getting corrupted that you or your website developer should always monitor and maintain, but the 5 factors we will be discussing lie outside of that “routine” maintenance.
How Can I Tell If My Website Needs An Update?
1) Visual Style - Advances in technology and changes in trends cause your website to look out of date and archaic.
Even from the formative stages of the internet, things like the number of colors available or the number of fonts you could use caused websites created before those updates to suddenly look like they were from a whole different age.
Beyond that, simple changes in what people view as “in” or modern can easily render your website irrelevant. For example, call-to-action buttons used to be predominantly in a 3-D style, then the trends shifted over to “shiny” buttons and now we see more buttons in a simple, flat-toned style dominating the online landscape.
Taking some time to look at the most popular websites in your industry to see where stylistic trends seem to be heading can pay huge dividends for you and your business.
2) Brand Message – This will not be something that you can assess in a comparative fashion as you would with the stylistic aspects of your website.
In this case, you simply need to ask yourself “Has the message of my business changed?”.
If the answer is yes, an update is a must! You may not need to do a full revamping of your website, but at least an update of your verbiage should be done.
Another quick fix you can use to refresh your companies brand message is to publish some new content on your blog outlining the new direction of the business and laying out the new brand message. Fresh content will also help you rank on Google; as their algorithm is always combing websites to make sure they are being regularly updated with content.
3) Mobile Compatibility – In recent years, mobile compatibility has become more vital to maintaining traffic than any time in history before.
If your website does not allow for seamless use through the many devices that exist, you are missing out on a huge opportunity.
As of the end of 2017, according to Statista, over 50% of all web traffic across the globe was originating from mobile devices.
As an added incentive, Google will now be putting a much larger emphasis on mobile compatibility with their Mobile Index; giving websites that transition to mobile seamlessly an advantage in their rankings.
Not only could you be losing out on potential customers because your website will not respond as it should to the vast array of modern devices available today, but you could also end up being penalized in Google’s rankings.
So take a few minutes to test your website on one of the great mobile compatibility tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test Tool. If it is not up to par, you have got some work to do! A vast majority of these mobile compatibility tools will present a list of issues you should correct, so you aren’t completely starting from scratch.
4) Traffic Decline – Without continuously promoting your website through platforms like Google AdWords or Facebook Ads, or continuously updating your website with new content, your traffic will inevitably begin to decline.
This is always a good metric to be following at all times, as it can give you great insights on what you should change about your approach. But more than that, if you are noticing a constant decline, this likely means it is time for a website makeover!
While you can push promotion of your website to try to reverse this trend, sooner or later you will need to refresh your website. Why not do it now?
5) The Speed Of Your Website – Search engines like Google have recently put much more emphasis on user experience (UX). And what goes hand-in-hand with UX? The loading speed of your website, of course!
Google will penalize any website that does not load in the 3 seconds they have designated as their benchmark.
How can you tell if your site matches those requirements or not? Google has a great tool for this! Just take a few minutes to head over to their “Test My Site” tool to see if your website is up to snuff. You will be glad you did!
What does this all mean for you and your business?
Depending on the current state of your website and how often you update it, this could mean a variety of things.
But the main message we want to get across is that your website is not something you can leave unmonitored. Regular check-in, followed by minor tweaks as needed, could save you much of the time and money needed for a full-blown rebuild.
We understand that you may not have the time, expertise or patience to keep your website relevant and fresh. So if you are looking to unload some of that into the hands of professionals you can trust, look no further than our Go.iOPW services.
We can help you out, no matter what stage in website creation/updating process you may be at. From building websites from scratch, to rebrands, to minor tweaks, our staff is equipped to handle anything you might need!