Hello everyone! Zarte here! I’ve just woken up and will be right with you after I’ve had a hot drink from my Teasmaid, fed my Tamagotchi, and checked my AOL account. Might even listen to Las Ketchup on repeat!
Why am I doing all of that? Well, because our business model hasn’t changed for years, so surely it follows suit that everything else I do follows the same pattern. Right?
No! Wrong! There is absolutely no-one, barring those with such intense metathesiophobia that they’ve been living in the same day since 1996, who would agree that this is a sensible approach to life. Some things change, whilst some things stay the same, and it’s the balance between the familiar, and the new that make everything the best version of itself.
But that was far too philosophical for one of our articles, so let’s give it a specific application, and something we hear a lot. Websites. Why should people change their website when their business is the same?
Let me count the ways... no seriously, let me. Because here’s 7.
- Your website will likely not run properly on certain browsers. As in, it will literally not be able to be viewed by more up-to-date browsers. As reasons go, this is pretty big. And this is only the one I’m starting on.
- If it IS viewable, it’s unlikely to be viewable on all devices. A website designed five years ago will likely not support mobile browsing, which as we’ve stated in a previous blog article, is how some people view up to two-thirds of their online content.
- You’re not going to have become integrated with social media on an older website. This type of integration is a fairly recent thing, and even if you have the bare bones of implementation, you’re not going to be making the most of it, which as we’ve said before on our blog, is key in the current marketplace for most businesses.
- The use of outdated software and scripts may well leave you with a number of security holes, making your website vulnerable to a number of threats, and potentially harming your reputation with consumers, should they fall foul of any of them.
- The amount of time it will take you to implement changes and updates to an old website will not only outweigh the time it would take you to have a completely new website built in the long run, but it could even end up increasing your costs, depending on the man hours required to complete the work, and who it is that you’re actually asking to do it.
- Older websites are generally heavily penalised in the search engine optimisation stakes by the algorithms used by Google and other search engines to work it out. This will make you much more difficult to find by people using more general search terms to find the sort of product that you’re offering.
- Possibly most importantly, depending on your perspective... you’ll just look unappealing in comparison. Websites are subject to constant technological developments and fashions, and so even the most beautiful website in the world from five years ago will be looking tired by now. And if your SEO is already leaving you down the pecking order, then the last thing you want is that if someone DOES reach your website through a rigorous search, they’re left with the impression that you’re a backwards-facing organisation that doesn’t have the clout of its rivals.
There may well be even more reasons than this, and please if you think of any, do let me know! I might even do a part two at a later point if you give me enough of them that I’ve missed.
More generally though, please consider these points the next time you’re thinking about whether to put off updating your online face for another year. You’re better off facing things head on, believe us.
And if you’d like some advice on how to go about this, you can also give us a call on 023 9298 8855.
Until next time,
Zarte