In today’s day and age, it’s not enough to just have a website and merely keep up with the competition. Your website needs to outshine the competition in both looks and functionality. The benefits of updating your website’s design, code, and SEO are huge. It is important to show your audience that you are keeping up with the times. Using the latest technology and accessibility features will keep your website safe and easy to navigate, and earns trust from both users and search engines. Here are our top 5 reasons to give your website a refresh:
- Mobile Friendly
Did you know that over 50% of website traffic comes from portable devices? New website designs include modern CCS code in addition to HTML, which allows your site to adapt nicely to any device. Having a mobile site that functions properly is crucial, even if you have a separate mobile app. The importance of having a mobile-friendly website has led to a trend that is called mobile-first website development which, as the name suggests, is when websites are created for mobile browsing first and are later adapted for desktop browsers. If your site has been around for a while, it is important to give it a refresh as soon as possible. You do not want to risk losing potential customers because your website lacks mobile optimization.
- SEO
Search engines love good quality regularly updated content. Every time you make an update to your website, your site ranking gets recalculated. Changes in search algorithms can affect your website’s ranking, and Google makes major changes to its search engine algorithms every 6 months. Let that sink in. If you cannot remember the last time you updated your SEO keywords, you are probably losing a lot of website traffic. It is also difficult to satisfy all of the new demands set out by search engines if you’re using older technologies.
- Website Load Time and Bounce Rate
A slow website load time and a high bounce rate almost always go hand-in-hand. If your website is slow to load, people will not stick around to wait for it. Slow loading time is the number one reason for people quickly leaving your site. Several things can affect your website’s loading speed such as older themes, outdated code, underpowered hosting platforms, and heavy unoptimized image and video files. You should aim for a website loading time of under 5 seconds. By improving your website’s load time, you can lower your bounce rate and ultimately generate more traffic.
- Design Trends
Website design trends change rapidly. As a society, we want a clean looking, well-functioning website that can be easily navigated. Sometimes to keep on-trend, a complete rebrand could help improve customer acquisition. Other times, small changes to color, style, or layout can show that you take pride in keeping your brand’s image and website up-to-date with the latest trends.
- Data Safety
Having a website that ensures your customer’s data is protected is essential. User’s information is often collected and digitally stored on your website’s server, and having outdated technology can allow user’s data to be more easily compromised. Updating your website to the latest technology such as having an SSL certificate, reliable hosting service, and anti-malware software are just a few steps you can take to ensuring your customer’s data is secure.
So, how often should you update your website? As a rule of thumb, your website should not go longer than 2-3 years without a design update. Keeping both your content, and technology up-to-date will help keep your website secure and functioning correctly, and ultimately ensure your current customers remain engaged and help generate new business. If you’re looking for a refresh or you’d like an audit of your website, please contact us. We’re here to help elevate your business.