5 Reasons You Should Update Your Website Before 2018

Update Website Development Hilborn Digital SEO

 

When’s the last time your website was updated? If you have to think about that for a while then it’s time to consider updating it.

 

People become pretty attached to their websites, but at some point, that can be a bad thing. Brands grow, consumers taste changes, and technology innovates. Not upgrading your website can be detrimental. Long gone are the days where having any website would do. Nowadays consumers base a lot on how a brands website functions and looks, not to mention technology and search engine algorithms do too.

 

So before the year ends treat your site with a little facelift. Here are 5 great reasons why you should upgrade your website today:

 

1. It Doesn’t Reflect Your Brand Anymore

If there’s one thing a website absolutely needs to do (besides load), is that it should represent your brand. Whether you have a massive international company or just a personal website, it needs to reflect the style, aesthetic, and message of the brand. Otherwise, you’re sending the wrong message, which can only lead to disappointment on all ends. Brands grow, expand, and change as time goes on, and your website should be upgraded to reflect all of that.

 

2. It Doesn’t Attract The Right Clients

If your website isn’t attracting your target audience then it isn’t working anymore. Make sure content on your website is curated to match your current ideal client. Remove anything that you no longer do, no longer fits, or anything with outdated information. Make sure you’re posting fresh, original content that is appealing to your clients. If you haven’t taken the time to research and plan for how to reach your ideal market in awhile, this is also a good time to do that.

 

3. It Looks Old

People may say it’s shallow, but users judge a lot about a company based on how it appears online. Having a fresh, updated website theme with attractive images goes a long way in the digital world. Technology trends are constantly changing, and your website needs to reflect current thinking. A website has to look attractive to get users to stay on it. Having hard to read text, blurry images, long blocks of text, tons of ads, and other issues can cause users to click out of your site faster than you can say “bye”.

 

4. It Runs Slowly

As we said, technology constantly changes. What that means is that what was once the fastest and most functional, may now be outdated. Using old code and website technology can cause it to run slowly. Website loading speed matters more than you think. Studies have shown customers will click out of a site if it doesn’t load in a few seconds or faster. Slow run speed can also impact how well it does in SEO and search engines.

 

5.It Isn’t Mobile Friendly

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that we now live in a mobile world. People spend more and more times on their phone. Searching reflects that. Over 50% of all Internet searching happens on mobile devices now. Not having a mobile friendly or mobile optimized site means you miss out on that user base. Not to mention from an SEO perspective, it’s the kiss of death now that Google is putting mobile-optimized sites ahead of standard ones.

 

Conclusion

Updating a website, both in terms of look and technology, can make a huge impact. It can freshen up a brand and appeal to the right clients. If you’re interested in learning more about website development or want to upgrade your website today, please contact us!