A mistake a lot of people make is paying for a new website and then ignoring it for the next ten years. Websites aren’t like cars: as long as you can still drive it, it’s good. Not having an updated website can reflect poorly on you, can make your business look out-of-date and unprofessional.
Would you have the same billboard for ten years? The same commercials? The same business cards? I’m surprised at the number of people who are willing to spend money on their marketing campaigns but are reluctant to spend money on redesigning their website. Your website is an extension of your business and your brand.
The most common answer to this questions is: about 3 years, give or take. Of course, this varies by industry and what your website needs to do. I’ve seen websites that worked well for clients for many years and websites that needed to be updated before three years was up.
How do you know if your website is ready for a redesign?
- Is it still working for you? Are you getting traffic? Are the people visiting responding? Are they bouncing? If your bounce rate has gotten significantly higher, that usually indicates that your users aren’t engaging with your site. It might be because it’s out of date and needs and upgrade.
- Does it look outdated? Are there new trends that everyone is using that improve the user-experience but that your site doesn’t have? Lots of new stuff comes out all the time. If your site is several years old, it may look like it may be lacking features that your users are looking for.
- You’ve changed your logos or color scheme. If your website doesn’t match your marketing, it’s time for an update. Your brand needs to be cohesive between your website, social media, online marketing, store front and print materials.
- Your site isn’t mobile friendly. Does it seem like I’m harping on this? That’s okay. I am harping on this. If a user lands on your site and it’s just a tiny version of your desktop site and not responsive, they’ll leave and go to another site that is. Google feels the same way.
- Your content is out of date. Are your hours wrong? Contact information wrong? Is your content no longer relevant or accurate? Time to update your site.
- Your site is slow. That may mean that it’s got a lot of old stuff clogging it up and preventing it from being as speedy as users want. This isn’t 1996, people expect fast sites. That’s also going to be a ranking factor in the search engines.
If you’ve ever felt yourself apologizing to someone for how out of date your website is, then it’s time for a redesign.
Your website speaks to your credibility. I always tell people, if someone comes to your website and it looks cheap or out-of-date, then that reflects on your business. Maybe you are cheap and out-of-date? If you’re neglecting your website, clients might wonder what else you’re neglecting.
Don’t let an old website prevent you from getting new leads, new clients, and creating a great first impression.
Amy Masson
Amy is the co-owner, developer, and website strategist for Sumy Designs. She's been making websites with WordPress since 2006 and is passionate about making sure websites are as functional as they are beautiful.