How Often Should You Update Your Website?
Best Practices 2023
There doesn’t seem to be a hard and fast rule for how often you need to update your website, but there are some telltale signs that it’s time.
The first step is to visit your website using a tool such as Google Analytics . Are things starting to slow down? Is your website not attracting as much traffic as it used to? Does it seem like more and more consumers bounce off your website? Before you spend another minute with a paunchy, balding, old relic of a website, let’s jump into The Wayback Machine and see if we can rediscover the Fountain of Youth.
New websites, like most teenagers, are full of energy and passion. They boldly follow the latest trends and fashions and are willing to take risks. Most importantly, they make it a point to stay on top of what it takes to be hip,…. groovy, …far out,... ummm…Sick?
Check your website to see if you are keeping up with fresh, innovative ideas and trends. Eye catching backgrounds, graphics, and headlines will encourage consumers to keep reading (and, hopefully, take action). Here are a few tips to help you get back into the swing of things:
Consumers decide in less than a second whether they will explore your website or bounce off. Updating your look is worth the effort if you want to stay in the game.
Make sure that your consumers have a great user experience. A website that is difficult to navigate will likely be abandoned before the consumer takes action. Some key indicators of this are a drop in the number of forms or surveys submitted, or purchases that are abandoned before the transaction is completed.
Make sure your website is compatible with a variety of different browsers. Your friends at The Department of Marketing can check around with the most popular browsers (Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox) to make sure your website is attractive and functional.
With over 50% of web traffic on mobile devices, it’s essential to get yourself out there!
Make your Call to Action simple and easy. Whether it’s making a call, scheduling an appointment, requesting a quote, or filling out a form, make sure your audience doesn’t have to fumble around in the dark trying to get to “first base”.
Being in one of the top three positions on Google can get you half of the total clicks on the search page. Make sure you update your keywords for Search Engine Optimization.
Don’t let a slow page loading speed leave you standing alone. Consumers are quick to abandon slow sites.
Hackers love to target older websites that haven’t been updated in a while. They are continuously updating their game to try to take advantage of you and your clients, so it’s important to update your website security on a regular basis.
Disclaimer: These helpful tips are not intended as dating advice. For help updating your website, call The Department of Marketing at 919-256-3793 (they’ve got “game”!)