One of the best/most infuriating things about technology is how quickly it changes. Just when you figure out how to do something, the world spits out a faster, easier way to get it done. The same is true of websites. If you’re not regularly attending to your digital presence, chances are you’ll have a dinosaur on your hands that will repel customers, burden your brand, and slow you down, sending you on a surefire path to extinction.
How Can I Tell if My Website is Outdated?
It took the dinosaurs thousands of years to go extinct, but your website will expire much, much faster. In fact, experts recommend updating your website every three years or so.
Why is this? Even if you received the slickest, most cutting-edge website on Earth at one point, best practices never stop evolving, both on the screen and behind the scenes. Advancements in technology—especially smartphones—push the limits, forcing innovation at every turn.
“Reinvesting in your website gives your customers, your employees, and search engines confidence in your business,” says Caitlin DiMare-Oliver, VP of Website Development at Launch Digital Marketing. “We recommend refreshing your website architecture and design every three years or so – with plenty of incremental content and strategy updates in between.”
“But,” you may be thinking, “my website can’t be a dinosaur already, can it?”
We’ve gathered up three common traits of outdated websites (and dinosaurs) to help you tell.
They Don’t Help You Grow
Your website is a tool to help your business thrive, and all tools need to be sharpened every now and then. Have you noticed:
- Fewer leads
- Increased bounce rates
- Slower load rates
- Decreased search rankings
These are all signs that the world is advancing without you, thanks to algorithm shifts, SEO developments, and more. Performing updates keeps you ahead of the pack, preventing you from being eaten alive (which is what a dinosaur would do to you, by the way. They don’t care about your growth).
They Don’t Look Modern
Don’t get us wrong: dinosaurs still look cool. But modern? No. Can you imagine a T-Rex casually populating today’s landscape? What a disaster that’d be (just ask Chris Pratt!). Website designers are constantly creating fresh new ways to make websites accessible, digestible, and just plain fun to explore. Does your site currently have:
- Flashing banners
- Uncontrollable pop-ups
- Scrolling text
- Clashing sidebars
- Hard-to-read text or images
No one wants to see these fossils anymore. Today’s average customer is quick to swipe past an outdated, hard-to-navigate site, assuming your digital face directly reflects what you have to offer. If that face is Mesozoic, they’ll leave you in the dust.
They Don’t Meet Today’s Standards
The most important consideration for updating your site is whether or not it meets the following requirements:
- Mobile friendly
- Built for speed
- ADA accessible
- Optimized for search engines
- Integrated with your CRM
If not, you can kiss any hopes of organic traffic, boosted sales, and increased presence goodbye. JUST LIKE THE DINOSAURS.
We Can Help
If you’re worried about being trapped in amber, the team at Launch Digital Marketing can help! Our website team can find the fix to your solution, with our collection of design, development, and strategy experts. Contact us today to see how we can get your site up to date!
