Have you noticed that business has been slow for the past several weeks and/or months? If your business phone has all but stopped ringing and you are not really getting many, if any, website form submissions, it could be time to update your business website.
How to determine when You Should Update/Revamp Your Website
Based on our extensive experience as web designers in Scottsdale, here are thee ways to determine when you may want to consider a complete revamp/update of your website design.
Your Website is too Old
When a website is very old, it may not function correctly, or at all, because it was written with code that has long since become outdated. For example, most website are written using a programming language (more accurately defined as an open-source server-side scripting language) called PHP.
As newer versions of PHP become available over time, older code (more specifically, “functions”) from earlier versions of PHP may no longer work, typically because it has been replaced by newer code. This scenario is called “deprecation”. Thus, deprecated functions in an older version of PHP may no longer be supported in the latest version of PHP and therefore should be replaced within your website accordingly.
If your website is not functioning correctly due to outdated code (unsupported functions), this would be a good indication that your website is too old and needs to be completely revamped so that it can function properly. A website that is not functioning correctly due to deprecation, could discourage, or even prevent website visitors/potential new customers from finding information that is relevant to them or make it impossible to contact you.
It Sends the Wrong Message to Potential Clients
Let’s face it, first impressions are important and your website may be the first point of contact for new, potential clients. If your website is outdated in its appearance and does not accurately convey the products and/or services you sell today, what kind of first impression are you leaving with any new, potential customer? Likely, not a very good one.
An outdated website (especially if it is more than 4 years old) says a lot about your business, therefore, you should make sure that your website is the best it can be so that you have higher user engagement including conversions.
If your website is really, really old, chances are that it is ugly too. If your website is old and unappealing, this should be concerning because studies have shown, that an ugly website can hurt or tarnish the perception of a business it represents. And that can lead to fewer new potential clients.
Website is Difficult to Use
Some older websites are very clunky and are difficult for visitors to use and/or find what they are looking for.
For example, there are still some websites out there which are not mobile friendly. If your website is not mobile friendly, it would be wise to have your website revamped to one that is mobile friendly.
And while the vast majority of websites are considered to be mobile friendly, they may not be, in our view, optimized for mobile friendliness.
What do we mean by that? Well, there are some “mobile friendly” websites built years ago, where on a mobile device, your web page text (page copy) may still not be large enough to read by people who are visually challenged (the elderly), or some parts of the web page layout (such as buttons and links) are still too close to one another, making it difficult to “tap” with a finger. This can potentially hinder prospects from contacting you with a question, buying your product or scheduling service with you.
When people are contacting you to point out that your website is difficult to use or not working correctly, this is a very good indication that it may be time for a complete website redesign.
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