Don’t trash your old website yet.
Not necessarily.
If your website is representing your business accurately, your customers are finding it, you are getting the conversions you want, and poses no security risks,.. why change it?
Websites are very much like the latest fashion. Some people want to follow trends every season and have no problem paying for that privilege. Others like to dress classically in styles that carry them through year after year. As long as they look good and keep warm/dry in the clothes they choose, the choice is down to the individual.
Much is the same with your website. You can follow the latest trends in website design, or you can be happy with the classic lines that you chose at the beginning.
Let’s break down the things your website should be doing for you. If you meet these requirements, then it is really down to your own ‘fashion sense’ if you want to change it.
This can be as simply as stating what you do on the homepage or a more subtle feel to the whole site to convey your personality.
Have you changed your name or your phone number? Make sure all of these smaller details are correct.
Is your site cluttered with advertising banners that detract from your message? How long does it take someone to figure out what you do/sell when they land on your site?
If you can answer all of these questions in a positive regard, your site is doing pretty good.
Essentially are you getting enough traffic to your website? And does the traffic consist of people that would truly be your customer?
There are several way to insure your customer’s find you without changing your website. You can be a larger presence on social media like Facebook and Twitter. You can get out there and network both virtually and in person. Engage with people in your industry, you never know when a conversation about where to buy good compost will turn into a business lead.
What is a conversion?
This is what you want your customer/visitor to do when they get to your site. It could be the classic buy from you, or something more engaging like comment on an article you’ve written. Maybe you just want to expand your mailing list. Whatever your goal is, are you getting enough?
This is probably the number 1 reason why people should change their website.
If you are connected to a database or you are using some type of CMS to update your site you need to think about security. If your site has already been hacked, then this is another good reason to look to at least upgrade your site. Once a hacker finds a way in, you may be spending hours and days trying to patch wholes in your site.
The simplest way to check for security issues is to ask Google to do it. As part of their webmaster tools, you can select a review of your site. This will not catch everything, but it is a good starting point if you site is coming up to 3 years old or older. Technology changes fast and what worked and was safe even 1 year ago, may not be today.
Conclusion– If you cover the above 4 points fairly well with your website, then why not save yourself some time and money. Just because everyone else has a full width infinite scrolling website with fly in galleries, doesn’t mean you need to. If it isn’t going to improve on these ideas, then why do it?
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