Your website is often the very first place potential clients will go to learn about your business and the services you offer. Keeping your website updated is one of the most important steps in attracting clients and creating new leads but is more often overlooked by business owners.
Here are 7 reasons it might be time to update your website.
- Your Website Is Not Secure
Security is a top priority for all businesses, but it is something that is often overlooked. If your website is hacked client information could be compromised and it can also allow for the spread of malware. You can take some simple steps to protect your site by regularly scanning your site for potential malware, perform regular updates to your theme, plugins and WordPress core, install an SSL Certificate and use strong and secure passwords.
- Your Website is Using An Outdated Theme
When you first created your website it may have been built with the most current theme however with technology changing so quickly it could now look out of date in terms of look and functionality.
There are often significant improvements from website and theme providers every 2-3 years that change the visual layout of a modern website. Compare your current site to ones you visit often that you find visually appealing, and update your visuals if you feel yours is out of date.
- Your Content Is Not Updated
Keeping content up to date is a great way to build trust between you and your clients as they come to rely on you for useful information. If your website has dates for past events, incorrect contact details or links that are broken, your website will be in need of an update. Also, think about updating your blog with new content as this will bring in traffic and keep visitors coming back.
- Your Website Isn’t Mobile Friendly
If your current theme is not mobile-friendly you will definitely need a new theme. Nowadays website traffic is via mobile devices so you will need to keep up with the latest trends and newer themes adapt to any device. You will also run the risk of losing business if your website isn’t mobile-friendly.
If visitors cannot get things done easily on your website using only their phones, then now is the time to update.
- Your Website Takes Too Long to Load
When was the last time you checked to see if your website loads slowly? A loading time over five seconds is perceived as too long to wait. Slow loading could be caused by a number of factors, including large images that have not been optimised prior to uploading, underpowered hosting or an older, poorly performing theme. Some of these are easy to fix and will be a much better user experience.
- Your SEO Is Struggling
If your website hasn’t been updated in a while, your ranking is probably not so high on search engine results. Updating your website can be a great way to increase your search engine ranking as you can add keywords and phrases.
- Your Website Is Difficult to Navigate
We know much more about the user experience today than previously and how your website navigation can steer the visitor towards a better experience. Ask a colleague or family member to check your website’s user experience. Is it easy is it to find information and complete the steps? If it’s hard to find information or your form is too long to complete, then now is the time to start working on updating your site.
If you would like assistance with any of the above, please get in contact with us.