How often should a website be updated or refurbished?
As discussed in our How To Create a Great Homepage edition, first impressions count—and nowhere is that idea more important than on your company website.
Before a customer decides to expend their hard-earned capital on your products or services, they may wish to investigate your business by the numerous online platforms available. They can monitor social media channels, read reviews, and, of course, visit your website. It’s absolutely critical, then, to ensure that when a user lands on your page, that it’s looking in tip-top shape and functions exactly as intended.
The customer experience
Imagine you’re the consumer. When a company homepage springs happily onto the screen, what first impressions are you getting? Is the layout clear and engaging? Is the page easy to navigate, and can you find what you’re looking for without having to jump through a series of convoluted hoops? Does it look tired and visually outdated? These are all essential considerations when thinking about website refurbishment.
Now, before you rush off in a blind panic, frantically bashing ‘web designer’ into Google and offering the first creative you find every penny in your business account, take a breath.
This doesn’t mean you need to undergo a complete revamp of your website every month to keep things fresh. Updates and digital renovations can take many forms.
It could just be a case of posting a weekly blog, implementing new SEO strategies or remodelling your product and service pages to engage potential customers. There’s more than one way to rejuvenate a cat.
How often should I refurbish and update my company website?
A full website refurb—a total design overhaul with all the coding involved—we’d recommend every three years as a minimum.
As far as updates go: as regularly as possible. For the benefit of both customers and search engine visibility, it’s important to keep your website up-to-date.
When refreshed frequently, the lights on Google’s giant algorithmic super brain start to flash and it will mark your website as relevant. This is a critical component towards achieving a high search engine ranking.
Indeed, an active, constantly-modified and current website will fare much better with organic search engine rankings than one that has been abandoned and left to collect virtual dust.
If you left your house deserted for a year, and ignored all the maintenance jobs that had been piling up, what state would you expect the building to be in?
No one is suggesting you have to buy a new house every year, but to keep things in working order, you cannot ignore those little tweaks and adjustments. A lick of paint here, a boiler upgrade there. Website upkeep is no different. Even a conscious monthly update of your site will keep both customers and those demanding search engine elves happy.
What kind of updates can I make?
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to website updates, and whatever changes you do decide upon—whether it’s new homepage graphics, CTA buttons, or installing a pop-up user survey—they needn’t be complicated or expensive. They are, however, fundamental to a site’s effectiveness.
It could take the form of incorporating a new blog system onto your site. Writing weekly in-house articles to keep users informed about new products or services is a great way of keeping your site current and engaging your customer base. By posting fresh, company-related content, you are making it clear to the consumer and search engines that your business is active and thriving—and that you are a specialist in your industry with lots of relevant, useful information to share.
Where many companies run out of steam when trying to maintain a regular blog, is that they don’t know what kind of content they should be writing.
Similar to creating a great first impression with your homepage, a good idea is to imagine yourself as the customer and consider what type of things you’d like to see. Framing articles in the guise of a question—one that you, as a user, would like answered—is an effective framework for creating worthwhile and engaging content.
Finally...
If you would like to find out more about refurbishing your website—or building an entirely new one—we'd be thrilled to hear from you.
We’ve got a wealth of experience and expertise under our belts when it comes to website design, website development, update services and content writing, and we think we’ve become rather good at it. Drop us a line and see for yourself!
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Posted on November 5th 2021
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