If you aren’t continuously evolving, you’re falling behind. This is as true for your business as it is for the website representing your business. Staying fresh, meeting your client’s needs and demonstrating ongoing relevance is key to competing – and winning! – in a dense playing field. But what exactly does this mean for your website’s design? Simply put, it means you need to update your website every 2-3 years, or more frequently depending on other factors impacting your site and its performance.
Reasons to Update Your Website Design
For many SMBs, a client’s first interaction with their business is via their website or other online platform. If you’re not leaving a lasting first impression, it’s time to seriously consider the story your website and brand are telling.
Just think about your own experience landing on an old or outdated website. The impact you feel is immediate and real. It may even leave you assuming the business itself is outdated. Fresh and modern web designs help instill trust and credibility and say to your audience, “We’re here, we’re thriving and we’re ready to help you.”
In addition to ensuring your brand design resonates with your clients, there are also technical and performance-related reasons to update your website. If any of these issues ail you, consider a web refresh:
- It’s not mobile-friendly – User experience (UX) is the name of the game for website design. An easy-to-navigate site is more likely to win over customers, and this extends to your mobile presence (roughly half of web traffic comes from mobile devices). If your site isn’t optimized for mobile, you’re missing out on a huge audience and potentially harming your SEO rankings.
- Your site is slow – Website speed is crucial for UX and SEO. If your pages take forever to load, visitors will bounce and Google will penalize your rankings. Updating your design can improve speed and performance. You’ll also benefit from security updates as old sites are more susceptible to malware and data breaches.
- You need an SEO boost – Google rewards freshness. Updating your website and regularly posting new content will improve your website ranking and enable more potential clients to find you.
Stay Ahead of the Curve
Not every web update requires a complete overhaul. Ongoing maintenance with a few well-timed refreshes can keep you relevant and in line with industry trends. Here are a few benchmarks to keep in mind:
- Every 6-12 months – Update images, refresh content and optimize for the latest SEO trends.
- Annually – Review navigation, improve calls-to-action (CTAs) and check for broken links or outdated pages.
- Every 2-3 years – Consider a full redesign to improve aesthetics, functionality and user experience.
Need Help with Your Website? Call us at The Found Gen.
Keep your website, brand and business moving forward with small evolutions that eventually lead to full design revolutions to keep your current with your audience. We’re here to lead the charge. If you need help designing or revamping your site, call us at The Found Gen today. We’re here to make your website work better for your growing business.
