What’s trending today might not be as popular tomorrow.
The design best practices experts swear by, might get replaced by something else in the future.
New technologies keep coming up.
And your business also keeps growing and transforming.
Amidst all this, it is extremely important to keep your business website updated too. Unlike what many people believe, a business website is not a static digital asset. It needs to change, grow, and stay updated with the times to be of value to your business.
This guide will walk you through the what, why, when, and how of keeping your website updated. So let’s get straight to it.
Why keep your website updated?
When you get your business website designed and developed, you spend a lot of time, resources, and effort on it. Being told that all that will soon turn obsolete is surely upsetting.
That’s one of the key reasons many businesses don’t entertain the idea of updating their business website.
But here are some key reasons you should update your website regularly.
- With-the-time updates on your website help create a positive first impression
- Updated websites can attract more leads.
- Website conversions improve with better website design and appropriate messaging.
- Regular updates help avoid security loopholes and patch vulnerabilities on your website.
- You get access to new technology and features with website updates.
- Google ranks websites that regularly update content more than those that don’t.
- Improving your site structure can boost SEO.
- Updates can help you declutter your website.
- With website updates, you can keep your website’s messaging in line with your business’s changing focus.
When to update your website?
In the digital world, things change fast. But your website isn’t something that you can revamp or update every day.
So then what is the right time to update your website?
In general, thoughtfully designed websites last for 2-3 years. In the meanwhile, all you have to do is carry out routine maintenance and upkeep and push in new content every once in a while.
However, here are some other signs that your website needs an update:
- Your site is operating on extremely old versions of the technology.
- Your site looks dull and boring.
- The content on your website does not sync with your latest marketing messages.
- The stock photos on your website are the same as a lot of other sites.
- A lot of new pages have been added to your website and they don’t really fit into your site’s navigation.
- Your website feels cluttered, lags a lot, or lacks the latest functionalities and features.
If you see these signs on your website, it is best to find a website redesign company and start your website overhaul at the earliest.
Elements to keep updated on your website
Once you decide to update your website, here are the elements that you should work on keeping up-to-date.
1. On the backend
Most business owners only think about their website looks and feels on the front and ignore what’s going on at the backend. However, keeping things fresh and updated on the backend is equally important.
1.1. Technology version
The technology on which your website is built (Shopify, WordPress, PHP, React, or anything else) keeps getting updated. New versions and enhancements are released regularly. These updates come with performance upgrades and security patches and you should keep updating your website’s technology to get the benefits of these enhancements. Failing to do so can lead to vulnerabilities and poor performance. For very old versions, you might also not get expert support from the technology providers/open-source communities.
Further reading: Why should you regularly update your app’s PHP and MySQL versions?
1.2. Themes, plugins, and templates
Themes, plugins, and templates are an important part of your website’s backend. It is these additions that give your website the desired look and functionalities. And updates are rolled out for these too. Keeping these updated will ensure stability, no clashes, security, and continued functionality.
1.3. Site structure
As your business grows, you add new services to your lineup and so there are new pages created on the website. You might also add new pages for certain campaigns or for offering some more information to your audience. Often it happens that the newly created pages do not fit the existing site structure. To accommodate these pages, you should revamp your site structure. If customer feedback or details about their user experience point out flaws in your site’s structure, then also you should change your site’s navigation menu.
2. On the front-end
A majority of people form impressions about your website and ultimately your business, based on design. A dated design that isn’t with the times will be counterintuitive for your business. Thus, you should update the following front-end elements to keep your website aesthetically appealing.
2.1. Design elements
What was a hit design element in 2010 might not be the top choice in 2022! Thus, is important to rebrand your website and redesign it with modern best practices. For example, you might have created a simple, flat design for your website back when it was launched, but today animations and interactive designs are in. To keep your website relevant and make your users feel comfortable, you need to get your site redesigned with modern-day best practices.
2.2. CTAs
Consider this situation. When you last retouched your website’s design, you wanted people to send emails to request quotes. So all your CTAs looked something like – “Email us today!”
But now you have a robust lead-capturing contact form. You don’t want people to flood your inbox with quote requests. That calls for a change in CTAs. You might have a new eBook that you want people to download, or you might have had your business phone number changed. Depending on your specific business situation, you should update the calls to action on your website too.
2.3. Links
Pages on the web keep getting created and deleted every day. Thus, some valid links on your website might become obsolete and show a 404 redirect. To avoid having your visitors land on “Not Found” pages, keep your links updated. You can use free tools like BrokenLinkChecker to identify and replace broken links or if you have a WordPress website, the Broken Link Checker Plugin is a good choice.
3. The content
One of the most dynamically changing aspects of your website should be its content. Here are the key content elements to keep adding and updating on your website.
3.1. Client success stories
As your keep serving more clients, it is good to add those projects to your portfolio. This is especially important for B2B businesses.
An updated portfolio indicates to your audience that you are still in business and continue serving your clients with stunning business solutions.
You might also want to take reviews and testimonials from your customers and keep publishing them on your site to build trust by the means of social proof.
3.2. Adding new blogs and updating old ones
One of the biggest lessons that businesses need to learn today is that you cannot directly get people to enter your sales funnel without offering them valuable information first. That forms the crux of content marketing. And your website needs to follow that rule. To build an active readership on your website, you need to have a blog section. You should regularly keep adding informative and engaging blogs to your site.
Not sure if you can become a blogger for your business, hire expert content writers and marketers here.
Other than adding new blogs, you also need to keep your older blogs updated. Make sure you keep revisiting the content and change figures or facts that might have changed. Also, regularly updated content ranks well on Google and other search engines as the crawlers believe that updated content has added value and is relevant. So this would not just help build a positive customer experience but also result in better rankings.
3.3. Marketing messages
Over time, your business marketing goals are bound to change. And so your marketing messages. To make sure your website reflects your updated goals and messages, keep updating your website content too.
Getting Started With Your Website Overhaul
Updating a website and carrying out a redesign or overhaul is a long and tiresome process. It should be carried out in phases and with expert guidance. SynergyTop has a team of 50+ experts who can help you out with that.
We have website maintenance experts who can carry out the daily, weekly, or monthly updates you’d need on your site.
For website redesign services, we have a team of web designers and web developers who can help you revamp your site without data loss and minimal downtime.
Request website maintenance or website redesign quotes today!
About SynergyTop
SynergyTop is a global IT service provider with offices in San Diego, Los Altos, Los Angeles, and more locations. We have been delivering web, mobile, eCommerce, custom software, and digital marketing solutions with 100% customer satisfaction rates for the past 8+ years. And our team of 50+ experts with deep domain experience are ready to serve you next.
