How to Tell When It’s Time to Update Your Website

Many people mistakenly believe that once their website is up - that’s it.  Their “virtual brochure” is complete and no longer needs updating.  For companies whose product line seldom changes, or who only want a website designed just to share information - paying a one-time fee for a website design seems like the best idea.  Right?

You could go for years with the same website, and never consider an update.  However there are several “clues” that can tell you when it’s time for a redesign.  Here are just a few of them:

1. Security Issues - Even something as harmless as a navigation menu can be “hacked”.  I’ve even had people come to me with horror stories of how their shopping cart code was changed to redirect all of the funds to the hacker’s account! 

One company had no idea that their site was being used to store fake web pages of well-known banks, and their email system had been broken into and was sending out mass mails attempting to steal account information.

Major problems like these happen more than you might think.  The only way to solve these kinds of issues is to have a reliable, competent programming team investigate and correct the code, as well as take security precautions to make sure the problem doesn’t happen again.

2. Lots of visitors, few sales - If you’re tracking the number of visitors to your websites (it’s free and easy to do using a web-based service like Google Analytics), you already know how many visitors come to your site each day.  But if those visitors aren’t translating into sales - something’s missing.

It could be a weak design, poorly written sales copy, confusing navigation or any number of small problems that can add up to lost sales.  By tracking the number of visitors and sales you receive, you’ll know how well your site is really doing.

3. Junk form submissions - One of our current clients came to us because he was frustrated with the high number of junk form submissions he received each day.  Getting traffic to his site wasn’t a problem, but when it came time to order, people backed out. 

It all came down to a trust issue.  If your site doesn’t look or feel professional to the visitor, they’ll wonder if it’s safe to even do business with you.  Very few buyers will feel comfortable and confident enough to place an order with a site that looks outdated - and for good reason!

With a fresh new look, a secure site and a robust shopping cart, this client is now collecting real orders every day, and junk form submissions are a thing of the past.

Updating the look and layout of your site doesn’t have to be expensive either.  If you’re interested in learning more about how a website redesign can help build your business, contact iElectrify for a free quote!

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