Modernizing Your Website: How Often Should You Update?

Sometimes we have to tell people things they don’t want to hear…

Here’s a big one: That lovely website you shelled out big bucks for 6 years ago? It’s time to let it go. Even though you might have sentimental (and financial) reasons for wanting to stick with your old site, you should really be modernizing your website every 3-5 years. (If your website is in WordPress, you should be updating your theme every 3 years. Some websites can stretch to 5 years, but this is really the far limit.)

Thoroughly Modernizing Your Website

What does a “modern” website look like? First of all, it should be mobile friendly. This is probably the #1 change most businesses need to make if they have an older site (and remember, “older” in website land means only about 5 years!).

Also, just as fashion changes, so does website style. An overly copy-heavy homepage or a million subpages in the navigation bar will instantly date your site. And it’s not just about looks – many of the new website design trends reflect changes in how we interact online. When you make changes to your website, be sure to keep this in mind: it doesn’t matter how great it looks if it doesn’t make the user experience better for your customers.

Copy should be updated frequently, not just when you do a massive website overhaul. But modernizing your website certainly means taking a critical look at your copy. You need to make sure you are putting quality content on your site that matches your Google AdWord efforts. If your keywords from AdWords aren’t showing up on your site, you are working at cross purposes.

It helps to think of your website as a constant work in progress rather than a fixed product. Though we know you’d rather have us tell you that it’s ok to change the copyright date at the bottom of your site and call it a day, we think you’ll thank us in the end. A modern website is a hardworking part of your business: invest in it, and you’ll see real results.

Any other questions about modern website design? We would be happy to chat. Contact Niki at [email protected].