Is your website not attracting potential customers? Then probably it is time to update it. In this article, you will find the top 10 reasons to update your website this year. We will guide you through essential concepts like page speed, bounce rate, and security.
Keep reading to learn more.
1. First Impressions Matter (More Than You Think)
First impressions matter when it comes to websites. But why? It may sound crazy but the first time users visit your website can affect the future interactions they have with it
The best way to provide a good first impression with your website can be divided into several factors. This is the first of the numerous reasons to update your website.
For example, use original images instead of stock photos, use social proof, have excellent grammar (on every page!), keep a style consistency within your website’s resources, and express your brand’s personality, do not settle for templates that everyone is using.
2. Better Rankings in Search Engines
Achieving better rankings in search engines is one of the most important reasons to update your website, and for that, your content must be up to date. Here’s why:
- Competition: Competitor rankings for your target keyword could be very different now than when you created the page, they probably have better content than yours now.
- Search intent: Competition is not the only thing that changes, but search intent. There’s a possibility that people searching for your target keyword are now looking for a different content format than the one they used to.
- Outdated information: Depending on your niche, the information on your piece of content may not be up to date anymore. That’s why you should update time-sensitive posts once in a while (once a year for example).
3. Better Security
One of the critical reasons to update your website is security since it is extremely important to keep your business and customer information intact.
SSL
Having an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate active on your website will allow you to protect your data by encrypting it. This is essential to avoid jeopardizing your customer’s sensitive information such as credit card information or passwords.
Software
If you are using a Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress, then you are probably using third-party plugins and themes.
WordPress itself is a secure platform, but you have to keep the platform updated, as well as your themes and plugins so hackers can’t steal your information or even manipulate your website for their own benefit.
4. Better Loading Speed
A website that loads quickly will provide many benefits in terms of SEO and user experience, making loading speed one of the most important reasons to update your website.
In fact, In 2010 Google announced that Page Speed is going to be considered a ranking factor. In short, if you want to rank higher than your competitors, your website needs to load fast.
But how can you improve the loading speed of your website?
It is recommended to compress images, reduce unnecessary code, and install a cache service and a lightweight theme (in case you are using a CMS like WordPress).
In addition, a fast website provides a good experience for your users, which translates into more conversions over time.
5. Responsive Websites Perform Better
In 2015, Google announced that mobile responsiveness would begin to be a ranking factor. That should be enough reason to update your website to be responsive. But, what is a responsive website?
In short, a responsive website adapts to any screen size, so a single website can work on a phone, tablet, or desktop computer.
On the contrary, an unresponsive website is not adaptable to several screen sizes and it can lead to poor user experience, and ultimately, loss of organic traffic.
So, having a responsive site is now a must for every online business or publisher.
If you are using a CMS like WordPress, it should be easy to fix any responsiveness issues by installing a responsive theme, or even installing a powerful page builder such as Elementor or Divi.
However, if you don’t have the time or your website is too complex to modify by yourself, it might be a good idea to hire a professional website designer.
6. More Integrations
In today’s world, adaptability is key to staying on top of your industry, those who cannot adapt will be overtaken by new competitors with better and more efficient technologies.
If you use an advanced CMS like WordPress or Shopify you can leverage the use of integrations, or third-party plugins to offer a better experience to your users without a lot of resources.
However, to do this, you must accept these new technologies and make them part of your website.
Some of the integrations that you can add to your website include but are not limited to:
- Social Media
- Google Analytics
- Payment gateways
- Security solutions
- Back-Up solutions
- Plugins
7. Your Website Doesn’t Reflect Your Brand’s Personality
A website should be aligned with your brand personality due to a couple of main reasons, credibility, and brand recognition.
If every single page of your website is inconsistent with each other and also inconsistent with your social media profiles, then it will drastically affect how your audience perceives your brand. They will see your company as untrustworthy and unprofessional.
If you can’t maintain a consistent brand image, how are they going to trust you to consistently provide good work for their business?
Plus, if your website doesn’t reflect your brand’s personality, people will get confused and start to doubt whether or not your site or social media profiles are real or not, which can heavily affect your conversion rate.
8. Your Bounce Rate is High
If your website already has a steady amount of traffic, but you are struggling to get conversions, it’s probably because your website’s conversion rate is too high. This could be due to various reasons:
- Content readability
- Too many pop-ups or ads
- Calls to Action are not compelling enough
- Content is not targeting the right traffic
- Your website is not loading fast enough
Each one of these aspects can be improved and must be included in the website update routine in order to generate more leads, and ultimately, more conversions.
9. Your Clients or Users Are Complaining
Receiving a lot of complaints through your customer service or email from your customers about your website functionality or content is a clear signal that it is time to update your website.
Remember that these are customers that care about your brand, and really need your services. If they are taking some time to provide some feedback, why not listen to them?
After all, the key to success in business is providing your customers with the best service you could give.
10. Your Website’s Purpose Was Updated
This is one of the most important reasons to update your website. If your brand goals and ambitions have evolved over time, and your website is not really providing any kind of value to your company, maybe your website’s purpose is not aligned with your brand anymore.
Is this happening to you? Then you should update the way your website works immediately. If your purpose is to sell new products, then you should add a new eCommerce section, but if your goal is to obtain emails, then you should add new lead magnets to your posts.
Final Words: There Are More Reasons to Update Your Website
You should update your website constantly to provide the best experience you can to your customers and obtain better rankings in search engines. If you keep doing this, then getting more sales won’t be difficult. We hope you enjoyed reading this top 10 reasons to update your website guide. Get in touch and let’s help you update your website today.