Statistics show that the majority of persons conduct online research before doing business with anyone. That means a good website isn’t just nice to have, it’s essential to gaining new customers and maintaining your customer base. If your website is dated, you’re doing more harm than good when potential customers come across it. In this article, we’ll explore the key areas that you need to address when updating your website.
Common Issues That Plague Dated Websites
Outdated Information and Photos
Customers expect websites to have the most recent information. If information such as your location, opening hours, contact details, and other important data isn’t current, it gives persons the impression that you don’t care about your business. Worse yet, they might think that you’re no longer operational.
The same is true for photographs. If your business depends on images from events, featuring locations, or of your staff, your pictures need to be current and of high quality.
Old Design
Things have changed drastically when it comes to website design. Even if your site was developed in the last few years, chances are it shows that you haven’t changed anything since then. Undertaking a website redesign will grab more attention and show potential clients and customers that you’re keeping up to speed with their needs.
Law firms, in particular, can benefit from incorporating more elements that are helpful to their client base. If that applies to you, make sure to look into specific web designers that are skilled in developing sites for legal professionals and who know how to reduce the number of steps it takes for prospective clients to contact you.
Missing Reviews or Feedback
One thing that older websites tend to ignore is customer reviews and testimonials for your services. Having helpful reviews on your site will give potential customers insight into the relationship you have with your current customers and highlight qualities that they’ll appreciate.
These reviews can nudge someone to choose your business because you stand out from others who may provide a similar product or service. It also gives you the opportunity to provide positive feedback to counteract any negative ones that are out there. This is important to reputation management.
Inconsistent Business Branding
You may have started the business with a particular vision in mind and built your website to reflect that. If that has evolved into something more comprehensive, then your site needs to reflect that as well. Your business branding must be consistent across all platforms so there is no confusion about what you provide or represent.
If your website doesn’t represent who you are, potential customers will notice this inconsistency and may decide that you’re not serious about your business.
Not Designing for Mobile
This element deals with how your website changes to accommodate the device that’s being used to access it. You can no longer assume your website will only be viewed on a computer screen. An increasing number of people use their mobile devices to browse, shop, and interact with the world, and if your website isn’t designed to work seamlessly on those devices, your potential customer won’t see it.
To make sure your site is accessible on all devices, make sure you address responsive web design in your update. That way, anyone who needs to find you can do so easily. All websites designed and built by Fletcher Digital have page speed and mobile responsiveness built in.
Lack of Website Optimization
To get more eyes on your website, you have to be in tune with search engine optimization (SEO) techniques. With the right SEO keywords, your website will pop up when a potential customer searches for the services or products you provide. Without these keywords, search engines may skip over you.
Even if you used the right keywords when you first built your site, SEO techniques aren’t static. You have to keep updating your site to make sure you’re always reaching your target audience. This takes time and requires specialized work, so consider that if you plan to develop content in the long term and don’t be afraid to contact a web design and SEO professional.
No Product Information or Customer Engagement
It’s not enough to provide a vague overview of your products and services on your website. In previous times, a website was only used to give customers initial information that would lead to a phone call or in-store visitation. Nowadays, businesses can conduct their entire business via their website.
As you update your website, look for areas where you can increase customer engagement and give as much information as possible about not only what you provide, but also its implied value. If customers are clear on what they want before they contact you, it will make the process much simpler and easier for both of you.
Other Ways a Dated Website Hurts Your Business
Potential customers use your website to not only find out about you but also to gauge how much you care about your business’ success. That might not seem fair without face-to-face engagement, but consider that your website is an extension of the customer service portion of your business.
A dated website also might not meet important legal requirements depending on the type of business you offer. If you haven’t updated your website to accommodate GDPR regulations, ADA compliance standards, or modern cybersecurity necessities, you run the risk of developing breaches in your security and worse. This could lead to personal data from your business, customers, or vendors being stolen, or your site being taken down or issued strikes and fines.
Your Way Forward From a Dated Website
Running a business is time and energy-consuming, but you can’t neglect your website. If you can’t keep it updated, it’s best to outsource the activity to a professional web designer.
Fletcher Digital specializes in helping law firms, advocacy groups, start-ups, and other business professionals with their website design and development needs. We’ll make sure your website is representative of who you are and brings your best to your target audience.
Contact us to find out about our comprehensive web design packages.
