There is a common belief among many business owners that because their business has old fashioned values, their website should be old fashioned as well. The problem with this belief is that old fashioned, in website terms, equals outdated.
Why is this an issue? Well, an outdated website poses a number of obvious problems to your business.
- Hacking: Outdated websites which have not been updated can be a hacker’s dream come true. These types of websites are targeted by hackers because they are so easy to penetrate. So make sure your content management system, security protocols and plugins are kept up to date at all times.
- Lost rankings: The longer you leave your website without updating its functionality, security and content, the lower your rankings. Google likes frequently updated websites, so if you want to flounder on page 10 of Google, an outdated website is the best way to achieve exactly that.
- Decreased user-friendliness: Customers are very well versed in what they like and don’t like about websites, and are not slow in voting with their feet. If the functionality and navigation of your website is 10 years old or even 5 years old, it is not going to be user-friendly and will only frustrate visitors.
- Lower conversions: Frustrated visitors will increase your bounce rate and lower your conversion rates. Outdated navigation, along with uninformative, old content, causes visitors to quickly leave your site, reducing conversions and rankings.
- Not mobile friendly: In this day and age, with the rapid increase in mobile phones and tablets, any website that does not responsively display across all mobile devices is leaving money on the table. You either need a website designed specifically for mobile devices or a responsive design, otherwise you may as well as close up shop.
- Social media black hole: Older and outdated websites do not leverage social media marketing to increase the awareness of their brand throughout the larger global or even local community.
So the take home message is that your aesthetic design can be old fashioned, if that is what you believe will attract customers and reflect your values. However, the nuts and bolts of your website as well as your navigation, need to be kept up to date or else you risk losing customers and rankings.
For more information on social media marketing or website design in Brisbane, call GO Creative on (07) 3333 2932 or ask us for a free online quote.
