Technology doesn’t stand still. Even really great website design may start to look dated further down the line. An out-of-date website doesn’t do anything for your credibility, but how do you know if yours has past its expiry date? Here are seven telltale signs.
1. Slipping down search rankings
If your website is falling down the search rankings, your site may be to blame. You could be employing marketing or SEO initiatives on your site that are outdated and no longer viewed favourably by search engines.
2. Unable to accommodate your needs
A small business may often find that as it grows, its website is no longer able to accommodate its needs. It could be time to update your website design to reflect your growth.
3. Not responsive
If your website is not optimised for use on mobile devices, it’s long overdue a re-haul. In fact, it’s a necessity if you want to stay competitive.
4. Stale content
It’s not just the look and feel of your site that contribute to whether it’s dated. Your content needs scrutinising, too. If your latest news article talks about last year’s Christmas party, your content needs working on to keep it fresh. This is also beneficial for search engine optimisation.
5. Slow to navigate
If your website is becoming slow and cumbersome to navigate, perhaps your systems are incompatible with new browsers, which might affect functionality. Slow navigation is a turn-off for users, so check the speed and ease of navigation of your site.
6. No tie-in with social media
If your website is devoid of social media share buttons, you’re falling behind the times. Having a tie-in with social media on your website is a great way to increase awareness of your site, and boost your SEO profile.
7. Outdated aesthetics
It’s not always easy to be specific about why a site looks outdated, but you just have a sense that it’s no longer on-trend. Often, it can be unfashionable choices of fonts, colours or text size, or even be about how you use white space. Generally, website design should be freshened up at least every three years.