Robyn Rivera
Many small businesses don’t give too much thought to their website once it’s built. But the truth is that, in order to be successful online, you need to update your website frequently.
Is your website due for an update? Today, I’m going to go over just a few of the many reasons to update your small business website.
It used to be, when you wanted to make a change or add something to your website, you needed the help of a webmaster to get the job done. This was both inefficient and expensive, which is why people rarely updated their websites.
But, thanks to CMSs (content management systems), like Websites 360®, it’s easier than ever to make updates and build your own website. You don’t have to know a single line of code or have any web development knowledge to update your website anymore — you just need the right website builder.
Have limited knowledge or technical expertise when it comes to website design? No problem. Websites 360’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor makes it easy for anyone to build their own small business website.
Did you know that 77% of Americans now use smartphones? Smartphone use is on the rise, and in 2019, 56% of the world’s website traffic was generated on a mobile device. That means of all of your website visitors, more than half will be on a mobile device.
Mobile-friendliness is critical to a website’s success these days. And, while there’s a lot that goes into mobile-friendliness, it all starts with having a responsive website.
Responsive websites automatically reconfigure themselves based on the device they’re being viewed on. This ensures that every user enjoys the full aesthetic and functionality of the website, and it eliminates the need to have a separate mobile website for your business.
Find out whether or not your website passes Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.
Not so long ago, it wasn’t uncommon to pay thousands of dollars to have a custom website built. That meant, when a small business had a website built, they stuck with it, and updates just weren’t in the budget. Luckily, those days are gone.
Pre-designed templates on a website builder make the process of building a new website for your business more affordable than ever before. And, thanks to drag-and-drop editors, templates can be customized without the need for help from a professional web designer.
Thanks to Websites 360 and other website builders, cost no longer has to be a barrier to having a modern, elegant website.
The online world is always changing — just ask Tom from Myspace. What worked and was popular yesterday won’t necessarily be popular tomorrow, and if your website can’t keep up with the times, you’ll end up being left behind.
Websites aren’t like fine wines; they don’t get better with time. In fact, the opposite is true. Websites age quickly, which is why we recommend updating your website on an annual basis.
You won’t necessarily need an entirely new website every year, but you may need to make updates to prevent it from becoming outdated. That means that you need a website platform that’s easy to use and update.
It seems like there are always headlines in the news about data breaches, leaving customers’ personal and credit card information up for grabs. That can give people pause when shopping online or filling out contact forms, and that’s especially true if your website is old and outdated-looking.
There’s a lot on the line when people are making purchases or entering their personal information online, and most won’t go through with it if they’re unsure whether or not they can trust the website they’re on.
Nothing can destroy trust, and make the wrong first impression on visitors, like a website that looks outdated or unprofessional. But, a modern, professional website can increase conversions and sales.
Not only do older websites appear outdated, clunky and untrustworthy, but they’re also a lot harder to update with new content and don’t smoothly integrate with social media for easy sharing. And, since SEO and social media management both play a huge role in visibility these days, it can be enormously detrimental to your success online.
Modern-day website builders are designed to make it easy to update content, add new pages and blog posts, embed videos and even share directly on social media. When you need a dedicated landing page for an ad campaign or a new service, the right CMS makes updating your website easy.
Keeping your website updated with fresh content is not only key for keeping visitors up to date on who your business is and what you offer, but it’s an important part of ensuring that your website ranks on search engines, as well.
In an ideal world, it would be easy to create the perfect website out of the box, but this isn’t a perfect world, and your website will likely need some tweaking to make it as effective as possible.
Unfortunately, what’s working on your website and what isn’t won’t always be obvious. And, in order to drive the highest possible ROI, you need to make design and content decisions based on the data.
When you back a modern CMS, like Websites 360, with the power of an all-in-one marketing platform, like Marketing 360®, you’ll have everything you need to test and refine your website, maximizing your impact online and your ROI.
Is your website due for an update? Build your own with Websites 360. Pick from one of our many design templates to get started.
Originally published on 8/9/21