A company’s website is the foundation to modern customer interactions (what we refer to as the Modern Business Card). Some small businesses elect to take their time when it comes to modernizing their websites, potentially due to their fear of investing capital in a time-consuming project that may not pay off in a manner that is expected (all downsides tied in to Traditional Website Design). However, not having an up-to-date website could end up costing you more than you thought you were saving. In today’s blog post, we will look at a handful of ways that not your business can, and frankly will, be harmed by having an outdated website.
Lower SEO
Having an outdated website comes with a correlation with poor, ineffective Search Engine Optimization. Google, the cornerstone of the internet, will have trouble finding your company’s website. Your potential customers will face the same problem, and this can harm your company greatly. Potential customers can easily miss working with your company simply because your website does not show up on search results. Few people are willing to dig through multiple pages of online search results, the main downside to poor Search Engine Optimization. If by chance a customer does stumble down to your needle-in-a-haystack search result, do you really want them to be greeted by an outdated, gimmicky website?
Deterring Wanted Traffic
In addition to poor Search Engine Optimization, an outdated website is visually far from appealing. It deters wanted traffic, made up almost entirely of potential customers. Your clients and potential clients use websites to judge your company, to see if they are willing to hire you for your services or not. You want your business to put its best foot forward, and to show up to this online interview looking sharp and ready to earn their trust and business. After all, if your company fails to do so, it is…
…Missing Out On Potential Sales and Customers
Without a having a modern and user-friendly website for your customers to use, their interaction and user-experience is crippled and limited. You want a website that not only draws potential customers in, but helps seal the deal and to then lead to returning customers. A happy, returning customer is much more likely to spread the word of your company’s services. Word of mouth is a major form of advertisement, and a modern website can entail this word-of-mouth from returning customer’s advertisement, which in turn can grow exponentially.
Attracting Unwanted Traffic
Not only would an out-of-date website make you lose out on wanted traffic, but it can lead to more unwanted traffic (further widening the gap of the unwanted effects your out-of-date website results in). The number one unwanted visitor to any website are hackers. Hackers tend to target outdated websites, on the count that outdated websites tend to come with outdated security services. Newer sites have newer security measures, and these security measures will be better supported with newer features and more updates.
Failing To Embrace Modern Tactics
Outdated websites are almost always visually unappealing. By not embracing modern design, you are showcasing a poor image of your business, one that is out of touch. Your customers and potential customers will surely notice. A major design flaw in outdated websites are the fact that the vast majority of them are not designed to be mobile friendly. Devices such as smartphones and tablets are major internet browsing devices. A website that is not designed to be mobile-friendly is very frustrating to use, in addition to being visually unappealing. However, let us go beyond the superficial downsides that come with visually unappealing websites and dive beyond the surface. Out-of-date websites fail to embrace modern features that have come to be expected from today’s websites.
Social Media, arguably the biggest forum and source of internet interactions, are vital features found on all successful modern day websites. It is important to sustain a proper presence on social media, and just as important to have that presence tie in to your company’s website. Having a strong tie between your social media presence and your company’s website helps draw wanted attention to your website. Once that attention arrives to your website, you want a proper Call To Action to greet your potential customers. Call To Actions are an important feature found on modern websites that provoke immediate interaction between your customers and your company. Call To Actions can produce useful leads, grow your company’s email list, and lead to new clients.
Modern websites serve many purposes that outdated websites simply cannot offer to your business. It is important to have a method that uses your resources in an efficient way that can be beneficial to your company. We have discussed the cost of having an outdated website in today’s blog, and we have discussed the importance of embracing Growth Driven Design in favor to the outdated Traditional Website Design method (a method that can cost your just as much time and money as having an outdated website). with us to see just how we can get a proper and productive modern website working for you today!