Have you ever visited an old website and seen that their latest update was years ago and wondered to yourself – are they still in business? Having outdated content on your website can cause your potential customers to perceive your business as unsuccessful and lose trust in you.
Words: Candice Greig, Web Developer at Confab
Your website is typically the first place your customers will look to get an insight of what you or your company does and how you can assist them. Having content that is up to date is vitally important as first impressions will influence your customer’s decision on whether they are going to work with your company or carry on browsing the internet for a company that is more ‘on the ball.’
Your website is the poster child of your business and you’ll want to ensure that you are putting your best foot forward when looking for new customers. We understand that your business is important to you and that you want it to make an impact on your customers; therefore by keeping your website content up to date you are able to accomplish this for your business. You never know who is visiting your website and the benefit that visit may have.
We recommend focusing on the following when wanting to update your website:
Keep your website content as fresh and up to date as possible.
Better website content gives you better website traffic!
Google likes websites with content that is well researched and well reviewed and it will reward your website with high search results in return.
In todays day and age, customers rely on getting up to date information from the internet, so when reading something on your website that makes them think twice about your business, it can hurt your credibility. No matter what market you are in, keeping your content up to date helps build trust and confidence between you and your customer, as your customer will use your site to get useful information about your business.
It is just as important to keep the keywords and phrases on your website as fresh as the content. If you don’t update your keyword focus, then you will not drive useful traffic to website.
Keep YOUR customer in mind
Your website design should focus around the needs of the visitors you are trying to target in order to convert those visitors into customers. This can be achieved by providing the ideal customer, within your target market, with easily accessible and engaging content that they will find useful. Over time, your target market might change as you expand your business or invest in new business tools, so make sure your website content adapts to reflect this.
Make sure your website design is keeping up with the online trends and doesn't use outdated themes
People think that focusing only on content and digital agency Durban will help their website achieve their goals, but fail to address the design and navigation of the site as a vital factor in the equation. A customer’s first impression of your website could have a potentially great outcome for your business, so staying fresh and up to date is vital. The digital world is constantly changing, so what was awesome last year, may not be so awesome this year. Outdated technologies and functionality will not make you stand out in the crowd. Nobody wants to fill in a long contact form or battle with difficult navigation; these are a few things that can turn customers away, even if your content is amazing.
Make sure your website is Mobile Friendly
Mobile devices like iPhones, iPads, Tablets and Android phones are constantly evolving and getting smarter and smarter and as a result, these devices are accounting for just over 60% of website traffic. This means that you could be missing out on over half of your potential customers if your website is not mobile friendly or easily to view on smaller screen.
Our lives are currently driven by having to have the ‘latest and greatest.’ Our culture likes things to be new and we are constantly looking for change. So if this is how we are driven, then why should your website be the exception to the rule and remain outdated?