3 Signs You Need To Update Your Website [And What To Do About It]

How do you know if you need to update your website?

Do you wait for a problem to happen? Or perhaps you hope someone will be nice and tell you what to do. I hope you don’t settle for either of those.

But what you can do is look for the signs. Be proactive and check that your website performs at its best. In light of this, I’ve put together 3 signs you need to update your website. And at the end of this post I’ve included what you can do about it.

Do you see the signs? Do you know what to update on your website?

Nothing’s Changed In 5 Days

It’s been 5 days since you made any changes to your website?! O goodness! Well, it’s possible that there’s no problem with that. But it’s also a sign you need to update your website. Think for a moment what you could do. Add a new blog post. Revise a page. Optimize an image. And so much more!

Your website will work harder for your business with consistent improvements. Begin to think of it as a living organism that grows and adapts over time. And unless you have someone else working on it, you must update your website. I update my website everyday. (But I’m a web designer.) In the least, I recommend you make updates on a weekly basis.

FYI – I’ve included recommended next steps and resource links at the end of this post.

Tracking Analytics Are Nonexistent

Tracking analytics are an effective and free way to get feedback about your website. And their absence is a warning sign not to miss. Without them, you are missing out on valuable and actionable data. When you track something, you gain insight on what’s working and areas for improvement.

Analytics allow you to see where visitors are coming from, what pages are most popular, and more. And they can be motivating as they reflect changes based upon how you update your website. It’s essential if you own a website.

Pages Display Poorly On Mobile Devices

Today’s modern websites must display well on all sorts of devices. Desktops, laptops, tablets, and phones. So it’s a bad sign if your website has a poor display on mobile devices. (Read related posts on this here and here.)

Websites with a poor mobile display can be the result of non-responsive design. This results in a frustrated experience by visitors to your website. And you don’t want that right?! It will mean less engagement on your website and a negative view of what you offer. If you do one thing to update your website, make it responsive!

Recognize Any Of These Signs? Here’s What To Do About It

Sign #1 – Nothing’s Changed In 5 Days

• Audit your website. Try a tool like SEOptimer or find a web designer to do one. (I’ll do this for FREE.)
• Publish fresh content to your blog. And even better, create a content publishing calendar.
• Review one or more of your existing pages. Check the written content for clarity, persuasiveness, and any grammar/spelling errors.

Sign #2 – Tracking Analytics Are Nonexistent

• Sign up for a Google Analytics account and install tracking on your website. Do it yourself with this guide or hire a web designer.
• Make it a habit to review your analytics and act upon it. Start with this video covering 10 elements.

Sign #3 – Pages Display Poorly On Mobile Devices

• Take Google’s mobile-friendly test. Follow their recommendations. If those changes are out of your comfort zone, hire a web designer.
• Make it a habit to check the display of your website for different devices. I recommend the responsive design tool in Firefox. Chrome has one as well. And remember that the most accurate test is in on an actual device.

Ready, Set, Go!

Alright! So you’ve got the signs and some next steps. And I’m sure you get that maintaining a website requires hard work. With some initiative, the information in this post will get you on the right track.

As a web designer, I specialize in turning outdated websites into effective ones. So if you have questions or need help, you can contact me here. And for more about my work, view my portfolio and learn about my services.

Note: I first posted this content on January 15, 2017 at my blog.

----------------------

Thanks for reading! For related content on LinkedIn, check out 9 Reasons Your Website Is Driving Customers Away. I also wrote a post entitled Must-Haves For Your Small Business Website [6 Essential Elements].

If this post was meaningful for you, share your support by liking, sharing, or commenting. Thank you!

And if you're curious, I share personal thoughts on life and living here.