When Was the Last Time you Updated your Business Website?
It is common to come across websites that haven’t been updated in multiple months, and even years! Often this is because of a lack of technical ability, resources, and time, as well as the additional costs associated. However, to have a high ranking, impactful, secure website you must update your site regularly.
This blog will detail the importance of updating your website regularly to stop your website and business from falling behind, and also provide an indication of certain events that should prompt website alterations.
Importance of Regular Updates
As discussed, there are a number of factors that make it common for businesses to delay or avoid website updates. However, updating your website is essential for it to stay:
Secure
Keeping your website and software, such as the CMS or plugins, updated is crucial for ensuring security, fixing known vulnerabilities and protecting sensitive information. As technology evolves, new security threats emerge, and updates to website platforms and plugins can address these threats. If your website is outdated, it may be vulnerable to hacking, malware, and other forms of cyber-attacks that can compromise your site’s data and damage your reputation. Updating to the latest version of website platforms and plugins can improve their functionality and reduce the risk of technical issues that could lead to security breaches
Highly Ranked
Similarly, keeping on top of security updates will benefit your website’s SEO as secure websites will be favoured by search engines in their rankings.
Additionally, Search engines like Google prioritise websites that are active and regularly updated, as this indicates that the site is relevant and valuable to users. By frequently adding fresh content, fixing broken links, and improving website functionality, you can boost your SEO and attract more traffic to your site.
Competitive
Technology is constantly advancing, and with that, the creation of new, innovative website features and integrations that enhance the functionality and usability of your website. Failure to update regularly will make your website appear to be less functional than your competitors.
Bug-free
Over time your website will develop errors, bugs, and compatibility issues. Failure to update your website will leave issues such as displaying errors or not being compatible with new web browsers, distracting from the user experience.
Aesthetically Modern
Looking at aesthetic and functionality; a website that doesn’t look as expected, is outdated, or doesn’t work correctly will be perceived negatively by visitors. This reduced brand reputation and credibility. Brand Reputation: A website that looks outdated or is not regularly updated can harm the reputation of the organisation and damage its credibility.
When to Update
When to update can vary site to site but here are some factors to consider when determining your update schedule:
Software Type
The frequency of software updates will depend on the type of software your website uses, such as the CMS or plugins. Some software may require updates on a regular basis, while others may require updates less frequently.
Security Patch Availability
Software updates often include security patches that address known vulnerabilities. It’s important to apply these updates as soon as possible in order to protect your website from known security threats.
Branding
Made changes to your branding? Website design and branding should be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that it reflects the current branding of the company.
Feedback
Lastly, monitor your user’s experiences and make changes when necessary. You may be unaware of the need to update a certain element of your website until a user has reached out regarding an issue or in the best case, you have picked up on the issue first through user testing.
Don’t Stand Still!
To have a converting, engaging, secure, and visible website it cannot be a dormant placeholder, unchanged for an extended period of time. Regularly updating your website is crucial for improving your search rankings, user experience, and security. By keeping your site active with fresh content and fixing broken links you can boost your SEO and attract more traffic, protect business and visitor data from security threats, improve functionality, and reduce the risk of technical issues. In summary, regularly updating your website is a worthwhile commitment, especially since the negative impacts of avoiding updates greatly outweighs the required resources.
Change Can Be Easy
It can be a time consuming and complex task to regularly monitor and update your business website, which is why we recommend the use of a WaaS (websites-as-a-service) provider. This allows you to focus on the day-to-day running of your business and rely on the provider to implement your updates for you. For example, WaaS provider Creatify is responsible for the regular testing and maintenance updates of their client’s websites, ensuring their sites are always up, fast, and secure. Additionally, combating the concern over the cost of regular updates, their website packages include unlimited revisions, allowing the website to be updated as often as required for no additional fees, ensuring the business is always represented in the best light.
