The digital world is constantly evolving. Your business needs transform based on market changes. New trends in consumer behavior and design emerge, making what was cool yesterday suddenly seem dated and out-of-touch today.
It’s hard to keep up. It’s hard for your website to keep up.
So how do you know if it’s time for your website to retire? Should you make do with what you have? Try tinkering and patching? Or thank your website for its service and start looking for replacements?
In many situations, there is a case to be made for keeping your current website in place, and making incremental improvements. It may be more cost effective and require less time and resource investment.
But sometimes, retiring your current website and starting from scratch is your best option. Below are a few early warning signs that indicate it’s time to say goodbye.
4 Signs it’s Time to Retire Your Website
It hasn’t heard of the iPhone.
Mobile browsing is here to stay. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile devices, your search rankings are suffering. You’re losing valuable traffic, and the sales and conversions that come along with it.
Its hearing is gone.
You may think your website should only be telling — that is, telling visitors about your products or services. But listening can be a much more important job for a website. Are you helping visitors identify their challenges, and find the information or solutions they need? Is it easy for visitors to get assistance, voice their concerns, or express their interest?
Its sense of style hasn’t changed in ten years.
We all know looks aren’t the most important thing, but they aren’t nothing either. If your website’s appearance looks behind the times, visitors may assume you are too.
It refuses to adapt.
We already talked about how fast things change in the digital world. Your website should be prepared for this. If making simple updates is cumbersome, or adding, editing or removing sections is impractical, your website isn’t built for the long haul.
