Is Your Website Outdated?

Ever notice how some websites don’t change much for years or even decades, while others age like milk? Of course, then there is your own website, which, depending on how you feel about it, will either feel outdated after a couple of years, or you’ll love the design so much that, to you, it’s timeless and never needs a change.

We’re going to look at how web design standards have changed, how to stay ahead of the curve to get the most time out of your website, and talk about some of the more frustrating things that you might need to prepare for with modern websites.

The Nostalgia of Older Websites

The Internet is an enigma. In the early days, it was sort of a wild west, where there weren’t really a lot of rules or standardizations, and anyone who wanted to put in a little bit of effort could carve out a presence.

It wasn’t always pretty, and wasn’t always functional, but to some, that apparently wasn’t all that important. We almost get a little nostalgia for the uglier side of the early Internet.

Looking back at 1996’s Space Jam website brings us back to a simpler time when usability, prospect funnels, and responsive design were all back burner for the sake of sheer artistry. I’m being a little facetious here, but if anything showcases just how much things have changed, it’s that. It’s even more interesting when you realize that the website wasn’t going to do anything to aid in the promotion of the movie, since it was still early enough in the days of the Internet that most people weren’t online, and there weren’t really a lot of ways to advertise to people who were online.

Today, a business can live or die by its website. There are still some organizations that just use their website as “proof of a pulse,” but it’s much more likely that an entity hopes to get additional business or a return back on their investment by launching and maintaining a website.

But what about older designs that are, more or less, timeless?

I’d argue that Wikipedia is a shining example of this. While overall, the look and feel of Wikipedia hasn’t changed very much, it’s extremely readable, accessible, and usable. It loads quickly on mobile devices, works great on virtually any screen size, and of course, the layout is simple because it is, more or less, just an online encyclopedia. It’s been roughly the same since 2001, and in 2031, it will probably still look pretty similar. 

On the other hand, look at Amazon. Amazon is one of the world’s largest, most used eCommerce websites. From a design standpoint, it’s busy as you’d expect—Amazon is a store that sells almost everything, and they cater to your experience based on what you’ve shown an interest in. It’s a massive platform that’s closer to being a social network than a typical business. While Amazon is technically mobile responsive, on certain screen sizes it’s virtually impossible to get around. Menus are intimidating. This is a company that spends millions of dollars in perfecting usability and yet they don’t have to worry about some of the basic stuff because, well, they are Amazon.

And then there are the smaller businesses and organizations. We don’t really get the luxury of being timeless, and we have to follow the trends in order to appease Google. On top of that, we need to provide a comfortable user experience that makes sense to our visitors. Let’s take a look at what some of those critical trends are.

The Bare Minimum Requirements of a Successful Website in 2023

Even if you just want to show off your product or services and provide a way for potential customers to reach out to you, you need to meet some of these requirements if you want to provide a good experience with your website.

Mobile Responsiveness

The average person does far more web browsing on their smartphone or tablet than they do on their desktop or laptop these days. If your website isn’t built for this, then it’s time to rebuild your website, period. If your website just looks like a tinier version of how it does on a big desktop screen on an iPhone, your website likely isn’t responsive. If you can’t easily navigate it with the tip of your finger, and buttons, links, and text are too small to comfortably read, this is an indicator that your site isn’t responsive. The responsive design didn’t start to become a thing until around 2010, so if your website is older than that, it’s definitely time for a facelift.

Here’s why.

We already mentioned it’s about usability—if someone is looking for your services and comes to your website, and can’t easily navigate your site on their phone, you are going to lose them. It’s so easy to hit the back button and try another Google search result. 

Google knows this, and they will even prioritize mobile sites, to the point where in some cases, a non-mobile-friendly site just won’t rank at all on mobile devices, or will be much lower in the results.

Unfortunately, making a website mobile responsive isn’t easy. It really requires a redesign from the ground up in most cases. That’s the kind of thing you’ll want to reach out to us about.

An SSL/Security Certificate

Most modern browsers will make a big show over sites that don’t have this, with warnings that your website might not be secure. It looks bad to potential visitors, and it’s relatively simple to set up, making this a no-brainer to check off your to-do list.

To keep it simple, an SSL is essentially a certificate that says the connection between the user and the website is secure and encrypted. You’d never want to attempt to make a purchase or log into a website that doesn’t have an SSL (indicated by the little lock icon in the address bar of your browser), as your information could easily be intercepted.

Even if your website doesn’t accept payment transactions, it’s good to have, and prevents browsers from giving the warning message. Most hosts offer free SSL certificates—we include it with our hosting, so if you need help, just reach out.

Clear, Comprehensive Content

Whether you are a local restaurant, an insurance agency, a school, or a manufacturer, your organization’s website needs to clearly articulate what you do and what makes you stand out. Content writing for the web is an art form on its own, and while many types of businesses can get away with showcasing pictures of their products, you should also include text to entice people.

Your website content is going to be what gets you to rank (or not to rank) on Google. It will influence potential customers to try out your products and services, or encourage them to book a reservation or contact you. If you don’t put effort into your content, there is little reason to even have a website. Granted, your content might also include photos of your work, video, and other types of media, but in general, your entire website’s presence relies on the quality of your content, and almost everything else is secondary.

If your website doesn’t clearly hold your audience’s hand and guide them through what you do, why you stand out, why they should choose you over your competitors, and simply show the value of your offering, then you are allowing your competition to have a much better chance at enticing your prospective customers.

We write content for businesses of all shapes and sizes, and even when we write content for you, expect to put in the time and effort to answer our writer’s questions as thoroughly as possible so they can help your business stand out. Your content should never be an afterthought—it’s what matters.

That can include more than just your typical home page and About Us text too—keeping an updated blog on your website can give an organization the avenue to keep their audience informed and rank for a much broader set of terms on the search engines. A good, well-kept blog can give you plenty of marketing ammunition too, and can continuously be used to educate and inform prospects.

It’s Time to Wipe the Cobwebs Off Your Website

If it’s been several years since you’ve made considerable changes to your website, it’s pretty likely that it is outdated and not serving your business as well as it should. If you’d like to talk to our experienced web marketing professionals, reach out to us at 607.433.2200 to set up a free consultation, and we’ll come up with a game plan that will modernize your web presence.