The Top 7 Website Updates For 2021 To Make Your Website Awesome
- Speed + Performance Updates
- Online Form CAPTCHA ‘Bot’ Spam Protection
- Customer Reviews Page
- Privacy Policy Page
- Updating Images
- Updating or Revising Your Services Page
- SEO Specific Content Updates
But first of all, let’s quickly answer one of our most common questions regarding website updates…
How Often Should I Update My Website?
The internet represents just how fast technology is changing and evolving. Updates and upgrades are an ongoing and consistent fact of life. When it comes to websites, there’s the technological updates required to keep everything functional, then there’s the physical design and content updates that the customer sees. In the web design industry, we often refer to these are Backend Updates and Frontend Updates, and believe it or not, a LOT goes on behind the scenes.
The Day-to-Day Updates | Backend
Most modern websites require day-to-day monitoring, to ensure that essential software updates are successfully integrated for security and performance, the details of which depend on your choice of website platform. These updates are usually taken care of by a professional website hosting service, unless you do it yourself.
Updates to Refresh + Revive | Frontend
Then we have the website updates that you can make to keep your website current and user-friendly. These updates include; Content (wording and images), Design, and Physical Appearance.
When is the Best Time to Redesign Your Website?
A new year or season brings new energy, and the opportunity for businesses to create a huge surge of momentum. There is literally no better time than around the new calendar or financial year to invest in quality website updates that ensure your business runs smoothly, can scale, and maintain a solid online presence all year long! Also, there are also tax benefits from investing in significant website upgrades! Click to read our 2017 blog, Is My Website Tax Deductible?
Tip # 1 | Speed + Performance Updates
It’s no secret that the speed and performance of your website directly impacts the customer experience. As we’ve mentioned in our Blog about the importance of quality web design, your website is often the first thing a potential customer will see, and it takes less than half a second for someone to make a first impression!
Your website holds the key to converting quality leads into profitable long-term business, so ensuring you’ve got the right website updates for top speed and performance is a vital ingredient in the recipe for success.
Tip # 2 | Online Form CAPTCHA ‘Bot’ Spam Protection
Who actually likes filtering through spam messages on their website? Not only is it a nuisance, it’s also time-consuming and potentially costly to your business. Your online form is there for serious leads to be able to contact you and send enquiries. To maximise your time, a Captcha code on your form helps filter out the bot-generated spam so that the messages you’re receiving are from high quality leads that could turn into potential customers.
Tip # 3 | Customer Reviews Page
When it comes to website updates, having a current and updated reviews or testimonials page is exceptionally powerful. While you can have a great layout and smart, impactful content designed to convert traffic into potential customers, there’s nothing that builds trust with a website visitor quite like real, authentic customer reviews. Speaking of reviews, here’s some of our reviews from Google.
Tip # 4 | Privacy Policy Page
Today’s consumer is much more savvy when it comes to privacy and security. Having a Privacy Policy page on your website shows your potential customers that you take their privacy seriously – and you’re running a quality operation that’s aware of all the legalities.
As well as being good for the consumer, having a Privacy Policy page also keeps you protected legally. Since you’ve invested so much in your business, why risk it?
Tip # 5 | Updating Images
Suppose you’ve just started online dating, and you come across someone with a great profile picture. You start chatting and agree to meet them in person. Once you meet them, you realise their profile picture was clearly taken 10 years ago… Disappointing, right?
Well, it’s the same with your website updates! Keeping your images fresh and aligned with who you are, and what you do as a business today is vital. You want to be sure that your customer’s expectations will be met, and you remain authentic and congruent with relevant, eye-catching imagery.
Tip # 6 | Updating or Revising Your Services Page
At Web-Sta, our web services are designed to help businesses scale and grow, helping you to achieve your business goals and live the life of your dreams. For most of our customers, this means that their businesses are evolving and changing over time, with services being regularly updated, revised, and upgraded.
If you’re interested in growth as a business, it’s likely that your services have evolved and changed over time too. If a potential customer was to contact you about a service listed on your website, and you were to inform them it had changed or was no longer available, what kind of impression do you think that gives?
First impressions count! So it’s ideal to ensure your services page is current so customers know exactly what you’re offering.
Tip # 7 | SEO Specific Content Updates
Our final recommendation for important website updates is the upgrading or revising of your website content, to be more SEO specific. SEO, otherwise known as Search Engine Optimisation, is designed to ensure your website shows up on Google, using specific keywords that your potential customers might search for. In fact, SEO is one of the most powerful ways for a website to be seen in the online marketplace and generate quality traffic.
And, because the rules of SEO are constantly changing, it’s essential to continuously update your content in order to gain the best leverage to benefit from a decent Google ranking!
Key Takeaways
Remember, regular website updates are fundamental to a happy, healthy website that runs at optimal performance levels. Don’t wait until your website becomes dysfunctional and obsolete before making positive changes and updates. Your business depends on it!
Learn More About…
