The Importance of Maintaining an Updated Website

Our team of digital marketing experts agree: the worst enemy for a business’s online presence is an outdated website.

There are several elements of your website that might be considered outdated, including content, design and images. Even having just one of these sections not up-to-date can hurt your website’s effectiveness, because it makes your overall business appear to be outdated as well. People are less likely to trust a business with a website that looks like it hasn’t seen an update in over a decade, especially if they only landed on your website through a search.

When you look at your business’s website, ask yourself if the quality of your work is accurately shown.

• Does the design reflect your brand?
• Do the photos on your site show the work/products you are most proud of? Are the photos recent?
• Is all the content and information about your services correct?
• If you have a blog, when was the last time someone published an article?

These are elements that need to be updated regularly to keep your site fresh.

Designing a modern website yourself can be tricky, especially if you’re not tech-savvy. But if you want to attract people to your business, a modern and well-designed site is an absolute must. Outdated websites will turn people away if it looks like you haven’t touched your site since the Internet was invented. Keep it simple by going with large images, non-distracting backgrounds and a color scheme that fits your brand.

Why does this matter?

In addition to attracting potential clients, this will leave a lasting impression on Google. The search engine takes website datedness and content freshness into account when ranking your website. The more updates you make to your site, the better it will look to Google, and the search engine is more likely to rank your site as the best option for people who are searching for local services like yours. Of course, it’s not quite that simple, but content freshness does factor into Google’s ranking system.

While refreshing content on any website is certainly important, updated photos are particularly imperative for businesses in a service-based industry. Most of your clients will either choose to call you or move on to another business based on the work they see on your website. This is why it is crucial to have current projects displayed. If your photos haven’t been updated since the early 2000s, people will think your style is outdated, and will look for a more modern company.

In the real estate industry, listings with professionally photographed homes saw an average 139% increase in clicks compared to similar listings with stock photos or unprofessional photos. Plenty of other industries similarly rely on the images potential clients see on your site to sell your goods or services, making the quality of images equally important.

If applicable, before-and-after photos can put your website over the top. Also keep in mind that real photos of your work are always better than stock photos . This really illustrates what your business is capable of achieving, and gets the viewer to start visualizing how your business can provide the solution they’re looking for. You’ll have a much bigger impact on leads if they can see the transformations you’ve done for others in the same situation.

We’ve touched how important it is to have not just any pictures, but updated pictures on your site. Now, it’s time to think about the quality of those pictures. This is where you want to show-off your professional, high-end products and services. Nowadays, it’s easier than ever to take decent photos on your phone. For some, this might suffice; but when it comes to displaying your work online, hiring a professional photographer is probably the smarter business decision .

A professional photographer can make great results look extraordinary with the right lighting and angles. You’ll be amazed at how higher-quality images attract more leads, because customers see the professionalism in your work. Sure, it’s more expensive to hire a photographer to do the work. But when your average sale way up, you’ll be glad you spent the money to get first-class photos.

Increases in sales are a real result of an updated website beyond professional photos. In the home remodeling and improvement industry, having an updated website is particularly important if you want to increase your quality of sales. Take Outdoor-FX , an outdoor home improvement and design company, for example. In 2011, Bryan Critser, president of Outdoor-FX, decided to see if a website redesign and digital marketing strategy created by a professional team could change his business.

“Our site was basically completely invisible on the Internet,” Critser said. “It served no purpose other than being a digital business card.” But hiring a company to redesign the website and make it SEO-friendly completely changed Outdoor-FX’s business.

“It was a game-changing decision and move for me, business-wise.”

Since the company’s prime source of marketing and leads comes from its website, Critser said his online presence has gone from being nearly invisible to ranking for all categories and terms the company aims to show up for. After undergoing a strategic website redesign, Outdoor-FX has seen profits double since the start of the business five years ago.

“It has essentially been the best investment for our business.”

The Bottom Line: An outdated website is the #1 problem any sales-related businesses face online. Having an updated and professional website can easily increase your sales, just by attracting more leads and convincing customers that your product or service is worth their money. A few simple changes could make a huge difference in whether your site is hurting your business or helping it.

 This article is just one part of a larger series, “Is Your Website Helping or Hurting Your Business?” To read the article in its entirety and learn more about leveraging your website, click here .