The Five Repercussions of an Outdated Website

By Haines|Published On: July 6, 2016|

To conduct any form of business on the internet, you need a website. Of course, you can work from social media and e-commerce platforms, but if you’re serious about succeeding online, having your own business website is a must.

But there’s another problem.

In this age and time, having a website isn’t enough. You need an up-to-date site that meets the demands of increasingly digital-savvy consumers.

A few years back, website visitors could forgive you for showing them broken images. You could even get away with pages that took five minutes to load.

Not anymore.

Today, no one is waiting more than 10 seconds for a page to load. In fact, according to Kissmetrics, you’ll instantly lose 40% of potential traffic if your site takes more than three seconds to load.

But that’s just one of the repercussions of an outdated website. Here are five other ways your online business could suffer if your website is not up to date:

Visually Unappealing Websites May Cost You Trust and Credibility

More than 78% of internet users conduct product research online to identify a website where they can buy the desired products.

So they could stop at your website to learn more about your products and services before making a purchase.

However, if your site lacks the professional appearance that these consumers are looking for, they will bypass it for another company’s website that they feel “fits the bill.”

You’re Missing Out on Serious Business if Your Site Isn’t Integrated with Social Media

Social media has become a critical player in digital business.

Boasting more than 2 billion users, this is a massive market that you cannot afford to miss. You can promote your business, win leads, and even convert sales right on social media.

Yet, an outdated website might not be designed to effectively integrate with most social networks.

Outdated Websites May Struggle to Get the Attention of Search Engines

You may never even realize it, but this is a major issue with outdated sites.

Search engine algorithms are always changing. Google, for example, updates its search algorithms at least five thousand times every year. That’s before you mention the major updates such as Panda that arise every three or so years.

If these algorithms change and you don’t adjust your website accordingly, you may struggle to get to the elite pages of search results.

Poor Navigation May Cause Visitors to Leave Your Site

After slow load times, the second most annoying thing to a web visitor is poor navigation.

If a visitor lands on your website but can’t locate the content they need, that visitor will leave. No one wants to stick around for five minutes trying to locate a particular product page. So make your navigation simple and useful.

If they can reach the destination in just one click, that would be even better. On the same note, make your links clear, useful, and limited to as few as possible.

Lack of “Additional” Features Like Live Chat May Also Hurt Your Business

While often looked upon as “supplementary,” a website that lacks the live chat feature might not appeal to potential customers very much.

This is especially true for e-commerce websites. What if a potential customer has a question about a product or service? Being able to answer customer questions right away gives you the edge.

In Summary

If you’re using an outdated website, you’re leaving a lot on the table. Update your site today and start getting more traffic, converting more leads, and making more sales.