4 Indicators That It's Time For a New Website

After numerous conversations at the AWWA/ACE show in Chicago this past week, I was astounded at how many manufacturers either recently completed developing a new website or are planning on it within the next year.

It was enough to pose the question: What triggers the thought and decision to make a change to what many consider the cornerstone of your Company’s digital presence?  I was surprised at the answers I got back when I asked that question to those companies last week.  Most of the time they didn’t have specific context to justify such an investment, BUT that doesn’t mean it wasn’t the right decision.

I thought it may be useful to list and discuss some things to consider, track and monitor consistently in order to give you the insight you need to make the decision to update your current website or build-a-new.

1. Let’s start with the obvious, does it present as dated?I’m not just talking about how the traffic numbers reflect on its current state but you can also just compare the look and feel of your site to those you compete with to generate an honest opinion of where you stand. Does visiting other sites make you feel as though yours is not up to par? Does your site look clunky in comparison? If we are looking at “yes” to those questions then the time is now to make the appropriate changes.
2. Next up, FLASH.What?!You’re still using flash?Hate to tell you this but flash is out and no longer considered an asset of the most cutting edge platform. Other than the countless security risks involved with flash, in the instances when it is being supported, Google can’t search Flash, which loosely translates to you not ranking very high in terms of search engine optimization.The digital world has moved on and so should you.
3. Did your company fundamentally change?Companies change all the time, and when they do, their websites need to evolve alongside them.Those changes can be simplistic like location, contact info, etc. which really don’t require anything more than an updated profile page.Impactful changes such as changes in marketing strategy, target markets, new products or changes in application all should be first sign indicators that a revamp or update is needed.  Trustworthiness plays a role here too in that if a prospect sees a product benefit in a social media post and migrates to your website for more information, you must be sure it lines up seamlessly.  Saying one thing in social media and representing something else on your website does considerable damage to your trustworthiness from the prospect’s vantage point.
4. Incorporating a Brand Publishing marketing plan into your strategy requires a complete review of your current website set-up.Things like Twitter, blogs, video, etc. need to be cleanly and clearly represented on your website in order to protect brand integrity and remain relevant (two VERY important things).

One last piece of advice…. If you’re choosing to utilize Brand Publishing as part of your marketing plan and using the aid of an outside consultant to help with that effort, that same consultant should be able to help you with each website upgrade/transition. It’s worth asking the question.