What’s the Lifespan of My New Website?

Though there are many obvious differences, your company website can be closely compared to a print brochure. It’s a shop window for what your company offers and the way you work.
Unfortunately, all marketing materials have a limited lifespan. Even if a brochure is well designed, professionally written and well thought out, in less than a couple of years, it’s likely to have lost its relevance and look out of date.
So what about your new website? Should you be updating it just as often?

No Easy Answer

One of the most obvious differences between a website and a print brochure is the ability you have to update the content. You can change the site structure, the branding and the content on each page. As your company evolves, so can your content. With all these options you shouldn’t ever need to completely replace your website…right?
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Though the visible content on a page is crucially important, there are many other factors to consider.

Security

Security is one of the most commonly overlooked aspects of running a company website. Even companies who simply use their website as a shop window for their services should consider the security that their site offers – and as for companies that use their website to take payments from their customers; security should be one of their primary concerns.
The internet is a very dynamic environment. Techniques that are effective now might be totally inadequate in a year or two. The same is true for security safeguards. In order to stay ahead of hackers, viruses and other security risks, you need to be constantly updating your security measures.

Marketing

Internet marketing is no longer just about your website. To succeed online you need a fully integrated online marketing strategy which incorporates elements of organic search marketing, social media and content marketing. Each of these elements evolve at a rapid rate. Search marketing techniques which were effective just 2 years ago are now frowned upon. Social media platforms which are popular today could be redundant in a year. If these elements are evolving, the way your website integrates with them should also evolve in order to maintain visibility and easy usability for your visitors.
How often you update your website depends largely on the type of business you run and the type of website you operate. Generally, we recommend a minor update every year with a major update every two or three years.
At WebAdept we design websites with the future in mind. We use the latest techniques and technologies to ensure that you have a website that can be easily adapted as technology evolves. We are also able to offer search engine marketing and social media services that will ensure you are always using the most relevant and effective techniques.
Interested? Why not give us a call?

By Angus Findlay