Ways your old website is costing you money
If you’ve not updated your website in a while because “it’s fine”, it’s probably not. Websites aren’t just the digital brochures they used to be in the dot-com boom. They’re now your hardest-working sales rep. It’s not just about being able to buy products or services from them, either. How your website looks and performs will help a customer decide if it’s even worth making it to checkout. So, today we’ll look at ways your old website is costing you money and what you can do about it beyond just keeping it running smoothly.
Customer perceptions
Sounds shallow, but a dated design gives your customers the perception that you, too, are out of touch. First impressions matter… and 94% of first impressions relate to design and how your website looks. If you’re using a basic template, have boxy logos and pixelated images or your graphics all look 00s, it’s time to upgrade.
Not mobile-first
While people might move to a ‘big screen’ to actually make their purchase, they’re browsing on mobile initially. So, old sites that aren’t responsive or optimised mean they will navigate away and go somewhere that is. Think tons of abandoned carts and lost leads. If you’re seeing that, it’s time to rebuild your site to be mobile-first, not mobile-adjacent. Oh, and the fewer clicks to purchase, the better.
Slow & broken
When every second counts, your site speed stats and bounce rate need to keep up. Outdated code and unoptimised images will drag the speed down, meaning pages take longer to load and customers give up. You want your pages to load in the blink of an eye, and every link to go somewhere intentional.
Outdated SEO
Old sites aren’t built for modern search. Keyword stuffing, missing meta tags, and outdated site architecture mean you’re largely invisible on Google (and losing free traffic every day). It doesn’t cost much, or take that long, to get an SEO expert to go in and clean up your website. Even doing basic SEO will help in the long run.
No integrations
Is your CRM, booking page and outbound marketing all separate? If so, chances are that you’re paying people to do what your site could be doing for you. Spending a little bit on sales tech and martech now, means a smoother and more cost-efficient customer journey later. If you don’t know what tools could help you, let us suggest some.
Security issues
If your privacy policy is years old and you’ve got sketchy security warnings all over your website, then you need an intervention – now. Trust is currency, and when your site gets flagged by firewalls, that’s it. Those leads will never arrive, much less return. Take some time ASAP to fix any broken links, update all your plugins and renew all your certificates.
What to do next?
If you’re nodding at some of these categories, then you’d benefit from a quick audit of your website design, security, SEO and functionality. What would just a few more percentage points of website conversion mean for your business?
Talk to us today about how we help you turn your site from a detractor into a money-maker.
