Why You Should Update Your Website Regularly

Choose a Secure Website Platform



Businesses should use a website platform that is secure, has a strong development team behind it and servers that are equipped with intrusion detection systems and malware protection. Data communication networks with external access should also be protected by a central firewall. Our chosen platform has all of these and also offers SSL certificates on all sites that we build.

SSL Certificates are data files that digitally bind a cryptographic key to a business's details. When installed on a web server, it activates the padlock and the https protocol, allowing secure connections from the web server to the browser. Typically, SSL is used to secure credit card transactions, logins and any data transfers.

Website builders that were considered secure 10 years ago, may not necessarily be secure now.  If you’re using a platform such as WordPress, you need to be running updates constantly on the core software as well as any plugins or risk it becoming outdated and vulnerable to bugs, glitches, and hackers wielding malicious code.

The security of your website is paramount to implementing trust in your brand and to offering the end user a worry free experience.

Updating Site Content

Another really important update involves your site content. This strategy can help increase search traffic, convert visitors into customers, attract prospects, generate leads, and drive new business. 

Fresh, new and relevant content builds your website’s authority and establishes your business as an industry subject matter expert and looks good to Google for SEO. The more frequently you update your site with content such as blogs or news content, re-written content, downloads, and new pages, the more often a search engine will stop by to visit your website.  When search engines are looking at your site more often due to this updated content, the opportunity to achieve a higher ranking is created.

It is important that your content effectively communicates your products and services and includes keywords that are relevant to your business. By providing useful content, you demonstrate competency and knowledge in your chosen field which in turn builds the foundation of trust in your brand.

Keyword targeting is a strategy that will help your website to show up when people search for those services. Blog articles and well written website content are some of the best ways to address keyword targeting.

Updating Site Design



If your business is following the last two strategies but not paying attention to the design and experience of the user of your site, you may lose potential leads in under 3 seconds. 

A poorly designed website that has not taken into account the experience of the user has failed immediately in it’s function and form. Hard to use navigation, non-responsive design, unpleasant or visually jarring colour schemes, or unnecessarily long and complicated contact forms and content can cause visitors to leave a website without even giving the business a chance.

With that in mind, your website should be designed around the experience of your target market and the potential user with ease of use and logical navigation as the central focus. User-experience design is a multi faceted approach best left to web designers with extensive experience and relevant knowledge. 

Your business and target market will determine the percentage of traffic that you receive from mobile, tablet and desktop traffic. For example, the average mobile traffic to a website sits somewhere around 30%, though a business such as a nightclub may have mobile traffic in and around 80% or even higher. 

A website design should focus on the needs of the target market and the way they will engage with your site as it’s primary design focus. This will ensure you are meeting the needs of your targeted customer, retaining their interest, engaging them with your content and building trust in your brand.