What you need to consider with a new website

Are you thinking that your existing website is starting to look a little outdated or a little behind in comparison to others? Or those of your competitors?

But what should you take into consideration when looking at an old site? How do you know if it’s still cutting the mustard or not? What are the tell-tale signs to look for and what should you know before deciding to act?

Does it work in all browsers?

Some of you may not be educated as to what a browser is. A browser is any application that allows you to access the internet to view websites. You may recognise some of the logos in the image above. The most commonly used browser is Google Chrome. Internet Explorer, Safari and Firefox are other quite commonly used applications.

The question might seem like a foolish one, but it is all too common that we find a website that only works properly in Internet Explorer 5 but nothing else! This is often because it was originally built in Internet Explorer at the time that version 5 was the most up to date. At the time, Internet Explorer was the most commonly used browser in the world, but there is a very good reason it isn’t these days!

Google Chrome accounts for more than 45% of worldwide browsing traffic and that market share is increasing day on day.

It is worth looking at your website in all of the big four browsers, they’re free to download. Make sure it looks the same in all, make sure it behaves the same in all and that the images, elements and transitions in all behave as you’d expect. You’ll more than likely see a difference between them!

Where is it positioned?

This might seem like a minor point but, remember we are in a world where desktop screen sizes are generally getting bigger. Older sites will sometimes left align themselves. On a larger screen this looks bad because the right-hand side is just a vast expanse of white space.

No matter what, this will make your site look outdated. Modern sites do not do this, they’re designed to fit to the middle of the screen and, in many cases, expand to fill it.

Is it mobile friendly?

In case you have just been transported here from the 1980’s – these days just about everyone has a smartphone, a tablet and quite often, both!

Have you looked at your website on a phone? Does it work properly? Does it look right? Does it shrink to a tiny version in the middle of the screen that you have to zoom into to read? Mobile browsing recently overtook desktop and over 55% of all browsing these days is conducted on mobile and tablet devices. So you need to be catering to this trend, it will only continue.

Use a phone or a tablet or both to view your website. Put yourself in the shoes of a first-time visitor; is it easy? Can they find what they are looking for without undue effort? Do they have to zoom in to read the text on the page? Or will they be able to use the site on a mobile at all?

Where are you on Google searches?

Ok, so a new website won’t necessarily solve this, but it will often help. Google likes to see new and regular updates on a website. It looks to see new content, mobile responsiveness and a range of other things, all of which help your site climb the rankings.

You have probably had the call or the email from a company claiming they can get you to Page 1 on Google! To give them their dues, some of them may be able to. But the likelihood is that these kinds of approaches are from quite shady businesses that are simply after your money. SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is far easier if you’ve got a site with its own CMS system. This means that you don’t have to pay your web company every time you want a change made.

Older sites get penalised by Google’s updates as it expects sites to be kept up to date. It expects companies to be working on keeping their website’s fresh and interesting, updated and useful. It is a cardinal sin of any business to let its website go stale.

Are you linked with social media?

We know you’ve probably heard about social media until you’re blue in the face and bored with the entire subject. But, unfortunately, it is a vitally important part of the modern marketing mix. Ignoring social media can make you seem just as out of date as your old, unresponsive website can.

It is the new customer interaction tool, a place where your reviews, testimonials and customer service all happen! Your site should link to your social media, use that to show off your wares, recent work and share good news stories with your potential customers and audience.

Not only does Google want to see your website being updated with new, interesting and relevant content, it also wants to see that you’re distributing that content. Social media is the most effective channel by which to do that and Google expects to see it, so just for that alone, why not be sure that you do?