Think for a second about your reaction when you walk past a real life store and see that the outside is in a terrible state. The paintwork is peeling, it is dirty, it looks old and past its best. Do you feel drawn into spending some money there or do you feel as if you need to just walk on by and try somewhere that is clearly so much better?
Of course the vast majority of people would simply not bother dealing with that business and the same theory applies to websites. Studies have shown that you have a matter of just a few seconds to grab the attention of a potential client or customer with your website before they go elsewhere, so clearly it has to look fresh or your business is in trouble right from the outset.
Changes to websites.
If your website was designed more than five years ago it will be using techniques and coding that have now been surpassed by modern day equivalents. This latest coding makes websites load faster, work more smoothly, and they are also far more interactive than ever before and these are the things that people are looking for. Just think about the biggest websites out there and how they keep on updating their websites even just with small changes here and there. If they are doing it, why would you not follow them and do the same?
Bad design putting off customers.
One of the major things that will put people off your website is if it is not fully working or if the design looks old and has clearly not been updated for a good number of years. People automatically look for something that does not have to be slick, but at least is modern and clean looking unless the type of business dictates otherwise. They do not want to see graphics that were designed on programs that pre-date Photoshop, they do not want to see layouts that were more about the designer showing off than being effective, and nor do they want to see a website that just looks dead.
The impact it has on the visitor.
It is fine just saying that people will look at the website and not be impressed, but we should also think about the actual impact it has beyond that initial disappointment that they feel. Having an outdated website just makes people feel as if you simply do not care about your marketing or business because a website is your very own 24/7 marketing tool. People just get the impression that you are lazy, you care little about how people view your business, or that you are struggling and cannot afford to make changes that could potentially save your business.
The result of this is that people are more likely to want to go elsewhere and they will just never spend any money with you. You come across as being unprofessional and would you want to deal with a company where you felt that about them?
Think back to what was said earlier on about having just a matter of seconds to convince people to stay on your website. Would you be convinced by that real life store with it looking as if it has been abandoned?
How it can hit your business.
It should be very clear as to how it can have an impact on your business and there is no way that you can turn this into a positive experience. You will be losing turnover as a result of your website and the part that should concern you the most is that this turnover will be going to your competition, so they will be getting stronger as you get weaker. People will also not recommend you to others if your website is not up to scratch, so yet again you are missing out on potential income and no business is able to turn down extra business no matter how busy they may be.
The scary part is that there is no way of knowing just how much money you will have lost by your website, but surely it makes sense to stop the rot now and change things before it gets even worse?
What you must do to rectify the situation.
There is only one solution available to you in order to rectify this problem and that solution is to get your website re-designed and brought up to modern day standards. The best part is that so many of the individual components that are required when building a site are already there since the writing and even images can still be used once again. However, the structure of the website can be changed, the graphics brought up to date, and of course some vital SEO work can be carried out that meet modern day rules and your website can only benefit as a result.
The best course of action available to you right now is to contact us here at Webfoot Designs and allow a member of our team of designers to check out your website and come up with a plan. We can assess what your business needs, offer advice on what to do next and then put that plan into action with amazing results.
Bring your website into the modern world and stop being left behind by your competition and how times have changed. Check out our design portfolio today!
