6 Ways Your Outdated Website is Hurting Business

If you haven’t updated your website in the past few years, it’s very likely that you are losing your competitive edge against competitors. That’s because the internet is a living, breathing technology that is always advancing and providing more effective ways to deliver messages and nurture leads.

Below are 6 unintended consequences of using an outdated website

1. Mobile users can’t read your site

In 2007, the iPhone was invented. And when it came out, you could view websites on the tiny screen. Unfortunately, it was darn near impossible to read. You had to zoom in and out, pan around the page, pan in and out again, and hopefully you could get the information you were looking for. From this, responsive web design was born.

Responsive web design is the ability for your web page to dynamically adjust based on the type of device that your website visitor is using. If they are using a desktop, your website is shown full-width in all its glory. On a tablet, the site is slightly adjusted adjusted so the menu system is still usable, the content is still readable, and pictures haven’t jumped on top of other text. And if your viewer is visiting your website from a mobile smartphone, there’s a special version of the page that is laid out specifically for that size screen. BUT AT NO TIME IS THE TEXT SHRUNK AND UNREADABLE.

Web page text remains readable no matter what device your viewer is reading your website from. Over 62% of internet traffic is mobile. If your website isn’t responsive, 2/3 of your viewers can’t read your site.

2. Your search rankings are dropping

As mentioned above, a majority of internet traffic today comes from a mobile device. As such, if your site is not built to handle mobile traffic, then they are leaving and finding another site that gives them the same information.

Google monitors how much traffic is sent to your site from their search engine (unique visitors). They also monitor how long visitors spend on your site (session duration), how many pages you viewed (page views), and if they left your website abruptly (bounce rate). These metrics are used when deciding which sites to present for the next identical search.

If you perform poorly, your ranking on search engines will fall. Conversely, if you perform well, you can boost your rankings and move ahead of your competition.

3. Leads are not being captured

Your website is an employee — it works for you. It is responsible for providing information to customers and collecting lead information for you to follow-up.

If you don’t have multiple lead capture forms on your website, you are losing potential sales. Lead capture forms collect name, email, and phone numbers of visitors who are interested in your product or service. If they like what they see on the website, visitors will leave their personal information for you to follow-up with them.

Not all website traffic happens during business hours. Matter of fact, with today’s new post-pandemic work schedule, many people are working in the evening when businesses are closed, or they may pull an all-nighter when the kids are asleep. Today more than ever, you need to capture leads when they are ready to give your their information.

You absolutely need to be collecting leads on your website.

4. Perceptions of your company are falling

Have you ever noticed small things about a company that may not seem significant at first, but when lumped together, dramatically change your perception of them? I liken this to a restaurant that has great food, but their parking lot, sidewalk, and waiting area haven’t been refreshed for years. Some customers will just walk away, never knowing how the food it. Other customers will continue and sit down, but the food just doesn’t seem to taste as good, because they are thinking of all the cobwebs in the lobby.

How you present yourself to others matter. This includes your website. Your company website is a presentation to the world of the type of organization you are, and how you care. People leave negative online reviews for small things, and those bad reviews hurt your business even further.

Perceptions are a cascading effect that starts with how you present yourself. If your website sucks, does that mean that your product or service sucks too?

5. People think you just don’t care

An outdated website says a lot about you and your company. It says things like “I don’t care anymore” and “status quo is good enough”. It might even say “business is slow for me”. But that’s not what you want to say to prospects, is it?

Potential customers are looking to you for solutions to their problems. Most people immediately go to the web to search for companies that can help. When you neglect something as important as your website, your visitors may be thinking that you neglect other areas of your business.

6. You’re losing sales

Your website is a vital part of sales.

With over 80% of buyers research online before they purchase, prospects that visit a bad website will likely not purchase. And with fewer visitors each month due to Google rankings slipping, you will have less opportunity to sell. Fewer visitors means less traffic, and this reduces your ability to make sales. Any time a prospect clicks off your site, you’ve lost a potential sale.

And it’s likely that you don’t even know that you’re losing sales. Existing customers may be referring business to you, but when the prospect visits your website, they decide to move on and they never call you. That hurts the most, but we never feel the pain because we don’t know it’s even happening.

But you have a solution!

Update your website today

Amplico Marketing loves building professional and modern websites for small businesses. We pride ourselves on presenting companies as the best version of themself on the web. Unlike large marketing agencies, we offer affordable pricing that scales with your business.

Learn more about our web design services or contact us today to start a conversation how we can help your company.