How to keep your website on the ball

1 February, 2010

Your website communicates your professional standing to customers. Out of date information, especially those detailing specific dates such as in online vouchers, warn potential customers that your business does not respect deadlines; that they may be too busy to take time to deal with you; and that the business may not know what is going on within their own business.

What your customers expect

Customers today expect legitimate businesses to have a website, and when little to no effort is made to keep information relevant, it is reasonable for prospects to doubt the business's attention to detail and professionalism. It quickly brings into question the business's time management skills, and their potential disregard for reputation and online presentation.

Your website is an opportunity to develop instant credibility to a mass audience, so I find it surprising when big and small organisations fail to prioritise their web presence.

Quick Tips

Here are some quick tips to help keep your website looking up to date and on the ball:

Change the copyright year on the footer of your website each year;
Use a Content Management System, and ask for some training so that you can easily update small areas internally;
Write blog entries. This is an easy way to regularly add new and fresh content without updating main static pages;
Review styling - this can be as simple as updating images, banners or a complete redesign. Visual changes are the most obvious for your customers;
Use social media tools to advise your database of new changes and ask for their feedback!

The vast majority of people agree that an out of date website is the quickest way to lose repeat audience and professional credibility... ask what the person next to you thinks, we would love to hear your thoughts.

Blog post written by Michelle Jennins of Feedia - Web Design Brisbane