“But we spent a lot of money on this website in 2005!”
If your business “spent a lot of money” on a website sometime in the distant past, you may very well have cited that as a reason not to spend any more money on it. Even way past the point of a website’s design or functionality becoming long in the tooth, I have seen business owners vehemently defend their previous investment as still valid, years later. Here’s the kicker though – their investment was valid. Was being the operative word here.
Programming pitfalls.
Many times, the reason a company doesn’t want to reinvest in their website is because they sunk a boatload of cash into custom programming something like a shopping cart or other complex database-driven functionality. They did so because, “back in the day”, that’s what you had to do. There weren’t as many nicely done pre-made options as today. Old programming may still be clunking away on the company site, but it’s like a computer running Windows 98. Sooner or later that thing is going to crash, and it’s highly likely no one will be there to pick up the pieces when it does.
If your custom programmed solution has been running for 5+ years, it’s time for a reevaluation. At the very least, over those years there has probably been an issue or two where you discovered that you really needed to modify something. That’s a good place to start. Create a wish list of functionality you can share with a new programmer to develop an improved system that works better on the modern internet.
The past is in the past.
Today’s internet is a lot different than it was even a few years ago. There are more mobile devices accessing websites than ever before. More people are making ecommerce purchases from their mobile devices. Google has rolled out a new algorithm that favors mobile sites in mobile searches. If your website was optimized for the web of 3+ years ago, it’s time to get with the times and reinvest in your site to make it work not only for your business, but for the audience you want to reach.
Nothing is gathering virtual dust more quickly these days than a website that isn’t mobile friendly, takes a million and one clicks for a user to get somewhere, or uses defunct technology (yes, I’ve still seen Flash on some old websites). So put the past behind you and look towards the future.
Did you get burned?
Something that often goes along with paying a lot of money for a website, is not getting perceived value from that purchase. There have been businesses I have reached out to over the years because I knew I could improve their website only to find out that they, “paid a lot of money” to a company who promised them the world and delivered a dud. In their eyes, a website wasn’t a great investment in the first place so they’re hesitant to want to try the whole thing again with someone new. That’s understandable, but it shouldn’t put a damper on improving your online presence and marketing. In the hands of the right, skilled, professional, you will see a return on your investment.
The bottom line …
You know how you no longer have the same mobile phone you did years ago? Technology changes. Functionality changes. Hopefully your business has changed. Don’t leave a resource like your company’s website abandoned or not updated. It’s time to make a new investment in your business and update that old website to better serve you and your target market.
Copyright S. Holub 2015. Original appears on http://www.jvmediadesign.com/blog/design/we-spent-a-lot-of-money-on-this-website/
