STUDIO FIVE

Updated August 2024

Is Your Website Working Against You and Your Business Objectives?

Did you launch your website a few years ago? If so, it’s time for an update. The internet, web development standards, and best practices are continually evolving. In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, having a strong online presence is more crucial than ever for businesses, entrepreneurs, and professionals. However, one common hindrance that can hold you back from achieving success is an outdated website.

How people consume information and access your website has changed with the times. Is your website keeping up? Let’s look at some of the common problems with outdated websites. Your website primarily aims to introduce your business and services to your audience and sell your products. Therefore, it needs certain elements and functionality.

The problems with outdated websites are numerous and can significantly impact your online credibility and growth potential. Addressing these issues promptly is essential to ensure that your online presence remains up-to-date and impactful. Don’t let an outdated website hinder your progress any longer – it’s time to transform your online presence now.

14 Problems with Outdated Websites

1. High Bounce Rate

The bounce rate shows how long a website visitor stays on your site after viewing one page. If your website’s bounce rate is over 50%, 50% of visitors leave without navigating to different pages. That is one of the problems with outdated websites.

There are various reasons for high bounce rates, including bot traffic, web design issues, information architecture, etc. Designing your website without considering user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) can increase the bounce rate, signaling it’s time to redesign your website.

2. Non-Mobile-First Website

One of the most common problems with outdated websites is not having a mobile-first website. Can online visitors access your site from any device? If not, when a mobile visitor visits your site, and it’s unreadable, they will quickly click away and bounce from it. So, you are missing a significant portion of your target audience right from the start!

According to BankMyCell, in 2024, the current number of smartphone users worldwide is 4.88 billion, meaning 60.42% of the world’s population owns a smartphone. Some users have more than one smartphone, totaling around 7.21 billion active smartphones in the world currently.

According to the Pew Research Center, the vast majority of Americans—97%—now own a cellphone of some kind. Nine in ten own a smartphone, up from just 35% in Pew Research Center’s first survey of smartphone ownership conducted in 2011.

According to Statista, the global number of smartphone users was forecast to increase by 1.5 billion (+30.6 percent) between 2024 and 2029. After the fifteenth consecutive year of increasing smartphone users, the smartphone user base is estimated to reach 6.4 billion and, therefore, reach a new peak in 2029. Notably, smartphone users have continuously increased over the past few years.

According to Twicsy, Americans spend an average screen time of 4 hours and 25 minutes on their mobile phones daily. Reports further tell us that the top 10% of heavy phone users have an average of 5,427 daily touches on their mobile phones. Mobile phone users also spend 3 hours and 2 minutes daily on videos.

Your website should be mobile-first, meaning users can access it from all devices, regardless of screen size. Take Google’s mobile-friendly test and analyze your website to see if it has a mobile-friendly design.

3. Poor Website Health

Another common problem with outdated websites is the large number of “Page Not Found” or other crawl errors. These errors impact your website’s health.

Check out your Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, or Yandex Webmaster Tools for deep insights into your website’s overall health. You can also view key website performance metrics in Google Analytics.

Find out if there are any 404, crawl, or other errors that decrease your website’s performance. Also, look into how often your website appears in search results and click-through rates.

If these checks indicate your website is not performing well, it may be time for a new or updated website.

4. Visitors Don’t Explore Content

Suppose Google Analytics, or any other top 12 website analytics tools, shows a decrease in organic visitors, high bounce rates, or many online visitors who don’t move past your homepage. In that case, your website is not providing a satisfactory user experience.

Modern consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and demanding. They will leave if your website does not provide the expected user experience, which is one of the problems with outdated websites.

5. Slow Page Load Speed

One of the most common problems with outdated websites is their page load speed. Not only is a fast-loading site essential for human visitors, but Google also considers page load speed a search ranking factor. That makes page speed optimization crucial.

When visitors land on your site, you only have 5 or 6 seconds to impress them. If your website takes longer than 5 seconds to load, they will likely leave your website. Use GTMetrix or Pingdom, free tools, to test any page’s load time, analyze it, and find bottlenecks.

6. Infrequent Website Updates

Another of the main problems with outdated websites is basic neglect. Many businesses make the mistake of launching a website and promptly forgetting about it. That never works!

You can’t expect loads of website traffic just by buying a domain and launching a stock website. Your website needs TLC from time to time. You’ll have to work proactively on and tweak a website to get serious business results.

If you do not update your website regularly, it’s time for a refresh. You’ll need to create compelling content, increase social media activity, and monitor website traffic.

7. Low Lead Generation Results

Online visitors are likelier to trust and buy from a well-designed website than a mediocre one. If you are not getting enough leads from your current website, you need a new one.

You will improve your online lead-generation efforts by redesigning your website to meet user expectations. Good web design will imply trust and authority in visitors’ minds and motivate prospects to reach you via email or fill out the contact form.

8. Ineffective Call to Action

A Call to Action (CTA) is an essential web design element. CTA buttons inspire website visitors to engage with you. CTA’s could include sign-up forms for service quotes or an email newsletter, a contact form, appointment scheduling, free downloads, product sample requests, etc.

However, to increase conversions, you must place CTA buttons intelligently within web pages. Did you know that good UX design can increase conversions by up to 200%? A well-placed CTA button alone will improve your website’s conversion rate by 15% to 20%.

If your website conversion rate is low, it means your visitors are not taking the action you want or need. This is a clear indication that you need a better website.

9. No Social Media Engagement

Do you use social media to market your products and services? Social commerce and social selling are critical strategies for increasing online sales. Many businesses effectively use social media for brand building, social awareness, customer interaction, feedback gathering, etc.

Social media’s role in business is expanding, and more businesses are finding new customers from their social channels. According to Statista, in 2021, 91.9 percent of US marketers in companies with more than 100 employees are expected to use social media for marketing purposes. In 2013, the share stood at 86.2 percent.

You need a website update if you do not have social sharing and commenting options on your website. Use a social media marketing tool to increase your reach, measure your engagement, and save valuable time!

10. No Company Blog

One of the best and simplest ways to gain organic search engine traffic is to write post blog entries. Creating new content on the website gives site visitors incentives to come back for more insightful content.

If your website doesn’t have a blog, consider adding one. Writing compelling blog posts is an effective way to increase both search rankings and website engagement.

11. Change of Brand or Audience

Business is fluid, and you will inevitably pivot and grow over time. Maybe you’ve developed a new product offering, revenue model, secondary target audience, or changed your address. All of these are reasons that you may need a new website.

If you’ve experienced a business change with customer-facing implications, you must show that on your website. Having updated and correct information on your website builds credibility and makes it trustworthy, while having an outdated website creates the opposite impression.

12. Outdated Design Elements

One of the most common problems with outdated websites is outdated design elements. These include page layouts with the HTML table element and splash or intro pages. No one uses these anymore, as CSS is a more robust design and development tool.

If your website contains any of these elements, and a few sites still do, it is time you have a new website! An outdated website is not mobile-friendly, contains invalid HTML code, and is not SEO-friendly. They have got to go!

13. Not Being Able to Update Your Website

Another frequent problem with outdated websites is the inability to make simple website updates. Do you need to contact (and pay) your website developer or programmer for every little change that you need on your website? That alone is a reason you need a better website!

I strongly recommend using a Content Management System (CMS) to build and manage your website. This will allow you to update your content and make minor tweaks to your website without knowing any code.

14. Outdated Website Content

Your content is likely outdated if you have not updated your website for a long time. You should ensure fresh and relevant content if your website relates to your business goals.

If you desire organic traffic from search engines, remember to craft content with keyword research to boost SEO results.

How to Fix Problems with Outdated Websites?

If you are unsure whether your website is up to par, hire a web development company to perform a comprehensive website audit. The results will allow you to identify and improve your current site’s shortcomings.

You may already know that your website is not working as well as before. Perhaps you noticed a significant drop in website visitors. Maybe you are not getting as many inbound leads as before.

Your business associates or clients may have mentioned a specific problem, such as pages not loading fast enough or not providing an optimal mobile user experience.

Whatever the reason, you must eliminate these shortcomings or risk a further decline of your online reach and engagement.

How to Stay Ahead of the Curve

As times change, so do how people consume information and access websites. Your website is a crucial platform to introduce your business, showcase your services, and drive sales. However, its effectiveness can diminish over time. Addressing any issues stemming from outdated design and functionality is imperative to ensure that your website aligns with your business objectives. 

Where to Get Started

A simple website redesign or a new site can eliminate many problems. Of course, the required action or remedy will depend on the state of your business website or online store.

The fix will be relatively simple if you lack fresh content or a company blog. On the other hand, if your website is not mobile-first, you have a more significant project on your hands.

Take a look at some key website redesign considerations. Learn more about essential elements for a successful business website, how to improve your website UX, or how many pages you need.

That should give you a better idea of what you must do to update or improve to fix problems with outdated websites!

Need more help? Here are a few tips for reducing shopping cart abandonment and increasing landing page conversions.

Don’t let an outdated website hold you back any longer. Take action now and transform your online presence to stay ahead in the competitive digital landscape. Contact us for more information.