Countless websites suffer from a disease I’ve nicknamed ‘website wilt’. In this article I’ll provide business website tips to find out what website wilt is, and why you should avoid it at all costs.
Plants and flowers wilt when they don’t receive enough water, nutrients or sunlight. Their stems bend over and they look tired and sick. Websites can look exactly the same.
What is website wilt?
Website wilt occurs when your website has been left untouched for so long that it looks tired and old. These are the most obvious symptoms:
- Your most recent newsletter or blog post is more than six months old.
- You don’t even have a newsletter or blog.
- Your copyright notice still says © 2009… or earlier.
- Your website design is outdated and old fashioned.
- Your links point to pages that are now permanently unavailable.
The dangers of website wilt
Your website is your virtual shopfront, so if it has virtual cobwebs hanging from it, you run the risk of looking as though you’re closed for business; or worse still, that you’re open for business but no one actually cares.
If your outdated website is competing with websites that are current, vibrant and fresh, you could be missing out on valuable business.
What’s the cure?
- Update your website content with compelling and persuasive wording. Add fresh information in the form of blog posts and newsletters. Or, if you feel you simply can’t update your content regularly, opt for an ‘Articles’ or ‘Tips’ page. The benefit of these pages is that they’re not dated, so people can’t tell how long ago they were added!
- Get an objective opinion about your website. Sometimes when you’ve been looking at your site for too long it’s difficult to know what needs to be changed, and how. The task seems overwhelming, which inevitably leads to inaction. So ask a website designer to assess your website design, and a copywriter to evaluate your copy. Many will do this for free, but for comprehensive assessments, you may need to invest a small amount of money. Alternatively, request a Community Review in the Flying Solo forums.
- Every few months check that the links on your website are indeed active. If you perform regular sales and marketing audits, this task can be added to that routine.
Want more articles like this? Check out the business websites section.
Your website needs ongoing attention
A website is not something you can ‘set and forget’, and although website wilt can have a negative impact on your conversion rate, it’s easy to avoid with a little TLC.
Have you got any business website tips for keeping your website fresh as a daisy? Please share them below.
