Should I get a new website for my business?

I get asked this question a lot by business owners who, more often than not, have seen one of their competitors get a shiny new website and thought they should do the same for fear of getting left behind. Either that or they are starting to see a drop off in customers and believe that a new website will magically save the day. It won’t.

The truth is that a new website might give you a competitive advantage and it also might increase the number of customers engaging with your business, but nothing is ever guaranteed (contrary to what some digital marketing agencies might tell you) and it’s not always your existing website that is causing you problems in the first place.

I’ve seen many beautifully designed business websites fail to achieve results because they:

• are littered with rubbish copywriting
• are filled with poorly produced content
• are riddled with spelling mistakes
• are populated with outdated content
• are targeting the wrong customer type
• don’t have enough content

If your website is suffering from one of the issues listed above, investing in a new website will not achieve anything. The same problems will exist; they’ll just exist on a prettier website. It would be like putting fresh clothes on a person who hasn’t showered in a week; your customers will still be able to smell you from a mile away.

My point is that you should seek an outside and unbiased opinion from an expert before you begin speaking to digital marketing agencies and make a major decision that could cost you a lot of money and achieve absolutely nothing for your business.

I also recommend ignoring the fact that the average lifespan for a business website currently sits between 4 and 5 years. This is not something that needs to be defined, nor should it factor into your decision to update your website. Just because your website is 6 years old doesn’t necessarily mean that you should go out hunting for a digital marketing agency. Your website might be outdated, but it may only need a makeover to be effective again, not a full blown redesign.

In conclusion, if you are a business owner asking whether they should invest in a new business website, there is obviously some kind of issue with your existing website that needs diagnosis before you make a decision. Send me an email and I’ll conduct an analysis to determine what digital marketing tools and platforms you actually need and can realistically afford before you take the plunge.