Websites represent your business online and act as a secondary salesperson available 24/7—providing up-to-date information about your products and services and producing quality leads, even while the sales team sleeps at night. Companies invest in training and tools to keep their sales teams competitive, and the same should go for your website. 

Sometimes it’s routine maintenance or updates to keep your site running smoothly, or you may need content additions to boost your SEO and PPC programs. However, there are times when a brand new website with fresh design, visuals, and content with upgraded backend technology is required to keep or gain a competitive edge. The question is, when do you know it’s time for a new website? 

To answer this, ask yourself how your technology, search, and website lead performance is. In this blog, we’ll cover these three key indicators that your business is a candidate for a new website. We will also explore why these changes are crucial to staying competitive online. 

Is it time for a new site? Ask yourself these three questions to find out.

Question 1: How is Your Technology Performance? 

It’s important to preface that websites are never a one-and-done deal. Even recently launched sites may need further updates to address technical or search optimization needs as the technology and search algorithms evolve. Keeping that in mind, a RightNow website is built to last three to five years from a technology standpoint, but the average “shelf life” of a site is 1.5 to 2.5 years. 

A website built on an older platform or server, or written in an older programming language, can hurt technology performance. Even without a programming background, you can tell if your website fits into one of these categories by the site’s speed. The speed at which your site loads and operates is a major factor in user experience. One in two consumers will abandon a website that takes more than six seconds to load. 

To find out, companies can use tools like GT Metrics, PageSpeed Insights, BuiltWith, or Wappalizer to see what software and versions a website is using. However, these self-service tools provide results that can be very technical. The RightNow Team can audit sites to spot technology conditions and explain update needs with actionable improvements. 

Another need could be the addition of e-commerce or catalogs for companies providing online ordering. This is a complicated operation given the mechanics of search and filtering, order information, databases, and payment processing. What’s more, e-commerce development techniques are not search engine friendly and could negatively impact your website’s online performance. Keeping an integrated approach front and center, TopSpot provides e-commerce functionality without sacrificing your search results. 

Question 2: How is Your Search Performance? 

Your business resides in a search landscape constantly in flux due to changes in algorithms and competitors’ websites. That’s why entering your key search terms into Google or Bing for their performance is critical to discovering our second indicator—search performance. If you’re showing up lower and lower on the page for target keywords, it could be time for a new website. 

Content isn’t exclusive to text as search landscapes see increased populations of images and video. When considering a new site design, imagery and videos featured on your site not only create more appealing visuals but could further provide a better experience for your prospective buyers. 

Question 3: How is Your Website’s Lead Performance? 

When your website leads flatline or dip, it’s time to look at the buyer’s journey to see how your website fits into the lead process. An audit of your leads coming in from your website can help identify needs such as separating forms, adding more details to those forms, or making changes to the sales process. These recommendations are not a reflection of business operation but of changes needed to the user experience as they travel from search to site.

The competition also comes into play visually, meaning web design. Most B2B customers look at three to five companies before finalizing a sale. How does your company look when compared to these other choices? This doesn’t always require a full re-brand or a change in business objectives but requires making a site user-friendly and modern—confidently showing your experience and differentiators to potential customers. 

What’s Your Takeaway 

Company websites don’t exist in a vacuum—the marketplace continuously sees new competitors, technology, and changes in search. It’s important to have a flexible approach to your website strategy, and one that’s integrated with the rest of your digital marketing efforts, as one change could affect everything else. While a new website can be intimidating, the goal is to future-proof the technology powering it and the content informing search results. It’s an investment that equates to longevity and better results. 

Contact RightNow for an audit of your website, plus alignment with your search strategy. Having a trusted Team look at your digital marketing from search to sale while keeping your business goals top-of-mind, can give you a competitive advantage.