Why an outdated website costs you customers
A visitor forms an opinion of your business in moments. If they land on a website that is hard to read, slow or visibly old, they wonder whether you are still trading. They go back to their search and call the next competitor.
The good news: most signs of an outdated website are easy to spot, and many can be fixed without starting over.
The 7 signs to check
Pick up your phone, open your website as a customer would, and go through this list.
1. It displays badly on a phone
Tiny text, having to zoom, a menu that spills over, buttons too small for a finger: this is the most common sign. A modern website adapts to the screen size. Our diagnostic checks whether your website is built for mobile display.
2. It has no padlock (no https)
Look at the address bar. If your website starts with “http” rather than “https”, browsers show it as not secure. That is a deal-breaker as soon as there is a contact form. Our diagnostic checks this point.
3. The © notice at the bottom of the page is old
Many websites show a notice such as “©” followed by a year at the bottom of the page. If that year is old, visitors conclude the site is no longer looked after. Our diagnostic spots this notice and its year.
4. It is slow to load
Images that are too heavy, tools stacked up over the years, outdated hosting: a slow website loses visitors before they even see what you offer. Test it on your phone, away from the office wifi.
5. The information is out of date
Wrong opening hours, an old phone number, services you no longer offer, news that is several years old: every mistake sows doubt. Reread each page as a customer who does not know you.
6. Contacting you takes too much effort
On a phone, your number must be tappable and visible without searching. If the only way to reach you is an email address to copy out or a form that no longer works, you are losing enquiries.
7. You can no longer edit it
You no longer have the logins, the provider has disappeared, or every small change becomes a complicated affair. A website you cannot update always ends up ageing.
Check your website in a few seconds
Our free diagnostic analyses your website’s address and tells you three things: whether it is built for mobile display, whether it uses https, and whether the © notice at the bottom of the page is old. You get a clear, immediate result.
For the other four signs, a careful read-through on your phone is often enough. Note what bothers you: this list will help you decide what to do next.
Mistakes to avoid when updating your website
Once the problems are identified, it is tempting to rush. A few mistakes come up often and can cost more than the original problem.
- Changing your page addresses without setting up redirects: existing links, including those from search engines, then lead to empty pages.
- Deleting useful content because it looks old: better to update it than to remove it.
- Piling new tools onto an already slow website instead of tackling the cause.
- Handing over the redesign without checking who owns the domain name.
- Forgetting to test the result on a real phone before going live.
Fix or rebuild: how to decide
Not every outdated website needs rebuilding. A few pointers to help you choose:
- Only an old © notice or out-of-date information: a content update is enough.
- No https: this is usually a technical fix, to be done quickly.
- No mobile display and a website that is hard to edit: a redesign is often simpler and more durable than patching.
- No access to your website any more: first check who holds the domain name, then consider a redesign that you will own.
What we offer
We rebuild websites that are clear, fast and designed for phones. You keep ownership of your site, your data and your logins. The showcase site starts at €490 excl. VAT, then €15 excl. VAT per month for hosting, maintenance and small changes (further development quoted separately). The first 30-minute call is free, so we can look at your website together.