Wouldn’t you love a pop-up reminder, “Internet Explorer is updating on June 15th – get your site updated this week.” Or “Your slideshow will be obsolete in 30 days – replace it with the latest cool tool now.”
An old website needs a technical makeover when technology changes. Website owners soon discover it changes often!
“I don’t have to rebuild the store every time someone invents a new construction material. Why do I have to rebuild my website every time I turn around?”
It is frustrating to put so much time and energy into a project – spend the money to make it real – and turn around to find out it’s out of date!
Your website was built to work on the browsers and operating systems from when you built it. Do you still use Windows XP? Do you even remember Netscape? How long did you keep your iPhone 1?
Technology is making our internet experience better as long as our websites keep up.
Your visitors (customers) have no trouble keeping up with the latest tech. They want every online experience to work smooth as silk and process twice as fast. Wishing their expectations away won’t stop them from clicking out of your site and moving on if you can’t satisfy them.
2015 Makeover Goals
The 2015 tech upgrades may seem to be more demanding than previous years. In reality, every update should be about making the website work better for your visitor by:
- Reducing the steps needed to make a conversion.
- Reducing the time it takes to take an action.
- Make sure that the conversion can happen on every device your visitor might use.
Step Count
Challenge yourself and some of your favorite customers. From first search query to final click, how many actions steps does it take to complete a task on your site?
One of the simplest website goals is to get a prospect to use your contact form. Let’s break this down step-by-step:
- Open Google
- Type in the search “red widget design”
- Review search results
- Click the link to your website
- Skim your home page looking for widget design and red widgets to be specific
- Click the link to the widgets design page
- Read to find red widgets
- Try to find a link to more information
- Settle for link to Contact Us
- Decide between phone call, email or contact form
- Fill in the form
- Click submit
That’s a lot to steps just to submit a form! At any step, you run the risk of losing that prospect and the sale.
Now, you want to know – what does that have to do with upgrading the site to the latest technology? In 2015, you should be using coding to streamline the whole process for your visitor. They should land on the exact page with the exact tools they need to contact you.
Imagine how effective a website would be if clicking on your search engine link did most of the work for them!
- Open Google
- Type in the search “red widgets design”
- Review search results
- Click the link to your website’s widget design page
- Skim the page to the form at the bottom
- Fill in the form letting the auto-fill do most of the work.
- Click submit.
That’s a fast way to convert a visitor into a prospect!
Time to Action.
Time the steps. Is there any delay while the browser has to process something? Do you get the page loading graphic anywhere? Is there any reason in 2015 to have to wait for your technology?
Conversion Friendly
Try to complete your task on a multiplicity of devices. Passing Google’s Mobile-Friendly test only tells you if the site will look ok and if the elements will fit on a screen.
What it doesn’t tell you is what your user experience is while they try to get from A. to B. If I can’t order your gizmo on my phone do you really think I’ll come back when I get to my desk? No! I’ve already ordered from the other guys!
Ch ch ch changes …
Technology is going to keep changing. Your website needs to keep up. Get it right this time and plan ahead for next time. A website makeover will put new life into your online business and increase conversions every time you do it.
