Let’s face it. Sometimes we just don’t have the time to keep up with everything that needs to be done in a given day. As your life speeds up and work flows over in your inbox, the first thing that generally gets neglected is the web site. It can’t talk and won’t complain when it doesn’t receive enough attention, but an out of date web site can cost you, big time. Here is a short list of ways that an out of date web site could be hurting your business, as well as suggestions on how you can prevent these problems from ever happening.
1. Problem: Lack of new content.
Say your company has completed a new product or project, and interested potential customers are searching for more information on that product in Google. If you have not taken the time to add information about this new item on your web site, they may not find your site at all. Worse still, they may very well find a competitors web site, someone who understood the importance of the product or service that you are offering and decided to discuss that on their web site.
Solution: Create a schedule.
No matter how full your life is, the chances are high that you can spare an hour or two a week to keep up with the web site. Schedule this at a time when you can expect minimal interruptions, so that you can ensure that all of the time you set aside is effective. If you only have two hours to spare a week, try starting out on Monday with an implementation plan. Review your newest products, projects or services, and decide what should go on the web site this week. If you need to write or find images, now is the time to do so. Later in the week, ideally only a day or two so that the content is still fresh in your mind, do a quick review and then implement this new content on your web site. If anything time sensitive comes up after this point, you can take additional time later in the week, otherwise, you have at least covered the necessities.
2. Problem: Outdated content.
This may sound similar to problem number one, but we are referring specifically to content that is already on the web site which is in need of care or revision. Outdated content is usually very easy for site visitors to spot, and can make your site seem old or dated even if it isn’t. Often, the easiest ones to spot refer to “upcoming” events that have long since passed, or pages that show “this page was created/updated on…” This can also refer to items that are clearly no longer new releases still being designated as so, or products that are no longer available being offered on your web site.
Solution: Make a list.
There are a few ways to combat this, depending on the type of outdated content your site contains. For one, if you have dates automatically attached to each page of the web site (and this is unnecessary for your business), ask your web site designer to remove that feature for you. Secondly, create a list of your time-sensitive pages or articles, so that you can keep an eye on those pages on a weekly or monthly basis. If you happen to have a web site created by us, you can also take advantage of our new page publishing module, which will automatically turn on and off time-sensitive, specified pages after a configurable amount of time.
3. Problem: Just plain lack of time.
Realistically, we know that there are some days, or even weeks where there’s just no time to spare. There’s no way to manufacture time, and especially if you are on the road a lot, access to the internet may be sparse as well. During these times, your quality of work may suffer even if you do find a free moment, which can hurt your companies’ credibility (think spelling, grammar errors and disjointed sentences) on the web.
Solution: Delegation.
In these circumstances, it pays to have somebody, preferably in the office, who can help carry the load for you. This could be as simple as uploading content that you have written and adding product images, all the way to writing the actual content for you. The point is, if you just don’t have the time to get it done, you can probably delegate your duties to someone who does. If you are the owner or a senior member of your company, chances are you would be better served delegating these duties anyway.
Taking it further.
Did you like this article? Stand by, our newest Making Life Easier article entitled “The top 7 ways to speed up your SE experience” is coming soon!