How often should you update your website?

6th, Sep 2023

For professional service firms, a well-designed and informative website is a powerful tool for establishing credibility, showcasing expertise and attracting clients. It is often the first point of contact for potential clients or the place someone who met you elsewhere goes to learn more about you. A website is more than a brochure; it is a virtual representation of your firm’s experience, values and capabilities. As a result, it is essential to maintain it properly and regularly update it so that it puts your firm in the best possible light. How often should you update your site? Here are a few guidelines:

Content Updates

Content is how visitors will evaluate your experience, understand your approach and decide whether they like and trust you enough to take the next step. As such, the frequency of your content updates should reflect the nature of your services and how you want to be perceived by your target audience. For example:

  1. Thought leadership. If you want to position yourself as a go-to resource in your field, you must stay up to date in your field and provide clients/prospects with practical insights on new developments and trends.
  2. Blogging. To build credibility and trust, you want to regularly provide clients/prospects with relevant information that will help them understand and improve their situation. Blogging also keeps you top of mind with contacts and improves your site’s search engine rankings.
  3. Service offerings. Any time you introduce a new service or modify an existing one, you should revise your website’s service pages accordingly.
  4. Bios. For professional service firms, bio pages are often the most visited page of a website after the home page. That’s because visitors often come to the site to research a specific professional. Accordingly, it’s critical to keep bios up to date highlighting current experience and activities.
  5. Client success stories. Regularly update your success stories and client testimonials to reflect your latest achievements and client feedback.

Design Updates

An outdated website design is kind of like walking into an outdated office. It raises the question of how successful you are if you haven’t modernized. Website design trends evolve, and a contemporary design can help project professionalism, competence and success. Changes can fall into 2 categories:

  1. Strategic redesigns. You should consider a major design overhaul every few years, or when your firm undergoes significant branding changes, such as a name change or major expansion of the business.
  2. Subtle enhancements. Minor design adjustments, like updating color schemes or images, can be made more frequently. These changes can freshen the look of your site without requiring a significant investment.

Note that you don’t need to be constantly following the latest trends but do always consider the image you want to project to clients/prospects.

Functionality Updates

Professional service sites usually don’t have complicated e-commerce functionality. However, there are significant user issues that you want to avoid including slow loading pages, broken links, malware and other concerns. Updating your site can help ensure you don’t have problems with your site and you project the right image to visitors. Consider these steps:

  1. Regular maintenance. A WordPress site (the most common website platform) consists of the core engine, a visual theme and plugins for added functionality. All of them issue periodic upgrades which either improve functionality, address bugs or patch security vulnerabilities. As a result, monthly or quarterly updates may be needed and you should have a webmaster who handles these for you.
  2. Mobile optimization. Your website must be responsive and easily navigable on various devices, including smartphones, tablets and desktops. You should regularly test your site’s responsiveness to ensure users get the best results.
  3. Enhanced features. If your firm introduces new tools or features on the site, they must integrate seamlessly with your website’s existing framework. It is critical to research compatibility across your site’s components, identify any security vulnerabilities and conduct rigorous testing before deployment to minimize problems.

Conclusion

Regular updates to your website help demonstrate that your firm is current, knowledgeable and invested in providing site visitors with the best possible information and experience on your site. It can also improve search engine visibility and set your firm apart from competitors.

Thanks to Linda McCormack, Pixellence for sharing her insights on website design and functionality.

If you need help with your website, contact us for a free consultation.

Tagged: