Do you really need a new website?

 

I suppose it sounds like we are doing ourselves out of business, but that is to take the title of this post too literally. In this instance we are asking you to consider whether you need to invest heavily in a new website, or whether the website you currently have just needs realigning with your current marketing goals?

We all love something shiny and new, and a website is no different. However, spending thousands of pounds on a new website when your current website, with a few tweaks, could perform the correct role within your marketing strategy, is not necessary. So it comes down to the question: is your current website good enough?

If you embarked on your previous website build with the correct marketing intentions, the strategy that the digital agency undoubtedly set out will stand your website in good stead. This means that the comparative cost of realigning your website will be far less than reinvesting in a new one. As you and your partner agency have put a lot of hard work and effort in already, realigning the website with your current marketing goals Will be a far simpler process.

Websites begin to look a little dated, and a company starts to fall into the three year cycle where they feel compelled to invest heavily in a new website again.

However, the challenge comes when the digital marketing strategy of your company has not been set out from the beginning of the web build. Or indeed, no thought has been put into of the holistic digital strategy at all. The internet and everything that encompasses it, provides us with a marketing opportunity that you would be ill-advised to ignore. It is moving forwards at an incredibly fast pace, and gone are the days where only design skills would suffice. And here we come to the crux of the matter. There are a great deal of websites that are designed but perform no function, other than to look nice. Once there is a change in design fashion, these websites begin to look a little dated, and a company starts to fall into the three year cycle where they feel compelled to invest heavily in a new website again. This immediately puts decision makers within the company into negative mindset, believing that a new website is a large outlay.

And yes, that might be so, initially. There is a growing desire within the digital industry, to educate decision makers within businesses that the key is little and often. We have a rare opportunity within the web to create something that can change and adapt. We don't have to hit and hope, rather we can tailor the experience to the true needs of customers. We can test different ways of doing things quickly and efficiently, and monitor which perform best against our business goals.

So the key message for business owners to take away from this is return on investment. By investing little and often you can see the tangible fact that it can have in driving sales, and company growth. That said, if your current website is a pretty face with nothing between the ears, it is important to invest in a new one, but one that retains a digital strategy that will make the difference to your company.

It's all about maximising output, and continued endeavour with regards to your website, could make the difference between being a good company and a great one.

January
January