With increases in technology, an ever-changing web landscape, and the popularity of online tools, it doesn't take long for a perfectly good website to become outdated. If you haven't looked at your website in a while or considered a refresh, then 2023 might be the time to change all that.
Here are five reasons you might want to update your website for the next year.
#1 - Improve Accessibility for Users
All business websites must be accessible to people who have disabilities, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act Title III. This is critical to avoid lawsuits, but it also presents an opportunity for website owners.
Making websites accessible means that everyone can use them, including people with disabilities. AccessiBe is a great online tool to incorporate into your website to ensure that it remains ADA compliant. This is done by ensuring websites are easy to use and can be seen and heard by everyone.
Considering that persons with disabilities make up approximately 15% of the world's population, this is ethical and good business.
Here are a few ways you can incorporate accessibility into your website:
- Add images with alt text
- Allow users to enlarge font sizes
- Consider light and contrast sensitivity
- Add keyboard navigation
- Make video and multimedia accessible
- Use descriptive URLs
- Minimize the use of tables
Using sophisticated utilities from our partners at accessiBe, the team at IDMI.Net can audit your website to identify and correct content that is not friendly to all users. These tools have been developed in concert with people with disabilities to ensure practical results. Starting at $490/yr for sites under 1000 pages, the automated web accessibility widget can be added to your site!
#2 - Increase Its Responsiveness
More users than ever are using mobile devices to visit websites. If you haven't upgraded your site over the last couple of years, you'll definitely want to ensure that your website works on mobile and desktop.
A responsive design, which automatically adjusts according to the device it's being viewed on, is essential. This is true for your visitors but also from a search engine standpoint, as Google is less likely to show your website in searches if it's not optimized for mobile.
#3 - Make it Easier-to-Use
Today's internet users are savvier than ever. If your site is challenging to look at or navigate, they will not visit it for very long and will likely never come back. Any content on your site needs to be able to be discovered quickly, and load times should be as fast as possible.
To make your site easier to navigate, consider:
- Order your content so it's easier to scan (use headlines, subheads, and paragraphs)
- Keep the site navigation or structure simple
- Make sure it's logical
- Each page should have its purpose
- Make it mobile-friendly
- Choose consistent fonts, images, and colors
- Minimize popups
#4 - Optimize it for Search Engines
Search engine optimization (SEO) has become perhaps the most significant part of gaining traffic to your site. And SEO rules and strategies change often. Building your site with proper SEO tools is essential if you need people to find your website on their own.
You can do several things to improve your site's SEO and, as a result, its position in search engine results pages.
First, make sure your site is well-structured and easy to navigate. Search engines like sites that are well-organized and easy to use.
Second, use relevant keywords throughout your site. Use keywords that relate to your business or product in your titles, headings, and in the body of your text.
Third, get other websites to link to yours. This helps show search engines that your site is popular and valuable.
Finally, keep your content fresh. Regularly adding new, high-quality content to your site will keep people coming back and help improve your SEO.
#5 - Improve Your Branding
When someone visits your site, they should immediately know what your brand is and what it's about. Your website should clearly communicate your brand's mission and values.
Take some time to think about what makes your business unique. What do you stand for? How do you want people to feel when they visit your site? Your design needs to reflect this.
When revamping your website, consider changes that help reinforce or refine your brand. Think about how you can use fonts, images, and colors to enhance your branding message.
Conclusion
These are just a few of the reasons why people should update their website in 2023. Keep these tips in mind when making changes to your site so it remains up-to-date, user-friendly, and search engine optimized for years to come.
By updating your website regularly, you can ensure that it remains relevant and useful to your visitors now and in the future. A great, updated website is always a great investment.