31 Mar How often Should You Update Your Website?
Simple answer… each 18 – 24 months.
But of course there’s a lot more to it than that, and the time between one website upgrade and the next is more determined by consumer expectations and trends then by dates.
The next simplest answer is… when it starts to look old.
I mean, yours isn’t the *only* website you ever look at is it? Do you ever visit your competition and take a look at what they’re up to? If you don’t, it’s a good idea.
The primary considerations are actually even easier to ascertain… you update your website when it stops working as well as it could to achieve its goals. Simple.
And that’s why I made the decision to change mine recently. I was tired of my site “looking like all the others” (and I mean in terms of content rather than design). I was tired of delivering the same old same old and not being “different”. As much as I hate to admit it, over the last 12 months Paulbarrs.com has been selling the same online marketing story that most other Blogs have been selling – meaning – you could get the same stuff anywhere!
Ouch. That hurts. But in honesty, awesomeness can be found.
Let me explain…
I watch the forums where my target audience gather religiously. I watch what they are talking about. I watch what they are asking about. I have Google Alerts set up and I get notifications of new websites sent to me to see what people *want* and what they *get*. Here’s what I’ve noticed –
In this “IM” Internet Business world… we’re all selling THE SAME THING!
But is that so bad? If that’s what people want then it should be OK to give it to them, yes? Sure, but that’s not the problem…
The problem is we’re not only “selling” the same thing, we’re also GIVING IT TO THEM IN THE SAME WAY!
Which means neither you nor I nor Tom, Dick or Harriet down the road is any different than the other. And “our customers” just go wherever they want, from one to another or to any one of literally THOUSANDS OF OTHER websites all delivering the same content the same old way. It makes no difference whether it’s via online delivery, video delivery or email delivery. It’s the same.
Yawn!
And so it became time to make a change.
Doing this however is not a one click “install-new-WordPress-theme” process as some would have you believe. Which brings me back to my original question (and my best answer right up front)… If YOU ever have the need to upgrade your website as I have done (for example if you decide that being the “same” is no longer what you want to do) then here’s an ACTION PLAN that I created for you (based on the one that I crated for myself) to help guide you through the process so that nothing is left to chance.
It’s yours free. Download it, print it and USE it. Setting the right plan in motion for your website could literally be worth thousands and thousands of dollars to you.
Click here to Download the Website Upgrade PDF, or access it on Scribd >> HERE.
