That’s why you should refresh your website!

Many companies’ websites are 5 years old or older. This means that they are not state-of-the-art and there is a risk that these websites will be ignored by Google. 5 years is a very long time in the field of web design and web development. Because hardly any other area develops as quickly as web design and web development. The technology, but also legal requirements (e.g. GDPR, cookie banners) and web design trends are being improved.

You will rarely find texts that were published in 2012 or earlier. The reason for this is that Google attaches great importance to topicality. But even page speed and good usability cannot be achieved by old websites.

Optimizing an old website is often difficult. Although off-page optimization (good content and the resulting link building) is more important for a good Google ranking than on-page optimization (modern web design), you can see from an old website that it is getting on in years is. Not only Google notices this, but also the users. In the worst case, the user associates your website with something negative.

Characteristics of a good website

Your website must be tailored to your company and your target group in terms of content and appearance. However, some basics should apply to every website, even if they are individually adapted to the target group. A harmonious color image, legible font and large images make a positive impression on the user. The font size is particularly important if you do not have a young target group. You should also consider the responsive design of your new website. This gives you the option of automatically adapting your website to the end device used to access your website.

If you observe these basics when setting up your new website, a harmonious appearance will result.

Technical conditions for a modern website

Web browsers and servers as well as programming languages are constantly evolving. So it is not surprising that a website always has to meet new requirements.

Browser updates are both a blessing and a curse. For the user, updates from Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge are a significant enrichment of the user experience. However, outdated websites cause major problems when it comes to optimizing browsers. Old web standards are no longer supported, which means that the layout of an outdated website will no longer display correctly.

The issue of outdated websites continues with the programming language. The server-side programming language PHP is used by most of them. The latest PHP version is PHP 8.1, which was released in November 2021. Outdated websites often still use PHP 5.6 and PHP 7.3 versions. As a result, safety and performance requirements cannot be met. In addition, it must be noted that with the release of a new PHP version, support for an older version is discontinued. This version no longer has security support and may have security gaps.

Website operator committed to data protection

With the introduction of the GDPR, user data must not be collected arbitrarily. Cookie banners, imprint and data protection guidelines can no longer be separated from a modern website. However, these requirements are not met by outdated websites, since user data is often collected arbitrarily.

It becomes clear that an outdated website has more disadvantages than you expected. If the technical requirements are not met, the user suffers and with it your Google ranking. The user associates your company with something negative because of your outdated website. This may be the reason why you are contacted less frequently. In addition, the aspect of data protection is not to be trifled with. If you use cookies that collect data from the user without informing them, you even risk a lawsuit.

This is your sign! Renew yours website to play at the top of the Google ranking again.