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Your new website is the initial phase of a process of continuous investment. And then constant measurement of your website’s performance to discover where you are losing sales and where you can improve the experience for the end user is required. You will find a lot of areas that would need update.
Whether you have a brick-and-mortar store or you sell products entirely online, maintaining a website is an essential tactic for attracting new clients, raising awareness of your company, increasing sales, and outshining your competitors.
SEO algorithms, web technologies, and customer preferences evolve everyday, so businesses that want to stay relevant need to update their sites accordingly. “It’s not about ‘keeping up with the Joneses,’” says Wendell Harness of Harness Media. “It’s more about keeping up with web standards.”
If you haven’t updated your site in several months (or years), you’re more likely to experience high bounce rates, fewer conversions, security breaches, and other unpleasant side effects. Making small changes to rectify these issues can give your eCommerce store a range of immediate and long-term benefits in the years to come.
1. Boost Your SEO Rankings
Have you ever clicked on a link that led to a website that looked sorely outdated? Maybe the “latest” blog post was from three years ago. Perhaps it took so long to load that you never even saw the full site! Whatever the case may be, most online-shoppers will instantly be suspicious of any sites that look poorly designed or abandoned.
In addition, search engine algorithms will stop crawling sites that haven’t been updated in a while, and your SEO rankings will subsequently drop.
Updating your site will keep the search engines and your audience interested in your products and unique content.
With a sleek new design, simpler navigation options, and eye-catching graphics, customers will stay on your site longer and be more likely to buy your products; especially if you take this as an opportunity to revamp your product descriptions and write some highly-relevant blog posts as well!
2. Maintain Top-Notch Security
One of the easiest ways to prevent hackers from leaking private customer data or wreaking havoc on your website is to apply security patches promptly. If you fail to keep up with security patches and bug fixes, your visitors may be negatively impacted by malware, and Google might even un-list your site until you’re able to resolve the issue.
Normally, you can find and apply security patches by visiting your eCommerce platform page, where you can figure out which fixes you need based on the version of Magento you’re currently using.
3. Access the Latest Technologies and Features
Today, customers expect to be able to easily browse a website whether they’re using their smartphone, laptop, or tablet. Online shoppers love receiving personalized product suggestions, trying out AR fitting rooms, paying with alternative methods like Paypal and Apple Pay, and utilizing chat bots for helpful tips.
Websites that aren’t mobile-friendly and don’t offer any other trending eCommerce features will likely lose customers to their competitors.
Another important thing to consider is that Magento consistently creates new technologies for its users, such as Elastic Cache in Magento Open Source and the B2B Module in Magento Commerce.
Along with these cutting-edge features, Magento also tends to release a major software update once a year. It’s imperative to keep up with these changes to make the most out of your eCommerce store.
A Solution?
Despite the importance and benefits of updating their websites, many retailers are reluctant to make the switch. The differences between different eCommerce platform versions, for instance, can bring up a host of concerns regarding data migration, compatible themes, third-party apps, site performance, SEO issues, and more.
Some companies are trying to address this problem with solutions that make upgrading easier.
Author: Nikki Lanzer
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