Perception is stronger than reality. Your website isn’t just a marketing tool it is a representation of you and your company in every way. 

Two-thirds to 90% of the buying process happens before a potential customer or lead even contacts you.[1] What does this mean? What is the customer doing in the early stages of the buying process? The answer is simple, research. They are researching what they want, weighing their options and checking out potential businesses that can fulfill their needs. That means they are visiting your website to learn more about you and what your business does. However, a bad website can turn a hot lead absolutely cold.

This is because the modern potential customer or prospect is now extremely internet savvy and has certain expectations when it comes to a website and its functionality. Prospects have an instantaneous negative reaction to websites that are outdated with bad design, outdated content and poor functionality.

A bad website is extremely damaging to your credibility. Here are four things that an outdated website communicates about you:

1. “They are not innovative OR They aren’t easy to do business with”

Web design provides significant persuasion to a webpage, in fact given 15 minutes to consume content, two-thirds of people would rather read something beautifully designed than something plain.[2] That’s why a visitor’s initial reaction to the look and feel of a webpage damages credibility so badly. 38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the content/layout is unattractive and 39% will stop engaging if the images won’t work or load.

Mobile devices account for two of every three minutes spent online[3], therefore if a website is outdated and not mobile friendly, it will immediately lose many mobile internet users. If a website cannot keep visitors engaged and coming back, then your business will miss many sales opportunities.

2. “They aren’t technologically savvy”

We live in a digital age where data is stored and transferred though technological means. Technology is important and this is reflected in your website. The assumption is that most old websites are running on old technologies, so an outdated website can make you look technologically incompetent which will damage your business reputation..

Outdated websites also tend to forget about critical details like keeping your SSL certificate up to date. A website’s SSL certificate is a data file that binds a cryptographic key to your website. This ensures that any data entered into the website i.e. credit card information, data transfers and logins, is kept safe from hackers and the like.[4]

3. Their services and customer support will probably be terrible

For any business, especially those that focus on customer service, a website with easy and functioning usability is imperative. Having a website that is difficult to navigate or has elements that do not function properly can damage your credibility as it is a direct reflection of your customer service and support capabilities. The same goes for outdated content.

47% of visitors visit a company’s products/services page before they go to any other page and 64% of visitors go to the contact page once after they visit the homepage.[5] Customers that are trying to contact you for service or support may not be able to reach you due to outdated information on your website.

4. They must have gone/be going out of business

Is your latest update three years old? No new blogs, press releases, product launches, nothing? Outdated websites can sometimes have visitors wondering if you are still up and running.

In this case a website that is not updated regularly will also push your website down in Google results, which will make it virtually unfindable for keyword search terms. We all know the saying, the best place to hide something is on the second page of any Google search result. Having an outdated website will land you there and beyond faster than anything else.

5. We can’t interact!

The modern want to interact with you through your website. They want to come in, download resources and then come back at a later time to engage with more content, kind of like a ping pong machine. Find out more about the ping pong machine theory in my book “The Radical Shift.” However, an outdated website does not provide that opportunity to your prospects and as a result it hurts your brand awareness as well as your reputation.

Here at The Mezzanine Group we understand your frustrations. The Wall Street Journal cited that 54% of small to mid-sized businesses are concerned with technology outpacing their ability to compete.[6] We can build a website for you to perfectly suit your needs and bring your business up to date. Contact us today to get started.

[1] MarTech | Most of the Purchase Decision in B2B Happens Before Contact with Your Company | https://martech.zone/research-purchase-b2b-online/

[2] Adobe | The State of Content: Expectations on the rise | http://wwwimages.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/max/2015/pdfs/state-of-content-oct.pdf

[3] comScore | 2016 U.S. Cross-Platform Future in Focus | https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Presentations-and-Whitepapers/2016/2016-US-Cross-Platform-Future-in-Focus

[4] Global Sign | What is an SSL Certificate? | https://www.globalsign.com/en/ssl-information-center/what-is-an-ssl-certificate/

[5] KoMarketing | 2015 B2B Web Usability Report | https://komarketing.com/files/b2b-web-usability-report-2015.pdf

[6] WSJ | How social bias creeps into web technology | https://www.wsj.com/articles/computers-are-showing-their-biases-and-tech-firms-are-concerned-1440102894