If there’s one thing you can count on when it comes to technology, it’s that it’s always evolving. Something as simple as a browser or computer software update can cause your website, if not the internet itself. This is why it’s crucial to update your website on a regular basis.
Not sure how you should update a website to keep it relevant going forward in 2021? No worries! Our guide will show you seven helpful ways you can renovate your website for the upcoming year.
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1. Solicit and Implement Feedback from Target Users
If you’re wondering how to update a website in ways that work for your company, you need to reach out to your target users. You may have some ideas about how to update your website’s aesthetic and function but if your clients don’t like what you do, you could lose customers in the end.
Before conducting any sweeping site updates, you should reach out to your target and primary users. Their feedback will tell you of any consistent pain points your users may experience and how they’d like their browsing time to improve. Thus, you can rest assured that your updated website will be well-received.
2. Mobile-Friendliness Is a Must
If you want to update a website for the present day, mobile-friendliness is a must. Your website can be the most well-designed thing in the world for desktops, but if mobile users can’t use its features, it’s as good as worthless.
This is one area where it’s critical to know the difference between a web designer and a web developer. A web designer may be able to help you make your website look good on mobile. However, if you want it to function well on mobile, you need the services of a web developer.
3. Review Your Content
Another step you should take during your website renovation is to update old content. Nothing dates your website like content that’s no longer relevant. If your website has content that’s no longer relevant to your industry, people will think that you’re out of touch. And, let’s face it, no one’s going to trust a website that looks like it hasn’t been updated since the mid-2000s.
If you work in a fast-moving industry like tech, beauty, or healthcare, you especially need to make sure that your blog entries are consistent with the current trends and releases. So, go back through your old articles and update them with current, relevant information along with adjusting your website’s design for modern trends. Speaking of…
4. Check Web Design Trends
While some trends are just that, short-lived and not fated to last, others become core principles of web design for years. So, you could do worse than watching the latest web design trends for inspiration of your own. The latest trends seem to point towards minimalist and dark mode-friendly user interfaces, so if you can adjust your site to match this, you’ll be in good shape. On the subject of color…
5. Use Color Psychology to Your Advantage
Colors have the power to evoke certain emotions in people. So, if you want to update a website, make sure you use color psychology to your advantage.
If you run a spa and want your website to reflect the soothing atmosphere they’ll experience inside the spa itself, a muted color palette defined by blues and greens should be your pick. On the other hand, if you want your website to evoke energy and motion, you should incorporate bright colors like reds and yellows. (Just take care not to saturate them too much, or you’ll hurt your browsers’ eyes.)
The latest web design trends, as mentioned above, opt for cozier, darker color schemes. This is mainly to help cut back on the amount of blue light that users will experience when navigating the site.
6. Go Beyond the Stock Experience
Stock photos and the basic packages from web design services and platforms have made designing a website that looks good and functions well point-and-click easy. However, this often comes at the expense of the site looking bland and not drawing in the attention that you need. Plus, if you only use stock photos on your site and not pictures of your staff, products, or project results, people can get the impression that you’re running some kind of scheme.
So, if you’re wondering how to update a website in ways that won’t take too long, consider swapping out those stock photos for well-taken photographs specific to your business. Or, consult the aid of website update services to figure out how to take your business’s site from blah and out-of-the-box to exciting and engaging for all visitors.
7. Scope Out Your Competition for Inspiration
This goes hand-in-hand with the point of looking into the latest web design trends. Looking at your direct competitors’ websites to see what they’ve done in their most recent updates is a helpful step to updating your own website.
Maybe they’ve found a better way of organizing their home or landing page that appeals to you. They could have found ways to increase their site’s accessibility for all users. Perhaps they made it easier to contact them with a chatbot on their main page. Or, they could have taken the time to update their old, ho-hum content with blog entries that are new, fresh, and relevant.
Whatever your competitors did, if it’s working for them, you should use it. If you don’t, you might find your customers swept out from under you. And that’s something no business wants to see!
Looking for More Ways to Update a Website?
Now that you understand some basic ways to update a website for 2021, you may wonder where you should go from here. Perhaps you need further guidance on making your site mobile-friendly. Or perhaps you need to know what to look for when hiring web designers and developers.
Whatever information you need, our site has got you covered. Check out the Business or Technology sections of our blog each day for more helpful articles like this one.
Read Also: 3 Small Business Web Design Ideas to Stand Out in 2021
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