Lifetime of the website and the need to renew it

There are many different motives behind the decision to redesign a website. Some people want a new look, others want to make it easier to update, others want to improve technical functionality or to develop their business. For these reasons, business development is of course what all redesigns are ultimately about. But if renewal focuses on only one factor that contributes to business benefits, renewal may not achieve the desired impact.

There are so many factors that affect the business benefits of a website and they should all be taken into account as much as possible. If the redesign is focused on just one thing and the "good stuff" of the old site is discarded in the process, the business benefits of the site may even take a backward step.

How does a website age?

A company website can become outdated in many ways. Depending on which aspect of the website is outdated, it can have little or no impact on site performance or productivity. Some changes are so easy to spot with the naked eye, such as issues with the site's layout or outdated content. If a site's technology or the provider's equipment is visibly out of date, then the site may become dysfunctional, be hacked or cease to function altogether.

The lifespan of a website can be extended by taking the following into account

• A modern publishing system that is developed and supported
• Modern, sustainable implementation
• Easily customizable, agile and updatable implementation
• A maintenance contract and a competent partner to keep your website technically up-to-date
• Modern, clear and good-looking, but unpretentious visual implementation
• Keeping the sales message and content attractive and up-to-date

Given the large number of variables, it is not possible to give precise predictions on the frequency or need for renewal. It is therefore essential to identify the need for renewal in good time so that the site does not become a brake on business development.

How can you extend the life of your website?

The need to renew a website is influenced by the way it is designed, as well as by technological developments and visual trends. Identifying the need for change is sometimes difficult because not everything related to ageing may be obvious, and on the other hand, you get "used" to an old site.

Technical implementation of the website

If you want your site to be long-lived, you should choose a publishing system that is maintained and developed, i.e. supported. The publishing system must also be used correctly. WordPress is widely supported, but on the other hand it can be used to implement sites in many different ways, e.g. for add-ons. A flexible and easily customisable implementation also extends the lifetime of the technical implementation and is likely to reduce the need for upgrades.

When using add-ons, you need to be judicious about when to use them and when to order features as customised. A customised implementation is justified if it offers a clear business advantage and the vendor can provide support and maintenance. A widely used and supported add-on, on the other hand, is justified if the customised implementation is too expensive or the vendor is unable to provide maintenance support.

The technical lifespan of the site is also extended by the fact that it is implemented in a modern way and with sustainable solutions, as these may allow it to work for many years without major tweaking of the technical platform.

Site updates and maintenance

In general, it is not worth leaving the technical maintenance of a website to a service provider alone. High quality providers will do updates to WordPress, for example, but if there are problems with the update, or if some part of the system is not updated, the provider will not, as a rule, investigate or fix it.

For this reason, a company needs a partner, the website author, to maintain a website. The company that made the website knows and understands its implementation and is the quickest to resolve any problems with updates. When it comes to WordPress updates, the administrator needs to be vigilant and see that if an add-on has not been updated for a long time, it is worth replacing it with a new one so that it does not become a security risk.

With quality maintenance and updates, the technical lifespan of a website can increase by years.

Site layout and usability

The look and feel of the site is also getting older. As devices and connectivity evolve, sites are able to use good quality images to create more impressive looks. Styles and designs will change over time. A site built five years ago is unlikely to look modern or particularly stylish today.

At the latest, the time comes when a redesign becomes necessary if it conflicts with the image the company wants to project, or if the outdated look starts to affect the results and conversions of the website.

If the technical implementation is done in a modern way, updating the layout does not necessarily require changing the publishing system. On a high quality implementation, even the layout can be updated without a major technical project.

You can also try to achieve a modern and timeless look and feel for your website, so that it outlasts the test of time.

It would be essential to recognise the need for renewal and to distinguish between updating, maintenance and renewal.

A sales message

Sales content should evolve based on customer and business needs. Sales content should also go hand in hand with layout and usability. The content structure of promotional content, individual pages and the site as a whole should take into account the laws of online behaviour. Online behaviour, on the other hand, evolves with devices and connectivity. When the basics of content structure are well built, updating a message or sales lead is easier.

Website maintenance, updating and renewal

Website maintenance usually means the technical upkeep of a website, ensuring its technical functionality and security. The maintenance contract may also include a service for updating content if the company does not have the will or know-how to add new content.

Updating the website may mean updating content. It may also mean updating the layout, provided that the technical basis or publishing system remains the same. The technical platform may also be upgraded to a more modern one, even if the layout and content remain the same.

On the actual by renewing the site then usually means rebuilding the whole package and in some cases redefining the purpose and business role of the whole website.

Whether you want to upgrade or renew, it is essential to think about the objectives. If you want to change the layout, technology or content, you should also find out whether, for example, the sales performance of your website and all the things that affect it could be improved at the same time.

Choosing a service partner

It is also worth investing in a service partner and an adequate level of service. Good reliability, support for modern technologies and data security are usually reflected in the price of the service partner. A good choice of service level ensures good support and assistance in case of change and problems.

Here are some tips for choosing a service partner:

• daily backups
• offer the latest version of the php language, which is automatically updated
• server speed optimisation with caching techniques is of good quality
• 24/7 on-call service
• publishing system-specific expertise, e.g. a WordPress-specialised hosting provider can patch security holes

Digiteam has chosen to use Seravo Oy's WP service https://wp-palvelu.fi/, because we want to make sure that the websites and online shops the quality of operations.