I live in a 100-year-old bungalow in Chicago. I fell in love with its original, generous molding, lovely brickwork, wood floors, fireplace and built-in bookshelves (see above) that have withstood the test of time. What I did not fall in love with is the maintenance it takes to keep up a 100-year-old bungalow.
We are only the fourth family to live in my house, despite its longevity, and are very thankful that its previous owners took such good care of it. If they hadn’t, there’s a good chance this house wouldn’t be standing today or would be a former shell of itself. But because it’s been cared for, it’s never faced a gut-rehab or even worse, the wrecking ball.
Just like 100-year-old bungalows, websites need maintenance, upkeep and attention. If you only think to look at your website once a year or less, chances are when you view it, you’re going to want to scrap the whole thing and start over.
Websites Are Fluid
I’ve seen a lot of people approach website design as something to check off on a to do list. Like they can redesign a site, set it and forget. But that’s the absolute wrong approach. That approach will lead you to a viscous, never-ending cycle of redesigns. Trust me, as someone who has spearheaded a couple redesigns herself, you don’t want that. Redesigns are a massive endeavor. They always take more time, cost more money, and require more buy in and coordination than people expect.
The worst thing you can do for your site (besides making it all about you) is view and edit it only once in a blue moon.
I am a little less than one year into business for myself. When I started 1000 Words Marketing, I had one idea of the services I was going to offer and how people would buy from me.
Eight months later, my business looks different than I thought it would. I realized my services page didn’t really reflect my key offerings and how best people could work with me. So I spent the past couple days rewriting that page and making tweaks to my homepage to reflect those changes.
It wasn’t a massive redesign. I kept the design largely the same. I edited copy, made minor tweaks to the layout and hit publish. It took a of couple hours, not months of planning, design, and rounds of revisions.
Start with Incremental Changes
I say this so you too can have some breathing room when it comes to your site. Don’t assume a redesign is your only option. Even if you haven’t looked at your site in years, chances are you would still benefit even if you only addressed a few key pages – not the entire thing. Obviously, if you’re changing your company name or redoing the entire branding of your business, that would warrant a larger overhaul. But if you’re not, check your analytics, see what people are looking at, and start with those pages.
Your website is not a 100-year-old bungalow. It’s not going to withstand the test of time. But if you pay attention to it and maintain it on a regular basis, it will probably last a lot longer than you think.
Not sure how much work your website needs? I'd be happy to take a look at it. Chances are it isn't a lost cause. Contact me.