We know that updating and maintaining a website over time is not always easy, especially when there’s a list of competing “high priority items” for building your business or organization that never seems to get any shorter (believe us, we’ve been there!).
But we also know that having a website that’s relevant and modern can make all the difference in whether it’s seen as a credible resource or something for users to sneer at as they click on to the next link in their web search. It some cases, outdated content or site construction can mean not connecting with a new paying customer or donor who might have otherwise been ready to get in touch.
In that vein, we offer…
10 Signs Your Website Needs a Makeover:
10. When people try to pull up your content on their smartphone, you have to remind them that mobile devices weren’t around when you built the site
9. The front page of your site has a public service announcement about the upcoming Y2K bug issue
8.When people who use Mac- or Linux-based computers try to visit your site, they’re told they need to install a plugin just to see the page
7. The most interactive part of your site is a banner ad where users are invited to “catch the monkey to win cash!”
6. When you go to update your website, you launch a program called “HotDog Pro” or “Wordpad”
5. Your site has a photo of your employee of the month… from 2002
4. Your site uses the <blink> and <marquee> tags to really make it “pop”
3. When you demo your site at conferences, you have to make sure the sound output is hooked up so that the “Chariots of Fire” WAV file on the front page can be heard
2. You haven’t changed the images on your site since you first got them from the Microsoft Office 95 clip art file
1. When you hear CMS, you think of the Chicago Manual of Style
Joking aside, if any of these ring even a little bit true, it might be time to update your website. (You don’t want all the other websites to laugh, do you?) Whether it’s a few tweaks here and there or a complete makeover, get in touch with Summersault to see how we can help you make it happen.
Ha- good list Derric.
11. You have a hit counter
12. Staff photos (if any) are from 1985.
13. You have a “welcome page”
14. You have a MIDI song playing on a loop. (or any audio for that matter)
15. You have more TABLE tags than DIV tags.
Great list!
16. If you have to hit Ctrl + to view the font
17. If your blog message wraps around Google Ads
18. “my own pet peave” When you have a flash slideshow and intro music and a button to push to go to the site….
19. If you have any graphic that states the site is “Under Construction”
20. If you have any graphics with that “AWESOME” Animated Glitter touch.
21. You have to view the entire site like reading a book (59 pages later only to find that the content your looking for has been moved to page 394.)
22. you worked over 1,000 hours editing 100′s of JavaScript codes so they all work, and NONE of them have anything to do with your content!
23. Your security password can be bypassed by changing the URL to read the next page number.
24. You disable right clicking to protect your images but fail to secrure your image folder from direct URL access.
25. Your Idea of protecting your scorce code is to start your code with “Access forbidden, your IP Address is being loged…” then four pages of blank space then start the page codes.
26. Any submit button that redirects you to another page that reads: “Click here to return to the home page” (and in most cases is the ONLY thing on that page)
27. You think the best button on your site is the “Don’t Click Me!” button.
27. You “rent” Ad Space on your site and now your “Vegan Diet” site has has ads that read “BEEF, it’s whats for dinner!”