What does an out-of-date website say about a business?

Have you ever looked up a website and it seemed really old-fashioned - and, worst of all, it looked really really out of date?

How did you perceive that business?

An out-of-date website can make readers think that the business is unreliable, and that they're not very focused on customer service or how they're perceived externally. In fact, it can look downright unprofessional.

Here are my hints and tips to ensure that your website looks current:

• Make it a priority: regularly schedule time in your diary for website updates. Face it, we're so busy, that if it isn't on your Task list, chances are it won't happen! Once you've committed to the task, see it through.


• Copyright years: update the Copyright years (usually at the foot of a web page) each year!


• Current offers: be sure to remove any expired offers as soon as they've finished.


• What's new: a box on the home page to keep updated can be simpler than updating multiple changes. See the Rubywaxx website as an example: here I update this part of the website for the client each month - a job that's quite quick, easy and effective.


• Add dates: my own website for FX Marketing isn't one which is updated that frequently. So when I do, I add the dates on my new resources and new testimonials. That quickly communicates that (a) I update my website quite regularly, and (b) I have been in business for quite some time - and have regularly committed to keeping my website fresh.


• Blog: if you're running a blog, post on it regularly. If 4 or 5 months pass without a single post, readers will no longer check it, so don't undo all that hard work!

Best of all, by updating your website regularly, not only will it look good to your prospects, but Google will like it too! Google favours websites which are regularly updated.