SMK Writer

21 Outdated Website Features from the Stone Age

It’s time to outsource your web updates (or start over on your web content) when your site looks like these
21 Outdated Website Features That Make Your Site Look Like Something from the Stone Age.

Thank you Red Website Design UK for this infographic and amusing guidance!

This infographic was just in time. I’ve been speaking to several friends about updating both templates for my WordPress.com and WordPress.org (self-hosted) websites. Yes, somewhere, some anonymous commenter mentioned how dated my websites looked.

I can understand my DIY websites looking a bit outdated, even if I am actively updating the text. And, honestly I struggle with how much to spend on outsourcing my work. I am a one-horse (one girl) business.

I am not alone. I was a bit shocked to come across this popular Australian clothing retailers site, and see how outdated it looked. Understandably, companies that are servicing brick and mortar retail locations are likely spread thin. Keeping a website modern is still important to the brand image, and growth of the brand.

So You Start on a Page That Looks Like This

When you visit a website, especially a retail company that has actual locations around the country, you expect something like this.

Screen Shot 2014-03-19 at 10.41.01 am

And, you decide you might buy some items on clearance. Here’s the online store. Oh dear.

Rivers clothing retailer Australia, online store

Here is where the transition lost my trust – that store looks like a scam. Maybe the whole site should have stayed with the old format? Or the new site should have dropped the online store until the graphics and backend were rebuilt?

Does an Old Website Really Matter?

Let me know what you think.

I am a writer, and find myself quite dependent on the team of graphic artists, SEO experts, and coders that I work with. While I am not working for the company that I am blogging about here. Businesses, and marketeers need to be wary of the impact of “staged” updates that leave businesses looking like a dinosaur.

What do you think about the text, graphics, and functionality of the new websites that are winning awards? Who is going to be buying from you, or doing business with you, anyway? Should you stage updates, or update what you have? Questions answered in the articles below. Read on!

Shauna McGee Kinney 2013

By Shauna McGee Kinney

 

 

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Shauna McGee Kinney