If you haven’t updated your website recently then you could be seriously limiting not just your visitor numbers, but also your sales figures – and limiting them quite significantly at that. Technology is advancing all the time, with the knock-on effect that the way we use the internet today is far removed from the way we used it even as recently as two years ago.
The Internet Goes Mobile
According to Gartner, a company which specialises in researching everything to do with information technology, the internet nowadays is all about mobile technology. In fact the company suggests that during the course of 2016 mobile apps will overtake internet domains as the principal method of interacting with brands.
Search engines have been quick to notice the trend, and have adapted their own technology accordingly. A recent article on the BBC’s website reported that Google has recently updated its search algorithms to favour those websites which fulfil its criteria as being ‘mobile friendly’. Somewhat ironically the article went on to point out that the BBC itself, along with Wikipedia and the European Union, was unable to pass the search engine giant’s Mobile Friendly Test!
Happily for the BBC and other large organisations which were caught on the hop by Google’s announcement, in-house teams of web developers can react swiftly to ensure that entire websites are subjected to the necessary changes to ensure search engine compatibility and restore them to their former positions at the top of the coveted rankings.
Smaller enterprises, however, may struggle to ensure that their sites conform to the strict new guidelines. Not only will their sites fail to display properly on visitors’ devices, but they will also drop off search engine results pages, rendering them almost invisible so far as the internet is concerned.
Go Professional
The solution is to call in some professional assistance, although some smaller businesses are reluctant to hand over any part of their budget to web developers, believing that they will end up out of pocket. Actually this is far from true, as any good web development company would consider it a principal aim to ensure an excellent return on investment.
An appropriate, accessible website is the single most important marketing tool that any business has. Failing to understand this concept can be the ruin of an otherwise promising venture, meaning that any money spent on enhancing the site is a sound and valuable investment.
A well-designed website doesn’t have to cost the earth, particularly if you look outside London with its generally inflated prices. Look out for companies which specialise in web design in Essex and the Home Counties, for example, and you will see a significant drop in the pricing structure. This doesn’t translate into an inferior service either – companies such as enovateltd incorporate responsive web design features into all their sites, which means that your site will display perfectly on any device, desktop computer to smartphone.
Check to see how your website displays on a range of devices and platforms, and if you spot a problem then address it quickly, as it could be turning prospective customers away in their droves.