The Internet doesn’t sleep and it also never stops developing. And with greater demand, site owners are constantly being required to update their sites to take advantage of the newest technologies. Those that don’t potentially lose traffic and potential sales.
In this article we look at a number of things that you should either already have implemented or should investigate to drive more traffic to your website
Responsive Design
The way users are consuming the Internet has changed radically in the last few years with more than half of Internet views* now coming from mobile devices. With this in mind, businesses need to ensure their website works no matter what type of device a users is viewing their website. By having a website designer who can build a website with responsive technology means the user will get a optimised experience depending whether they use a smart phone, a tablet or desktop computer.
In this way you are starting to cater for everyone but also helping those on different devices to still transact with you and your business.
Totally mobile ready – Google AMP and Facebook Instant Articles
Beyond responsive design, both Google and Facebook have launched – or are about to launch – new mobile based code that will allow them to deliver content much much faster than normal web pages. Both of these platforms have a huge amount of potential traffic you can tap into, so making sure you are able to deliver content in the way they would like to display it would be a huge benefit to your business.
- Google launched AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) pages in March, which you can read about here: https://www.ampproject.org/
- Facebook launched its Instant Articles service in April this year and you can find out more here: https://instantarticles.fb.com/
Content management system that is flexible to meet your needs
One way to ensure your site is future proof is to have it built using one of the latest content management systems (CMS) that will allow you to easily bolt on or integrate new technologies as they become available. The more popular CMS systems will probably have new technologies at the front of mind so having your site built using something like WordPress Sitecore, Kentico or Umbraco will mean you will be able to take advantage of new technology quickly and more cost effectively than having a site rebuilt every time something new comes along.
Check your content regularly to make sure it is not out of date
Finally, perhaps the most simple way to ensure your site is future proof is to make sure you are revisiting and updating your content on a regular basis. For static pages you may find you need to update terms or product information. For timely information such as blogs posts around any legislation changes or things of that nature, make sure you site is up to date. Even on old blog posts do ensure you point users to any updated changes or pages.
The last thing you want potential customers to do is base a purchase decision on old information that you can no longer support.
We hope this gives you some idea to help take your site well into the future in the right way. You can speak to your web designer or web development company to help you put these technologies in place.