Our Blog

March 29, 2011 By Hendrik-Jan Francke

Change is relentless… Is your website out of date?

How becoming a more savvy web user can make your website seem outdated

As a lover of all things Apple, I know the frustration of investing in a product just to see something better come along a year or two later (sometimes months!). So believe me when I tell you that I feel your pain if you've recently—I use "recently" loosely—redesigned your website and you’re already finding yourself in need of updates. You might be thinking, "We just redesigned our website 3 years ago! How can it be outdated already?"

Web Experiences Are Rapidly Changing

Three years may not seem like a long time, but in terms of technology and the web, a lot has changed in 3 years… smart phones are becoming common, content management systems (CMS) are browser based, lightboxes are used for image galleries, mega-dropdown menus are now user friendly, and search functions are cheaper to implement.

As you, the user, became familiar with these new approaches, your experience with your own website changed. The biggest expectation you have is that technology is making websites easier. And when you encounter a website that isn't easy to use, you become frustrated.

Website Growing Pains

We've recently met with a few clients who are experiencing these growing pains with their websites. They are realizing that they need to implement better technologies to interact with their site and do their jobs.

They now need features like slide shows to showcase their great images, online credit card processing for invoicing and collecting donations, or a more dynamic, flexible CMS.

Managing an 'outdated' site is one of the most frustrating tasks.

It wasn't too long ago that we were using CMSs and editors that, by today’s standards and technology, aren't the most user-friendly or efficient. (We felt compelled to create our own CMS, called OrangeFresh.)

At the time, they made our lives so much easier! But as our web experiences changed, we expected better, faster, easier ways to update our websites. What was great 3 years ago feels slow today.

Now there are a bunch of great open-source content management systems that we use, customize, and implement for our clients. With the amount of flexibility they provide, our clients' jobs of managing and updating the site are now very easy.

Updates are a part of site life!

We know your frustration. But the web is more and more becoming the place where users turn to find information. The Yellow Pages are fading!

Today, if your website is 3 years old, it's likely that you are experiencing "issues" and are in need of updates. Updating your website is just part of ensuring that your business or organization stays afloat in the sea of digital information.

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