Does your company have a website, but it's out of date, sluggish, expensive to keep up, hard to manage, not working on mobile, or not ranking in Google searches? If you said "yes" to anything on this list, your website simply isn't working. In fact, it could be hindering your business growth.
Google processes 63,000 search queries every second, translating to 5.6 billion daily searches. To continue its popularity and growth, Google wants to make the very best recommendations. It won't send people to slow, broken, or rundown websites. So, if your website isn't up to snuff, Google isn't sending people your way. That's a significant amount of missed traffic and sales opportunities. The good news is there could be a simple solution to your site issues.
All websites are built on some kind of platform, most likely with a CMS (content management system) that is used to manage and make changes to your website. Popular options are WordPress, Wix, GoDaddy, and similar DIY site builders. Each tool has its pros and cons. Because of this, it's important to know which platform you're on so you can understand its full capabilities and address potential issues it could be causing you.
Not sure what you're on? Try this handy tool. Then, consider the following points to ensure your website is on the right platform and operating at optimal performance.
Each platform is designed for different use cases and has varying benefits. It helps to understand why your platform was built so you can decide if it fits your business. For instance, WordPress was initially built for bloggers. It was essentially a way for people to host Word documents online for the world to read.
As the platform became more widely accepted, people started using it to build small websites. In order to create the type of pages and functionality businesses needed, it required outside tools called plug-ins. The biggest issue people run into with these "aftermarket" add-ons is they bloat the code and significantly drag down the site speed. This results in a subpar user experience and lowers your Google ranking. All of that to say, it can be really important to know the origin of your platform and how it could be impacting your business. Let's continue.
The growing popularity of platforms like WordPress, Wix, and others has put a target on their back for hackers. As a result, these web services have experienced a high rate of security breaches. We wrote an article on website security that you should check out sometime. It details what happens when your site gets hacked and how you can shore up your protection.
With the intention of arming you with information, it's good to be aware that if your site is on WordPress, there's a strong chance your site has been hacked at some point and in some way. Changing your passwords frequently and decreasing the number of plug-ins would be something we suggest you do right away. You could also consider changing platforms altogether to be on the safe side.
As we've stated, some platforms may not be a good fit, others bring up security issues, and several are just plain old. Sure, a platform may have added flashy features, revamped its code, and appears to be a spunkier version of itself, but it could still be on the same framework created years ago. Given how fast technology changes, a tool built a few decades ago is considered a dinosaur today.
Check to see when your platform was originally built and understand what changes have really been made. Many website owners will go ahead and move to a newer platform to gain access to a faster, more intuitive CMS and to create improved user experiences.
PS. If you're curious about why improved user experiences are important to growing your business, be sure to read this article about Google Vitals.
You may be wondering, "What are newer, faster, and more secure platforms?" Well, we actually built one from scratch. We're a digital agency that launched roughly seven years ago. In the beginning, we used WordPress, which was the most widely used tool. We quickly grew frustrated with the limitations of its functionality, responsiveness, and ability to create custom experiences. So, we decided to hand code our own platform to solve all of the issues we were having - as well as our clients. We call it Modular Orange.
The sites on our platform are lightning fast, fully responsive, highly secure, and come with built-in support and free tech upgrades by our team. Our studio is known for having a relaxed and friendly vibe, which extends to our products. Modular Orange is super chill to use with drag & drop features, and the price is small-business friendly at $95/month with no upfront fees. Without turning this into a full-on infomercial, you can get more details about Modular Orange here.
One last point we want to make is about migration. If you're thinking about changing platforms, the process of moving from one platform to another is called a website migration. A carefully executed site migration redirects all of your old web pages to new pages to reduce any negative impact on your search rankings caused by moving or changing your site. They can be notoriously complicated and time-consuming. You probably need an expert to handle it, so you don't lose out on any traffic or business during the change. Whether you ask us to help or use someone else, we believe it's beneficial to call on a professional.
If you are interested in having us help, we'd be happy to look under the hood and assess your current site. We'll give you our honest opinion and go from there. We can do a straight site conversion where we move all of your existing text, photos, and forms over to our platform. Or, if you want to use this opportunity to upgrade the look and feel of your site, we can do that too. Our designers, writers, and developers would be honored to get your site up and running better, safer, and faster than ever.
Kate is a creative leader with a talent for writing and passion for helping companies grow. She has spent more than 20 years in advertising helping some of the world's best-known brands. She has an in-depth understanding of how to connect with customers and build loyalty in today's ever-changing digital landscape.