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Are You Driving Your Out of Date Website

We've all had a car that became something we had to contend with instead of something we loved to drive. Sadly, most of us have had a website with the same qualities.

Did you know Digital Darwinism is unkind to those who wait too long to replace technology? 50% of companies on Fortune 500 in 2000 are no longer on it.

Is your website like my 2004 Acura TL with 185,000 miles on it? Back in the day, my Acura (named ‘Baby Rocket”) was quite something. I loved that car. Recently I found myself justifying reasons to keep Baby Rocket when it was clearly time to replace her.

  1. She’s an old familiar friend. Baby Rocket had her idiosyncrasies, but we learned to work together well in spite of them. I knew her, she knew me and expectations were clear. Why go through the trouble of something new when my current car situation was workable? However, at 185,000 miles, bigger problems were imminent and we’d been putting band aids on for a while. Is your website taped together and is a big upgrade inevitable?
  2. She looked good enough! I’m from MN- so she had a little rust and a few door dings- but overall, Baby Rocket looked good for her age. Is your website showing some wear? Are your customers raving about their experience on your website? They should be. Remember, the competition is always improving UX.
  3. She had some cool features…back in 2004! What used to be a cool bell and whistle is now old news.  93% of organizations using website personalization see an improvement in conversion rates since implementation (EConsultancy.comltd).
  4. She was paid for. We set a budget and paid for her over time and haven’t had car payments for many years. It feels good to not to have a car payment, or a need to ‘go to the well’ for a new website budget. Is having to ask for money preventing you from giving your customers the best UX possible?
  5. She was efficient- decent gas mileage. Perhaps you’re reaching KPI’s on your website with minimal monetary investment. Here’s something to think about though: what company resources are needed to keep your website running smoothly? Once I started looking at maintenance and the hours we were dedicating to keep Baby Rocket running, it made sense to get something new.
  6. Although her turn radius was terrible- overall performance was okay. Is there something about your website that drives you crazy, but you and your customers put up with it? Perhaps your shopping cart crashes on a regular basis, or call times to check inventory are way too long, or information gets published to the wrong place. It was time for me to get a car I could turn around efficiently.
  7. She had technology- after all, I’ve been using Bluetooth 1.0 since 2004. But 1.0 wasn’t cutting it anymore! I drove a new rental car for a month and was amazed at how easy it was to pair up phone function. And a backup camera…what! I didn’t realize what I was missing until I test drove other cars. Have you test driven your competition’s website? It’s always a good idea to know what they are up to. A good experience on your competition’s website may be just the thing to spur on new digital initiatives.
  8. She had new tires! No matter how much money I put into Baby Rocket- new tires, deep cleaning, new breaks, etc. she was still an old car with old technology. However sexy the updates, the bottom line was I needed a new car. Perhaps your website has been updated, but the technology is old and maintaining it is not efficient.
  9. Shopping for a new car isn’t my idea of fun- I’d rather shop for clothes and furniture. I don’t mind the research aspect, but once we started visiting the obnoxious Florida Car Dealerships, I remembered why it felt easier to stay with ‘Status Quo’. I finally found the car, and small shop I felt comfortable working with. Is the thought of technology shopping keeping you from starting the process?

If your website sounds like Baby Rocket, it might be time to consider new technology and a refresh. I’m glad I replaced Baby Rocket with a sexy 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe- Track Edition named ‘Scarlet’.  It was time for something new and improved. Are you tired of driving your out of date website? If so, drop us a line at info@xcentium.com and let us know how we can help you.