It’s practically 2020 at this point; what have you done for your business in the past 5 years? The past decade? We’re sure your answer is ‘a lot’, and if you’re starting up a new business in time for 2020, that’s great too! However, for some reason we still keep coming across websites that seem to have never escaped the 1990s in terms of how out of date and out of style they are. We’re talking about website that are supposed to represent a business at its best—so why settle for something that represents you at your worst?
2020 is not only a new year—it’s a whole new decade awaiting us. So with that in mind, it’s time to tell you how to catch up with the times and what you need to do for your business and its website this year.
- The more responsive, the better
No one likes a slow-loading or non-responsive website, so why settle for that kind of speed in 2020? You can test your site’s speed yourself simply by visiting it, and if it takes longer than 8 seconds to load, it may be time to consider making some changes for improvement’s sake right now.
By making the site more responsive, you are also ensuring it’s usable across mobile devices in addition to desktop. This can improve your traffic results, your ranking results on search engines, and your site’s overall performance online. So, the more you make your site responsive now, the better your business will be for it.
- Get rid of Flash already!
Seriously, Flash is pretty much gone at this point. Search engines are no longer hosting Flash as a software to help animations and videos run, and pretty much all of the sites that originally used Flash have shifted to other media formats such as YouTube and Javascript. If your website still uses Flash, find an alternative ASAP, otherwise you could be looking at a broken website. If you want even more reasons as to why to remove Flash, check out our previous blog post on the subject.
- Upgrade to Windows 10
Not only is Flash leaving the scene, but so too is Windows 7. If your business uses PC computers and not Mac, then upgrade now. Once the date becomes January 14, 2020, Windows will no longer offer regular updates to the Windows 7 OS. There is an offer to extend 7’s lifespan for business owners, but honestly it will cost you less to update to Windows 10 instead.
Like we said, if you run Mac instead of PC, this step shouldn’t concern you too much. If your situation is the opposite, however…seriously, don’t put your computers at risk. Update them.
- Check on your calls to action
These are the quintessential prompts for customers on any website for businesses. Whatever goals you want your website to fulfill, it has to be obvious to the people visiting and using your site. Do you sell products? Then encourage shoppers to check out your store and buy something. Do you offer services? If so, prompt people to check out your offers and then contact you when they’re ready. Do you run a non-profit? If so, the calls to action should involve encouraging donations and volunteers. Even a website built purely for information’s sake should be streamlined and easy to find.
If you’re finding that not many people are following through with your calls to action, or they’re bouncing away (i.e. the bounce rate is higher than you want), it may be time to revisit your site’s goals and iron out what exactly you want visitors to do. The clearer your goals are now, the more likely you’ll find success with them in 2020.
- New website, perhaps?
Have you been using the same website since 2010? Since 2015? If so, oh boy…even a site that’s 5 years old may be facing some severe technical problems in 2020 and beyond. The plugins, features, and designs for websites 10 years ago are not nearly as advanced or sleek as what we use now. The plugin market has expanded, security features are a lot less expensive, and the technology we use to access information or buy something has made leaps and bounds even in the past 5 years. If your website doesn’t reflect that sense of being current and up to date, chances are your customers will think the same thing of your business. They’ll go to your competition instead, where their site is a lot more up to date and faster than yours.
If this sounds like something you want to avoid in 2020, now is the best time to get a new website. A new site, one that’s built from the ground up as opposed to simply updating an already existing one, will show your customers that you’ve lasted this long as a business and you’re here to stay. Or, if you’re a brand new company, you can show that you have what it takes to serve and help people, whatever their own goals may be.
A professionally built and brand new website will ensure your company will prosper in 2020. If that’s what your business needs in this new year, give us a call. We’ve been here since the 1990s, and we can’t wait to show you what we can do for businesses in the 2020s.