How often should you freshen up your website?

The short answer is "very." While it would be awesome, your website isn't like a crockpot where you can set it and forget it and have something magical happen over time. For your site to truly work and drive sales, you have to stir it constantly with a blog post, promotion, or new product or service.

Do the benefits outweigh the effort?

Absolutely. The moment you update your content, you achieve better SEO. A site that's updated frequently gets crawled more often by search engines and rewarded with results. Having fresh content also helps your business feel alive and look active. When your promotions are current, and you're talking about things in the news or relevant to the season, you automatically gain web cred with your customers. It also gives them a reason to come back and visit more often.

How can you make updating your site easier?

For starters, having your site on a platform like our Matchstick Framework makes it incredibly easy to keep things fresh. You can log in and immediately update copy, photos, and blog posts within your site. Other tips to consider:

• Assign someone to the task: When someone is responsible for reviewing and managing your website, it's more likely to happen.
• Create an editorial calendar: Planning ahead with topics for your blog, sales and promotions, and new product launches will ensure you have a solid game plan for content.
• Write in advance: The moment you've mapped out your calendar, start writing and designing. If you own a seasonal business, use your downtime to stockpile great content.
• Listen and learn: Keep track of your stats in terms of which pages are most popular, which blog posts achieved the most engagement, and which offers generated sales. Use this as inspiration to constantly improve your site.

What if your site is a few years old?

If you haven't updated your site design or structure in at least two years, it's probably time for an overhaul. For instance, websites today need to be secure with the "https" protocol. This means communications between a browser and your website are encrypted - making it safe to visit. Sites also need to be designed from the standpoint of a mobile-first experience. Other best practices include leveraging your social channels and implementing SEO strategies. If all of that sounds expensive, rest assured a new site doesn't have to be costly.

If you need help with any of the above, from brainstorming content to bring you up to speed with a new site, give us a call. We'll get your business cooking on all four burners - so to speak.