How Old Is Your Website?

   Just how long has your website been online? Chances are that if it's been in place for more than a few years and hasn't really changed then it might be time for an overhaul. Web browsers such as Google Chrome and search engines like Google itself are constantly evolving to meet the needs of new technologies. As they add new functions, change requirements and so forth, they also deprecate other aspects. If your website doesn't keep up with these changes then eventually it will have issues that change the appearance, functionality and search engine performance.

   The landscape of the World Wide Web has always been in a constant state of flux. Mobile devices have taken over online search and browsing. In today's world, like it or not, if you don't have a responsive website then your site may not render properly to over half of its visitors. Statistically, one in four visitors leave any website that takes longer than four seconds to load. Four seconds. That's pretty impatient. But, the site visitors aren't the only ones who have patience issues.

   The search engines can be just as impatient plus also quite temperamental as an added bonus. Let me introduce the web index spider, Sammie. Sammie goes looking for fresh content to for the index. She is finicky and likes everything to be up to date, fairly error free and have a little substance. Old, stale websites riddled with deprecation and stagnant content often get tossed in 'sort later' pile.

   If the search engine doesn't like your site and most of your traffic just bounces then it's really not doing much good. There's no 'set it and forget it' with the World Wide Web. Great long-term performance with any website requires a moderate amount of maintenance.

   How old are your pages?