There are so many websites on the internet and many of them are ghost towns. That means websites that don't get regularly updated. There are so many of these it's become entirely common for people to zone out and click the back button if they don't see something of interest or that's up to date in the first few seconds.
In fact, a recent study shows the average person will wait only 4 to 5 seconds for a page to load before they click the dreaded back button. And they'll wait only about 7 seconds to figure out if the page they're looking at is relevant to what they're looking for. That's why it's extremely important to keep your website up to date and also include some clues to your site visitors know you're doing it.
What then are some ways you can help your clients know you're keeping your website up to date? One of the things we've been doing at WebStarts since long before the Google Doodle is include an alteration to our logo or homepage that celebrate a holiday. For example_ On Christmas we've traditionally done things like put a santa's cap on our logo. In the winter sometimes we'll do a snowy background instead of the standard blue gradient we normally use.
When someone comes to your website and see that you're making regular changes it signals to them someone is working behind the scenes. It sets you apart from all those internet ghost towns that are rarely, if ever updated.
Once your site visitors realize there's a real person behind your website their confidence in your business skyrockets. Especially when comparing to competitors. Most businesses don't have an easy way like WebStarts to keep their site updated so it simply doesn't get done. And for that reason alone their websites are less effective.
Another thing you can do to demonstrate to your website audience you're keeping up the website is write a short blurb stating "This site was last updated on (date)". It seems obvious but you'll be surprised at how many people will take notice and give you a second look just because you're communicating with them that your website is important enough to be updated.
The last thing you can do to keep your site updated is super powerful and only available with WebStarts. You can add the Instagram for WebStarts app to your website. This will put a feed of your Instagram photos where you'd like them to be displayed on your site. It's powerful because you don't need to login to your website to make changes. All you need to do is snap Instagram photos with your iPhone or Android device. The Instagram feed on your site will be automatically updated. When people go to your site they'll it's constantly being updated with new photos.
Let's face it, the biggest challenge to keeping your website update is the platform you use to create your website. If you're manually coding your website or using Wordpress there are limitations. Break free from those limitations and set yourself apart from the competition sign up to make a website you can keep updated and win more customers with a free website from WebStarts.com.