How Long Does a Website Last?

Lou
Kotsinis

One of the most often-asked questions we get from clients is “How long will our new website last before it needs to be redesigned?”

And our response is always the same: “It depends on you.” 

The problem lies in the question itself. “How much time before we have to redesign?” assumes that your website is a static tool that you invest in once, leave alone and then come back to X years down the line to “redesign.” 

In reality, your site is a dynamic platform that should continually adapt to the needs of your audience, the marketplace and society in general. 

Here, you’re maintaining and updating your website regularly, listening to the world around you and refining things accordingly. 

Viewed in this light, the better question to ask is, “what do we need to be doing to ensure we get maximum life and ROI out of our website”?

So here are 5 insights drawn from years of helping clients build and maintain their websites, that will help you extend your website’s shelf-life, and get the most value out of your investment.

1. Build it Right, From the Start

A house is only as strong as its foundation. The same is true for a website. If you build and design properly from the start, it decreases the need for a comprehensive redesign anytime soon and provides the right structure upon which to edit and refine the site going forward. 

You can achieve this by focusing on the fundamentals of a successful website. And the quickest way to do that is to work with experts that understand web design. These are individuals that have expertise in:

• User experience

• Content strategy

• Branding

• Visual design

• Search engine optimization

• Web development (programming) 

It also helps to work with a team that has a process to do this properly. 

In short, if you’re now redesigning, or building from scratch, don’t skimp. 

In the nonprofit world, budgets can be tight, but cutting corners on a new website only to require additional investment in another redesign isn’t smart stewardship – not to mention all of the frustrated donors and bad vibes you’ll create by having a poor site experience along the way. 

2. Approach Design Trends with Caution

If  you were born before 1975, you may remember an interesting men’s fashion trend called the leisure suit: 

I’m sure that whoever designed this meant well. And for a while, it was probably the hot new thing. But while it’s important to stay attuned to design trends, you have to do so with a sense of caution – because some trends. . . may not age well. 

The same holds true for web design. What started out as a “must-have” – things like: 

• Skeumorphic design
  
• Parallax scrolling
  
• Carousels
• Splash pages

can quickly become dated – a sure sign that a site (and the organization it represents) hasn’t kept up with the times. 

You can avoid this by designing for the long-term. Build on a solid foundation and don’t commit your entire design to the latest new thing. Ask: will this site stand the test of time five years from now?

Again, the house comparison is useful here. You could go all-in on late 80’s drug-lord modernist – something that years later looks ridiculous – or build a tasteful, quality home that you could adapt or lightly remodel at some point in the future. 

3. Adapt to Audience and Market Needs

One of the best ways to keep your website relevant over the long-term is to continually pay attention to your audience’s needs, and then adapt your website accordingly.

As a nonprofit, you should know your audience like the back of your hand. As their needs change, you’re changing your programs and services to match, right? This also applies to your website. 

If you’re introducing new offerings or services or have scaled back or outright eliminated others, ensure that this is reflected on your site. Change your navigation when needed; update labels that are no longer relevant, and adapt your site’s user experience towards the ways in which users access and act on information on the site. In short, be proactive in updating your website to satisfy the needs, actions and tastes of your users today. 

4. Keep Your Content Fresh and Relevant

Last week, I read about a nonprofit that’s doing work in a field that I wanted to support. The more I read about this cause (in a book), the more excited I got about their mission – it was right on par with what I believed in. 

Inspired, I went to their site to learn more. And yet, to my disappointment, they hadn’t written a new blog post in a year. And although they were frequently in the public eye, their media appearances hadn’t been updated. The whole vibe felt like they were not as effective or relevant as I had originally been led to believe. Does this mean I won’t support them or inquire further? No. But it does reflect poorly on their brand and represents a missed opportunity to create a true believer in their cause. 

A vibrant organization publishes. Whether it’s video, written blogs, case studies or even fresh social media content, people interested in providing support want to know about your work. They’re searching – currently through Google and social media channels – but soon through AI platforms – to learn more about you. 

By publishing regularly and keeping all of your website content fresh and on-point, you’ll be increasing the likelihood that you’ll be found while underscoring the relevance and impact of your cause. 

5. Keep it secure

This one should be a no-brainer. Nothing labels a site as irrelevant as one that shows signs of hacking, or that doesn’t work at all. Website security is a topic unto itself, but there are several bedrock principles you should be employing as a site owner:

• Host your site with a reliable, well-known provider

• Have a programmer who understands website security, and have them review the site every month

• Create complex passwords that you do not share with anyone (and keep those to a minimum)

• If you’re running your site on WordPress (or any other content management platform that relies on third-party code), make sure your plugins are up-to-date

To Redesign? Or Not to Redesign? 

I’m not saying you should never redesign your site. In some cases a site may have so many structural flaws, or so much time has passed that it necessitates a full overhaul.   

But to quote user experience expert Paul Boag, a web redesign is “a blunt instrument.” It’s a big endeavor that in some cases, isn’t the answer – or might have been prevented with better proactive maintenance. 

If you’re updating and paying attention to your website using the processes noted here, the timeframe for a redesign becomes indeterminate – something way off in the future, since your current site is doing its job just fine. In order to make that happen, though, you have to put in the work. 

Keep your ear to the ground and listen to what your prospects and donors want. Translate what you learn into your website, which in turn will deliver rewards. Rather than languishing for 3 or 5 years awaiting a tear-down, it will be actively working for you, and when that redesign day does come, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you got as much out of it as you could.  

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