A website that's feeling a little old and outdated begs the question: start again from scratch, or update what's already there? It's a common dilemma for business owners as both are valid options. But getting it wrong - either by paying for a full site rebuild you didn't need, or pouring time and resources into refreshing a site whose fundamental structure is incapable of managing what you need - risks unnecessary work and expense. In this post we'll aim to help break down these questions a little further, hopefully shining a light on what it is you really need, and helping provide you with a clearer answer.
Contents
- 1. What does my business need to do now that it didn't when my existing site was built?
- 2. Can my existing website structure support what I need now without contorting it?
- 3. Is historical SEO worth preserving?
- 4. Can my business maintain its own website day to day?
- 5. How much plugin and theme 'debt' has built up behind the scenes?
- Why it's important to ask these questions in this order
- In summary
1. What does my business need to do now that it didn't when my existing site was built?
Answering this question tends to unlock everything else, so it's best to address it first. A website built five years ago for a business that, at that time, only needed to explain what it did and be able to take enquiries over the phone is very different to one that now needs to take bookings online, sell products or support other locations. If the way your business functions online hasn't fundamentally changed and your site just 'feels a bit old', it's a very different situation to one that needs to do things now that it wasn't originally built to cope with.
2. Can my existing website structure support what I need now without contorting it?
Once you know what it is your site needs to do now, the next thing to consider is whether the current structure of your site can stretch to accommodate it. A booking system wedged into a site that was never built to have a booking system, or a service area added as an afterthought because the original navigation didn't account for it, risks stacking plug-in after plug-in on top of each other to force the site to do something it wasn't designed to do. If updates start to feel like you are contorting the site rather than adding to it, that's usually a good sign that it is the site structure itself that needs addressing, rather than the content that sits within it.
3. Is historical SEO worth preserving?
A site that ranks well for searches that matter to your business is a real asset, and very easy to underestimate until it's gone. A website rebuild done carelessly can really damage that authority. Preserving valuable SEO doesn't rule out the option of a website rebuild, but it does mean that any redirects and URL structures - as well as the migration itself - needs to protect what's already working and be treated as a significant part of the project.
4. Can my business maintain its own website day to day?
A website that no-one in the business can update without calling in help often stops getting updated. Once the updates stop and service lists, prices and opening hours no longer reflect what's on offer, a website rapidly starts to feel out-of-step with reality. If the honest answer is that your website updates are being avoided because they are too complicated or require an expert, that's something well worth considering when weighing up a refresh or rebuild.
5. How much plugin and theme 'debt' has built up behind the scenes?
This one is easily overlooked because it is invisible from the front end. Years of plugins added for one-off needs, or a theme that's been patched and customised beyond what it was designed for, all adds weight and pressure to the responsiveness of your site, slowing it down and making future changes riskier. So it is worth remembering that a website can look fine on the surface, and yet its structure can be quite fragile underneath.
Why it's important to ask these questions in this order
It's tempting to start with the plugin and theme question, because it is often the factor that is most obviously broken. However, a website that seems out of date on a technical level can still be the right structure to build on, providing that what the business needs hasn't fundamentally changed. The most important of all the questions is the first one, as it's very easy to skip ahead to more complex issues, rather than take stock of your business and what it needs on the most fundamental of levels.
In summary
Providing that the structure of your website holds up against all five of these questions, and the only thing that feels dated is the appearance, content and presentation of your site, a visual refresh of new photography and updated copy will usually be the best thing to bring your site back up to date. If, however, you feel your website needs to support a structure that the original build was never designed to support, and attempts to force your site in those directions are making it feel sluggish and more fragile, a rebuild is perhaps the best way forward. If you are unsure which, it's still a very useful conversation to have before committing one way or another, and it's certainly where we would start regardless of the outcome.
