Most websites are accurate on launch day. Keeping them that way is a different job.
Nothing breaks. The pages load and the design still looks sharp. But month by month, small parts of the site stop being true.
A member of staff leaves and is still on the About page. An accreditation lapses and its logo stays in the footer. None of it is dramatic, which is exactly why it builds up.
In Summary
- A website goes out of date one detail at a time, usually without anyone noticing
- Team pages, accreditations, testimonials and dated news are where it shows first
- Anything on the site with a shelf life needs a named owner and a date to check it
- A short content audit every quarter catches most problems before a prospect does
Why do websites get worse after launch?
Before launch, a website has a project team. Someone chases the content and signs off every page. Once it goes live, that team breaks up. Day to day changes land with whoever has a login and a spare half hour.
The trouble is content that was true on the day it went live. Nobody writes “check this in six months” next to a team photo. So the site stays exactly as it was signed off, while the business carries on changing around it.
This isn’t the same as the checks you do in the weeks after launch, such as redirects and Search Console errors. Our website redesign guide covers those. This is what happens over the following months and years.
When did someone last read your About page from top to bottom?
Where does it show first?
Some content has a shelf life built in.
Team pages are often the first to drift. Someone leaves and their profile, photo and direct line stay up. A prospect who asks for them by name gets an awkward answer.
Accreditations come next. Many are renewed on a cycle, and if one lapses, the badge on your site is making a claim you can’t back up. For a buyer checking you against a tender list, that matters.
Testimonials lose weight as they age. A glowing quote carries less when it’s dated 2019, or names a contact who has since moved on. A strip of client logos that still includes a client you no longer work with has the same problem.
Then there’s anything with a date on it. A news panel whose newest story is two years old. An event that has already happened. A vacancy you filled last spring. Each one tells a visitor that nobody is looking after the site.
Numbers freeze too. “Over 15 years’ experience” was true when it was written. A few years on it undersells you, and nobody spots it because it isn’t technically wrong.
Which page on your site would you least like a prospect to read today?
Has your website kept up with your business?
We build websites that are easy to keep current, and we’re happy to help you look after yours. Get in touch
Who should keep it up to date?
Usually nobody in particular, and that’s the problem. Marketing assumes the person who knows the content will update it. The person who knows the content assumes it’s marketing’s job.
You don’t need a new role. You need a short list. Write down every part of the site that can go out of date, put a name next to each one and add a date to check it. Team pages might sit with HR or the office manager, accreditations with whoever handles the renewals.
Then tie the website to things that already happen. When someone leaves, taking their profile down goes on the leaver’s checklist, next to handing back the laptop.
If someone left on Friday, whose job would it be to take them off the website?
What does a simple website content audit look like?
Once a quarter, block out an hour. Go through the site the way a new client would, page by page. Check:
- the team page against who actually works for you
- each accreditation logo against a current certificate
- the date on every testimonial and case study
- the newest story in any news or blog feed
- any page that mentions a year, a price, an event or a vacancy
Fix the quick things on the spot. Note anything bigger and give it a date. If the same pages go stale every quarter, they probably need rethinking rather than updating. A news panel you can’t keep fed might be better off removed.
Add your forms to the list as well, because they can stop working without anyone noticing. We’ve covered how to test them in why your website forms lose you enquiries. The same habit is worth applying to your Google listing and directory entries, which we wrote about in your website isn’t the whole story.
Isn’t this what a support contract is for?
Partly. A good support arrangement keeps the software updated and the backups running. It can’t know that your operations director left in March, or that a certification wasn’t renewed. Only you know that.
What works is a routine on your side, with your web team making the changes quickly once you ask.
If you’d like a hand going through your site, or want it set up so updates are easier to make yourself, give us a call on 0800 690 6250 or drop us a message.
About Lemongrass Media
Lemongrass Media is a boutique website design agency with offices in Milton Keynes, St Albans and Bedford. We design bespoke corporate websites that look great, work hard and deliver real results for your business.
Contact us | View our corporate website portfolio | Corporate Website Design Services
