Think about the last time you went online to order takeout food. How was the experience? Did you put your order in without a hitch, or were you frustrated by the restaurant’s outdated website, malfunctioning plugins, and counterintuitive ordering process? Maybe you even wondered whether they were open at all when a COVID-19 popup from March 2020 appeared.

Restaurants are notorious for their terrible websites. Once or twice we’ve come across an ordering platform that was such a mess we felt like throwing our laptop out the window. When that happens we say, “Screw it!” and order DoorDash instead. The restaurant’s old, crusty website officially lost them a customer.

If you haven’t updated your firm’s website in a few years, YOU could be the one making people want to toss their computers across the room.

Unfortunately, this problem isn’t exclusive to restaurants. If you haven’t updated your firm’s website in a few years, YOU could be the one making people want to toss their computers across the room. To win over clients and keep up your firm’s image and reputation, you need to refresh your website regularly. Here are three big reasons to stay on top of those updates:

1. DIGITAL TRENDS CHANGE — AND YOU DON’T WANT A WEBSITE THAT’S “SO 2015.”

The looks considered eye-catching, popular, and modern online change just as often as what’s “in” on the runway. What impressed visitors years ago might look awful today and vice versa. Right now, asymmetrical website layouts are in — who the heck would have predicted that in 2016? Updating your website regularly shows that you’re keeping up with the times, and that’s a reflection of your firm’s credibility and attention to detail. Don’t get sloppy.

2. EVERY DAY YOUR WEBSITE AGES, ITS FUNCTIONALITY DEGRADES.

Think of your website like a car. As soon as you drive a new vehicle off the lot, its value goes down, and it keeps degrading over time. After 10 years, your turn signals are sticky, your glove compartment won’t close, and you have stubborn stains on your leather seats. The same thing will happen with your website but much faster. A decade in car time is like two years online.

Websites have dozens of moving pieces and parts, and many of those plugins and integrations aren’t native to the website itself. They get separate updates, and over time, they become incompatible or stop working entirely. Without regular full-site refreshes, entire sections of your website can become defunct. But when you update your website regularly, you can fix those issues and add cutting-edge features.

3. IF YOUR WEBSITE IS OUT OF DATE, IT MIGHT BE MISREPRESENTING YOUR BRAND.

Think about what your firm looked like at the time your website was created. How many people were on your team? What were your practice areas? What did your branding and logo look like? Odds are if your website is more than two years old, some or all of those things have changed. 2020 forced thousands of law firms to pivot their practice areas and update their messaging. If you haven’t made those changes on your website, you’re misrepresenting your brand and missing out on clients who could be ideal fits for you. Your website needs to reflect the current you, not the old you. A refresh can make that happen and bring in an influx of consultations.

We know these are tough pills to swallow. Maybe you LOVE your old website, or you designed it yourself and sending it to the digital scrap heap hurts. We get it. Sometimes we have to replace websites for clients that we designed just a few years ago, and they can be hard to let go. BUT, doing so is necessary for the greater good of your firm — and we can help. Together, we can create a website that looks stylish, functions smoothly, and is the perfect fit for who you are now. It won’t be long before it pays for itself. When you’re ready to upgrade and start bringing in more clients, contact us today.