Here are 7 great reasons to get on board!
1. Security
It may not be the most interesting point but it’s certainly the most important. Websites get hacked on a daily basis, some are taken care of quickly, others can be exploited for months, even years without you knowing.
Internet security is constantly changing and you may think ‘it won’t happen to me’. It will. Weak sites can be exploited for a number of reasons. They can be used for spamming or advertising things you wouldn’t necessarily want to advertise on your website. Every day new loopholes are found and taken care of, which is why it is important to make sure your website coding is looked after.
PHP supports each of its versions actively for two years and then one extra year of support for security purposes. Updating PHP and the scripts you use should be paramount. This table reflects the versions of PHP which are currently no longer widely supported.
Screenshot taken from http://php.net/supported-versions.php
If your website is built by a third party, it’s important to make arrangements for the future of your website. Websites need maintenance and TLC and will likely require a rebuild in years to come. Remember to include security in your website updates and rebuilds.
2. SEO
There are many mystical factors of search engine optimisation – SEO, noone other than Google’s algorithm designers know the precise details of how Google renders it’s search rankings. If we did we could take advantage of it.Having an up-to-date website benefits your website security and ranking. Google searches for relevant content – and fresh relevant content is smiled upon. Having content that is considered useful to Google helps them find you through the billions of websites it indexes for every search. But how does Google know what is good content?
Based on the frequency that your website is updated with great content, you could potentially become a good source of information for a category of search terms. Your content may become a ‘go-to’ website for Google and other related search websites.
Common sense will tell you that if your website remains static for a period of time, you lose the interest of your visitors. Think of Google as a visitor, an important visitor, so when you are updating your website, keep Google and ‘search terms’ you want to fall under in your mind.
Another one worth mentioning, we recently published a blog on how to Boost your Google rankings with SSL hosting Google said themselves in their blog:
”we’re starting to use HTTPS as a ranking signal” Google blog post
Not only does SSL hosting help SEO, we know that the following can help improve SEO:
– Website Performance
– Website Speed
34SP.com provides a hosting package that has all the necessary prerequisites required by Google. Our Business Hosting package is purpose built for stability, reliability and SEO. Business Hosting comes with the above mentioned and a FREE SSL certificate.
3. Networking
We all network in different ways. Most websites take advantage of social networking. I, like many others, prefer to build relationships by meeting socially, at conferences and events. With this in mind, think how it would be to hand out business cards for website that had the most recently updated article from 2010. It wouldn’t give the right impression and that first website visit counts.Your visitors need to know that you are organised and passionate about your website, this reflects on your business. How likely are you to visit a website for a second time when it hasn’t been updated in a while? Would you go to the cinema to see an old film? It’s unlikely. A website is an investment and a great networking tool to wield.
4. Responsive web design
Websites are quite different now than they were a few years ago. With the advancement of technology, the likelihood that your website will be used on a desktop computer is falling, whilst mobile apps and tablets are rising. A good insight of this can be found on a recent blog by Smart Insights http://www.smartinsights.com/mobile-marketing/mobile-marketing-analytics/mobile-marketing-statistics/.2015 is estimated to be a pinnacle of mobile web use and unfortunately the current mobile web has common differences to your PC. For example, Flash not being supported.
It is important that your website not only looks good on all desktop and mobile devices, but it works well too! The most basic factors such as screen resolution and navigation differ on each device. If your website is not optimised for these devices there is a strong possibility that your website may not even display.
Many modern website builders now include mobile and wireless device optimisation, so if you decide that you want to rebuild your website, two very good options are WordPress and Joomla. Most themes created are versatile or include options for compatibility.
5. Communication
For many people websites are seen as ways of connecting with a company. Gone are the days where we regularly pick up the phone to businesses and ask about products or recommendations, or even ask about credibility. Visitors like to do online research to see whether you are worth making further contact with. It’s important to recognise this in today’s market.A website buzzing with activity is the main goal, providing many ways to get in touch or simply developing a community of customers out of it.
I personally like to read online reviews before I buy products. If I do have an important decision to make on a company I will most likely look them up first. Word of mouth is bigger and better than it has ever been and it’s growing. With the help of social media and websites like Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and Amazon – customers talk and recommend freely.
6. Draw Attention
Updating your website will draw attention to it. Not only from regular return visitors but search engines too. You can create a new look or change it every so often. Adding new images, text and meta data for search engines could be a very good way to go.Google change their logo often. It may only be a simple change but it definitely ‘draws attention’ and can sometimes be educational. I have read many blogs on Google’s logos, most of them are very interesting and inspire me to look into the meanings of them. It also gives Google a history. Google have built this up and are now known to connect with users through the Google logo competitions.
Dr. Seuss’s 105th birthday – Google Logo
This image along with many others is now known to appear on Google merchandise, T-shirts and coffee cups.
7. Tracking your performance
A website is a very valuable tool, if used to all its advantages. Updating your website with new items can tell you a lot about your customers as well. Attracting traffic is key and your ‘updates’ can tell you a lot about the data you are posting and whether it is popular among your customers. This can help you discover successful sales campaigns, buying patterns, the possibilities are endless.If you are not familiar with this take a look at Google analytics.
It is important to enjoy your website and use it to it’s full potential. Blogging and online communications are as popular as ever now and will help you. So take interest in your website, write about it, add new pictures, optimise it to be fast and secure. These are all things that will help you get noticed.
Website Hosting plays a huge part too. You always have options when selecting the right web hosting package for you, the most important factor should always be the quality of website hosting. It is important that you ask questions about your hosting, the servers you are on, and what country you are hosted in – ask away!
At 34SP.com you can count on honesty with all your hosting questions. We use Dell servers and are a UK Web Hosting company with UK-based support.
-Siobhan @34SPSiobhan @34SP
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