Like anything else in the universe — the second you launch a website, it slowly starts to die. The design slowly gets stale, the content slowly becomes less relevant, and the technology used to make it starts to get outdated.

Here are a few tips to prolong the life of your website — potentially saving you money in the long run. At the very least, you’ll have a better website.

Tip 1: Keep the homepage fresh.

Make sure you regularly update the content and imagery on the homepage. A stale homepage can make your whole company feel stagnant.

We also are big fans of redesigning the homepage every few years — which can go a long way towards making your website feel new without having to fully rebuild it.

Tip 2: Keep the CMS up-to-date.

One great thing about using a CMS like Craft, is that features and improvements are constant. Whenever there is a major update, you can spend a couple hours (or a day or two, if you’re super behind on updates) to take advantage of a bunch of new features and speed improvements. Sometimes it even makes sense to rebuild sections of your site that have pain-points using new CMS features.

Tip 3: Get some new photos taken.

One thing that can make a website feel old is having the photos literally be old. Seeing photos of your team without their cool new haircuts or tattoos can be nostalgic but also make your website feel stale. Consider hiring a good photographer and taking new photos for your website. You’d be surprised at how much in can freshen up things.

An added bonus of getting new photos taken is that you can use these for other purposes (social media, press releases, etc.).

Tip 4: Add something special.

Sometimes all you need to make your website feel good is a little attention to detail. Perhaps this is an animated logo, or some subtle transitions. It’s surprising how much better a website can feel if you spend a little bit of time on the little details.

Have a website you want to freshen up? Get in touch!