Do I Need an Update or a New Website?
Tagged with: Design Tips & FAQs
“If my website is outdated but is still functional, aside from some problems, will a site update help, or will I need an entirely new site built?” This is a common question. Unfortunately, the answer isn’t straightforward. It depends on the state of your website.
Several items must be considered when determining which way to go with a website. The website’s speed is an essential element to consider; is it still the same speed when developed years ago? The security of your site is also crucial; are the technologies used to build the site updateable, and have they had their updates? Or are the technologies so outdated that they’ve stopped being developed, making the site no longer secure?
One of the most significant considerations is support. What technology was the site built on, and what programming languages were used? Is the technology still in use? The site must be hosted somewhere. Is hosting getting more expensive and harder to find? Finding someone to work on an older site can be difficult. If the site’s language is not as expected, it can be expensive to find someone to do the work.
An old site might have been developed well and made secure initially, but programming languages have improved dramatically over time, making maintenance of an older site more difficult. Websites are designed differently today than they were just ten years ago. More lines of code had to be written to do more things in the past. The way the languages are now, developers can do more with plugins and libraries. The current methods used for how the front of the website talks to the back of the website and database is more accessible. Developers don’t always want to work on older websites because now there are better ways of doing things. Most times, it can be updated if you have an old site, but frequently, the developer needs to be reacquainted with the old code. This process often causes website updates to take longer than necessary.
When the elements of speed, security, and code have been considered, and the decision is to build a new site rather than update the existing one, the result is a more streamlined website. In addition, more developers will maintain it because they will better understand how the site is built.
Not sure if you need a new website or just a website update? Or are you wondering if a new website is more expensive than a website update? Contact our development team for a complimentary initial consultation.
