The average lifespan of most websites is two to three years. The apparent reason for it is that organizations and products evolve. As a result, there are improved features, functionalities, and trends that we need to account for.
Consider sites you used ten years ago that you still use today. For example, consider the use of buttons and hyperlinks. These were not standard features 20 years ago. Even the complexity of some websites in the past (and even today) was where you’d discover something and then could not for the life of you find it again. I often ask myself if they genuinely wanted people to buy their service if we could not even see what we wish again.
Websites evolve because organizations and products evolve. It is a reflection of that change. Take unthinkable’s website. It has remained mostly the same for two years. Yet, as an organization, there has been a progression of focus, improvements in service delivery, and a shift in direction based on new learnings, market trends, and conditions, as well as a desire to inspire others. To not update the website would signify to most casual observers that little has changed and even to the more frequent familiar users a sense that there is little change even though they have been a part of it.
It does not only apply to websites but products as well. Take your smartphone. While there are constant software upgrades, we pay the most attention to the hardware and physical changes. Think of your first iPhone dating back to pre-2010. Could you imagine using the same one today with no software upgrades?
Like products and websites, organizations and people evolve. The question is, are we ensuring that others recognize those changes, primarily if it doesn’t directly concern them? Of course, we aspire to improve and upgrade and should reflect that change. Similarly, if we do not seek to make any change, what is the likelihood that you, too, may become dated and less valuable or obsolete?
