Does your website feel stale and uninspired? Have you avoided making any updates to your pages, due to a lack of time or technical “know how?” Well, then, it’s time to move past these trite excuses and start updating your stale website! In today’s digital world, websites must be more than simple, static billboards that telegraph the same information day in and day out. Your users are expecting an engaging, dynamic presence – and the easiest way to convey this feeling is to regularly update your content. At the same time, regular site changes are important from an SEO perspective, as the search engines value and prefer to reward websites that feature “fresh” content. You don’t need to undergo a complete website redesign every month to keep things interesting. Instead, consider the following strategies for ways to update your stale website without a significant investment of time or energy: Tip #1 – Add a blog Blogs are great from both a reader and an SEO standpoint. When you install and regularly update your company’s blog, readers come back again and again to see what new information you’ve posted. The search engines also reward your site, as the inclusion of more content naturally creates more opportunities to get picked up for different keyword-specific search results pages. Installing a blog is easy when you use tools like WordPress or Joomla. Truly, the harder part is setting and sticking to a consistent publishing schedule. Though it can be a challenge to marshal the resources necessary for proper editorial standards, the effort is well worth the rewards of a regularly updated site. Tip #2 – Revise your “About” page Most companies slap together a generic “About” page – only to realize later on that it isn’t connecting with readers in a meaningful way. If you find yourself in this position, don’t worry. It’s easy to update your “About” page in order to make this content fresher and more engaging for viewers. To revise this all-important page, start with the “5 Ws”: Who are you? What do you do? When did you open for business? Where are you located? How are you achieving your business’s aims? It’s a simple framework, for sure. But by following these guidelines, you’ll create the kind of punchy “About” page that both answers readers most pertinent questions and encourages them to dive more deeply into your other content. Tip #3 – Add a new special to your home page Want a quick and easy way to freshen up your website’s content? Simply post a new special on your home page! For example, you could: Offer a special discount on shipping costs to new customers Give away free product samples with purchases over a certain dollar amount Provide discounts in exchange for referrals to your business Remember – your website visitors are always looking to get the best possible deal they can. Adding any of the different specials described above to your home page both captures their attention and helps them to believe that their getting great value by working with you. Tip #4 – Feature a new product or service Similarly, showcasing a new product or service on your website connects with readers in the same way as featuring a home page special. Most shoppers like to believe that they’re on the cutting edge – that they’re “early adopters” who try new things before others. Featuring new products or services on your home page appeals to this instinct, while also putting different offerings in front of your regular readers’ eyes. You don’t even have to launch a new product or service to take advantage of this effect. If you offer a product or service that doesn’t generate many sales, giving it a spotlight on your website’s home page can help to freshen the look of your site while also raising the impact of underperforming offerings. Tip #5 – Try a new template Finally, if you want to go all out and truly freshen up your website, you can’t do much better than trying a new template. If your website operates on WordPress, Joomla or any other popular CMS, updating your stale look and feel truly is as simple as purchasing and uploading a new template. Of course, with any template swap, you’ll likely have to do a bit of clean-up work to ensure that your information displays appropriately within your new site. However, the time and cost of doing so still comes in dramatically lower than having a custom site built from scratch, making this a smart way to update your stale website. Do you have any other ideas for ways to freshen up the look and feel of a dated website? If so, share your recommendations in the comments section below!