It’s a great question: should I renovate my website? There really is no single answer. It all depends on the current state of the site and how integrated it is into your business (does it rely on custom features, e-commerce, some other unique detail that’s crucial to what you do?). In worst case scenarios, renovations can quickly become deep holes of time, budget and patience. Software underlying websites is developing so quickly, it requires active updating, patching and support; otherwise, it will become a liability. When people ask us about a possible renovation, this is usually the state their websites are in: brittle code, retired features, unsupported plugins—most of it either beyond or not worth updating.
Have you ever watched that show, The Island of Bryan? It’s about this family that buys a derelict resort in the Bahamas. The plan was to spend six months renovating it, after which they would run it. (They eventually abandoned this part of the plan, realizing that was a whole other bottomless pit, the depth of which was measured in inexperience). Anyhow, things go sideways from the outset. Behind nearly every facade, wall, floor, roof, wherever, a ceaseless list of issues. What looked easy enough on the outside was actually a dispiriting, tangled mess.
There’s a good chance your old website is Bryan’s resort. What looks well enough on the front end, could very well be a brittle mess, where every fix either breaks something else or reveals a new yet totally unrelated problem. It’s seemingly never ending, which is why it’s often impossible to quote a renovation job, beyond an open purchase order for an undefined number of hours. Naturally, that doesn’t leave the client too optimistic about the project, which is always tough. Probably the worst part about it is that most people want a renovation because they invested good money into the website when it was new. Reasonably building on the investment is preferable to starting a whole new web project.
If you ultimately decide a renovation is the best way forward, rest assured, we’ll get you where you need to be and support you throughout. And moving forward, we’ll make sure your site is well cared for over its lifespan, because it’s as important as your initial investment and the decision you made to place your website at the core of your business. It’s just one of many upsides to working with an experienced agency, especially one that provides the kind of ongoing maintenance and support required to keep your site healthy and ready to scale as your business grows.