Everything has a lifespan, and in the internet world, the life expectancy of your medical website design tends to be pretty short. In the last 5 years a lot of people talked about Web 2.0. I don’t think anyone really knew what that meant other than some rounded corners and more use of gradients in the designs. In fact, I would think that we must be creeping up on Web 3.0 or at least 2.1 by now. Don’t you think? Either way, where is your website in this versioning system? 1.0? 1.5? Still in Beta? Some believe a website has a shelf life of about 2 years. If you keep the content fresh and have a solid medical website design, you can certainly extend that, but you should be doing that anyway!
The biggest reason for keeping your website up to date is that software and browsers are changing drastically every year (if not monthly), not to mention the number of new devices that are now able to view your website. Just think a few years back when there were no iPhones, Androids, iPads, Nooks, Tablets, etc. If your website isn’t viewable (or even better, optimized) for these devices, you could be losing potential customers. There have also been a lot of changes in how search engines see your website as well as methods and software that will help you to be seen. New and improved Content Management Systems (like WordPress) allow users to update their own content, write blogs, and more so, you don’t have to chase your web guy around trying to get things updated.
So, before you throw yourself off a cliff because your medical website has a copyright of 2001, here are some fun examples of some pretty reputable company’s websites before the turn of the century: http://bit.ly/MosdLi
If you are still thinking about lighting your browser on fire when you see your website, give us a call and we’ll talk you through some options including a new medical website design as well as responsive design.
