How to Give New Life to Your Old Website

You launched your website a few years ago. At the time, it featured the latest and greatest technology... But now your once-top-notch site seems to be lagging behind...

More and more of our clients are finding themselves in this situation. Technology evolves so rapidly that it can be hard to keep up, and a site that's only a couple years old seems ancient! If your site falls into this category, here are a few options you can consider:

1. Make small changes now, and start planning big for the long-term
2. Update your site's technology with a CMS Upgrade
3. Update your site's technology and architecture with a full Rebuild

1.) Make small changes now, and start planning big for the long-term

If there's no immediate need or you simply don't have the money for a more drastic change, you can keep your site "as is" and continue to pay as you go with small site improvements.

Your Newfangled site, no matter how old, will never just stop working. The site will always exist and function properly, and we will continue to support it. The technology will not "expire" after a certain amount of time.

Older sites are often more complicated and come with fewer standard features, so more changes will require programming work and a quote than if you upgraded to a newer Content Management System (CMS). However, unless you're considering major improvements, the costs would be minimal compared to a full-scale upgrade or rebuild.

For a list of small site tweaks to consider, read our September '09 newsletter, Doing More with Less: 9 Simple Ways to Get More from Your Website.  You could also redesign the homepage (check out the DataSynapse homepage redesign, photo on the left) or other individual areas of the site for a fresher look - although it may be more cost effective to save up for a total rebuild.

In the meantime, you should start planning for the long-term. You'll still want to upgrade or rebuild further down the road, since technology is always changing. For instance, one problem we see with our older sites is inconsistencies with newer web browsers, since they use technology that did not exist when the site was created. You never know how these old sites might react when the next round of browsers is released.

2.) Update your site's technology with a CMS Upgrade

If you want to update your site with the latest technology but don't want to fully redesign and start from scratch, you can opt for a CMS upgrade. Our latest version, CMS 5, has plenty of extra features that give you more control over content, so you can make more changes without having to go through us each time. More importantly, it also includes Google Analytics data and Newfangled tracking tools that will keep you up-to-date on how people are using your site.

Here's a recent webinar  and a recent newsletter that preview CMS 5 – and you can always set up a web meeting for a personal tour of the new features.

The primary advantage of CMS 5, though, is our Total Managed Support (TMS) plan, which includes monthly meetings with your Project Management team. We'll proactively review your site to help keep it current and prevent it from "falling behind" again.

Keep in mind that a CMS upgrade is an exact copy of your current site, so you won't have the opportunity to redesign or add features as part of the upgrade project. Your site will look exactly the same, the content won't change, and we will not go through our usual prototyping process. You can't make any additional enhancements without increasing the price. After the upgrade, however, you are free to explore any site improvements at additional cost. 

3.) Update your site's technology and architecture with a full Rebuild

If you're considering an upgrade to CMS 5 and have the extra time and resources, we recommend going one step further and getting a full site rebuild. This is your most drastic option, but it also gives you the most value and "bang for your buck."

Your Newfangled Project Team will take you through the prototyping process (check out the prototype page to the right), which gives you the opportunity to rethink your whole site and make substantial improvements: updated navigation, design, functionality, etc. Your revamped and revitalized site will come with CMS 5 and the TMS plan – so not only will you have the latest in site architecture and technology, but you'll also continue building on that foundation for the long haul.

Here's an example of a Newfangled client that recently went through a site rebuild.  Katie & Brian's team took WinWithoutPitching.com through the full Newfangled process, which resulted in a fresh "new" site on the CMS 5/TMS plan.