How do you know when to update your website or when to trash the whole thing? This question comes up a lot and that’s why so many websites are left without updates for way too long. How long has it been since you truly updated your website so that it shows only your current offerings and provides a reliable way to contact you?

Here are some signs you should just burn it all down and build your website back up from scratch:

1. You don’t know how to do anything with it. Do you know how to change a font without breaking the whole site? Can you change your opt-in to connect to a new email server?
2. Your website doesn’t represent who your business is anymore. If the colors, fonts, and copy don’t match your business, are you going to attract the right people?
3. You have website shame. You’re just handing out your IG to potential clients with no mention of your website.

Not all websites need a complete rebuild. There are pros and cons either way. Check your data and see what’s working first. If you don’t know how to read it, find someone who does. Once you know what’s working and what’s not, then find someone to help make the changes in a way that you can keep updated.

Connect on IG @fierceified.agency

For more tips, connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fierceified-creative-consulting/

Learn more about Fierceified Creative and Consulting at https://fierceified.agency/

Music credit: Trust The Vibes by Vincent Tone

A Podcast Launch Bestie production

Welcome to More Than a Brand podcast.

I'm so excited for this episode, y'all.

So look, let me tell y'all a little story.

I went to a summit down in Puerto Rico and we had these things called brain

dates, and I sign up to host a brain date, and during these brain dates, you

speak to people and you choose the topic.

So my topic was how to keep your website from throwing money out the window.

because people will be like, I got a website, but that

ain't updated since the 1990.

And I don't know, that's beyond me now.

When I was doing one of my brain dates and I was talking to this lady and we

were just going through different ways, she can fix it up and she had different.

Services on there that she was like, I'm not even offering those anymore.

And the trend throughout the few days that I was in Puerto Rico was people,

when I talk websites, it was like, oh yeah, there's stuff on my website.

Services don't even offer anymore.

And people would call me about it and be like, uh, I have to be

like, I don't offer that shit.

Pick something else.

And not only during that brain date, Did she have services that she didn't

offer anymore, it was washed out.

I had told her, I was like, yeah, it's, it's kind of washed out with these colors.

why is this here?

Can you move this up here?

Like, I'm giving her the whole nine because if we gonna spend

30 minutes talking about your shit, we gonna fix this shit.

Okay?

And I'm gonna tell you what you need to do.

but if you want me to do it, we can talk about that too.

But I'm gonna tell you what you need to do.

Cuz right now you looking like a hot mess and we gonna fix that.

I don't want anybody out here looking bad in these website streets.

But there came the question of would it be easier if she asked me this?

Would it be easier to just scrap the whole thing or.

Should I just make the tweaks?

And I looked at her and I said, what does your back end look like?

That's the first thing.

So with her, she bought a template from one of these template shops.

It was all code.

let me talk to my design.

If there's any designers, listen to this.

Let me tell you something.

Our developers, when you create these WordPress websites says all code for

these small businesses, 99% of the time they don't know how to keep it updated

because you got all this code and they don't know what the hell to do with it.

They, so then the website goes to the wayside because they only

know how to do minor changes.

and then they come to another, they're like, Ooh, here's a web designer.

People like me.

And they're like, I don't know how to fix it.

And I'm like, even if I go in and fix your coding five months down

the road when you need an update, you still ain't gonna know how to.

So that's why I'm an advocate.

I know some people like, uh, I hate drag and drop builders on WordPress.

You know, teach it own, be bougie, do all the coding, you know, and do what you do.

But at the same time, when you, don't have repeat clients, because

they don't know what the hell to do because you left them with this fully

coded website and they don't even know how to change the font on it.

then blame me yourself.

Okay, I'm going, I'm, I'm off that tangent, , the lady asked

me, let me get back to the point.

She asked me would it be easier to just scrap the whole thing and

start over, and that bought me to.

recording this episode about when to know if you need to just roll that

shit out the or should you just do a console figure out how to, you know,

spruce it up, do a little contour on it, versus throwing the whole thing away.

So one of the ways, if you're looking at your website, this is a telltale sign.

If you are opening your computer and you like, you know what, , I don't

know how to do nothing on this thing.

I know Lindsay said that I need to be grabbing people's email addresses

when they get on the site, but I don't even know how to move my opt-in.

And if I do add a plug in to put a new, let's say I add the.

Let's say Convert Kit.

I add Convert kit plugin to my website so that I can connect my

things together, so I can connect my, email server to my website.

Am I gonna break it?

Or if I change this font.

. If I accidentally take out one hyphen or one number, or one,

semicolon, am I gonna break my sight?

I don't know what to do with this.

If you are looking at your back end and these things are going through your

head that you're gonna break your sight.

just by doing something simple, doing something that you need.

We talked about optimization on the last episode.

You need to be able to add things that's gonna help your site do better.

And if you can't do that, Or if you're afraid to do that, or if you have so much

code on your website that you, if you breathe at it wrong, while you're in the

WordPress dashboard and you think that shit is just gonna fall apart, scrap it.

Hire somebody that will build you something that, number one, you

don't have to be a designer to fix it, or you don't have to have all

these coding certificates to fix.

See the plan as a business owner and the goal especially

if you're just starting out.

If you're just starting out and you bought, a template, I'm here for you.

I recommend anybody that's just starting out, buy a template and do what it do.

But once you start making that, we've got two options.

One, you get somebody to create something that your VA or someone

can, manage for you, or you hire a designer and keep them on your team

so they can keep those things up.

That's just not in your wheelhouse.

those are your options.

So yes, there is a time when you just need to throw the whole website away.

Another telltale sign of when you just need to throw all that shit away is, it

is not representing who your business is.

Now, when we start out as entrepreneurs, we still growing.

We're still figuring ourselves out.

That's just like as we grow as people, the person we were as high schoolers is

not the person we are as 30 somethings.

It's.

. And the same with your the business that it is at day one is not

gonna be the business that it is at year five or year two even.

Hey, maybe even year one, because there's so much growth that's gonna happen.

And if it doesn't represent who you are, and when I say represent, I mean.

The fonts, the colors, the copy, cuz the copy gotta match your voice.

You brand new business owner, you probably don't have the

same voice as seasoned C E O U.

So if you're looking at your son, you like, oh no, this shit is all wrong.

Mm.

Throw the whole site away, friend, throw it away.

Hire somebody to come in and capture everything.

that you need to capture on your website.

Hire somebody that knows how to create something that

represents you authentically.

Because if you're sitting there and you're thinking, this doesn't represent

me authentically, are you gonna attract the people that you wanna work with?

If you out here with your website looking Fugazi, your website is out

here telling lies on you, pretending that you're something that you're not,

you are gonna attract the wrong people.

because they're gonna go to your site and they're gonna see you as one thing

of the person that you were in the past, and they're not gonna see you for who you

are currently in this moment because your website is a hot ghetto mess and you've

let it fall to the wayside, and now it's time to just throw the whole website away.

Okay?

not everybody has to throw the whole website.

, let me make that clear.

I'm not like scrap the whole thing.

If you come talk to me, I'm not necessarily gonna tell you to

throw it away, but sometimes I'll be like, come on now, says you

thinking you need a face lift?

You need a whole facial reconstruction.

we need to do this reconstruction.

Or maybe like, well, you just need a little face lift, a little shifting

things around and how to know the difference to when throw the whole

side away and let's just shift some things around is when it comes to,

let's say place your user experience.

If you listen to episode one, you know I said the analytics, the numbers, they

will help you with your user experience.

If you have the data, you can see where you're losing and confusing people,

and you use that data to make tweaks.

If you have the data and you don't know how to, , hire someone or find someone.

I'm gonna plug it again.

Sify Agency that can read that data for you and give you a correct

assessment on what the numbers are saying and where to make those changes.

because you may not need to throw the whole side away.

It may just be a matter of, well, this is not in a good place for your user, cuz

they're not even getting to this point.

their scroll depth for this page is only 20% and you have

this all the way down at 60.

That's why this isn't working, because your buttons are too far down.

They wanna get to it quick.

you're gonna hear this a lot.

People don't wanna read.

People want to get to what they're trying to get to and get it quick.

If it's not quick, fasten in a hurry.

They're moving on to the next thing.

. So if you have the data, if you know that, if you get people, sometimes if

your website is getting a few people to go from cold to sold, then we

have to be able to have some sort of information to show us which way to go.

and that's how you know that you may just need a face lift versus

a whole facial reconstruction.

When you're looking at your site and you're like, mm, it's not bad.

I don't hate it, but it's just, it ain't doing what they need to.

or my colors change.

Let me just, I need to swap a few colors out.

That's when you get a little facelift or your copy ain't

where you need to tweak the copy.

That's a facelift.

But when not shit is just not you, it ain't working.

It's all over the place.

You need a whole website reconstruction and I get it.

I get that.

You have website shame on your website.

I get it.

That is another way to know that.

You just need to throw the whole side away.

Have you ever had someone or talk to someone and they're a

business owner and they're like, Hey, I'm gonna give you my ig.

He goes my website.

Mm-hmm.

Don't do that.

That's website.

Shame.

Throw that shit away.

Get a new one because you should not be paying for, when you go

look at domain, you look at host.

, why are you paying for that if you're not gonna send anybody to

it because you're ashamed of it?

If you are experiencing website shame, please go to ww dot Diversified agency

and someone will be there to help you.

why did that sound like an infomercial, but.

. If you have that shameful gut feeling where you're like, I'm not sending

nobody to my website cuz it is a hot mess, throw it away and hire somebody.

One, you shouldn't be feeling like that.

That's something you're paying for two, that's your 24 hour employee

and you ashamed of it, get a.

But if your 24 hour employee, you're not ashamed of it.

They just need a little more training.

Don't throw the whole side away.

Hold what you got.

Let's look at the numbers.

Let's look at where we can make those changes to make

your 24 hour employee better.

. Now, there are some pros and some cons to choosing either to throw the whole

side away or to, just do a revamp.

Now, if you throw the whole side away, one of the cons to it, and I have

to let you know, this is your seo.

will.

So if you were number one on Google, you will see a dip in your SEO because

you are taking down some of that old stuff and replacing it with new things.

So I want you to be aware that that may happen.

Another con of.

choosing to throw the whole side away.

Specifically if you're coming from another a hosting site.

Let's say you're coming from Squarespace to WordPress or show it to WordPress,

whatever you're using right now, a, there's gonna be a learning.

, Things are not gonna be exactly the same.

So I, you have to have grace with yourself.

Two, you also have to think about that.

Throwing the whole side away, revamping, showing up as you to the world.

Instead of having the old you represent you 24 7, you may lose some people.

. That's just a fact.

Anytime you make a shift or a pivot or a change in the way that you do

things in your business, whether it's raise your prices, whether it's

rather it's um, uh, change who your target audience is, anytime you make

a change, anytime you try to upgrade, you're gonna leave some people behind.

and it is what it is.

You ain't, you ain't supposed to be for everybody and that's fine,

but I do want, you want to make you aware that that's a possibility.

It's a huge possibility that that's gonna happen.

Those are some of the cons of just throwing the whole side away.

And not to mention it takes time to rebuild a brand new.

You can put a lending page up and still collect information.

you ain't been sending nobody to that ragged ass website anyway,

so it shouldn't really matter.

one of the pros.

Is that you finally get to have your 24 hour employee represent you correctly.

You finally have the correct services on your page.

You are showing up as yourself and you are going to be relieved of that website.

Shame.

You don't have to be like, I'm not gonna show you my website cuz it's trash.

because there's nothing to be ashamed of.

It's now doing its job.

It's doing what it do.

g I promise you, when people digital presence is popping

when their websites are popping.

I see my clients talk about their websites all the time.

They're like, go to my website, go to my website, go to my website.

Like every post.

, here's how I help you.

These are the things, this is how I'm gonna transform, you use, linking

the comments to go to my website.

And I've seen such a uptick in their traffic and they've

seen such a high return on the investment of my design services.

And they've also been able to, see higher conversion.

Because they're not ashamed to send people to their website.

Not at all.

And those that have me on a retainer, , I'm looking at the numbers to know what

we need to fix or if anything, and see if the changes we're doing are working.

It goes hand in hand.

And that kind of leads into the pros and cons or just doing minor tweaks.

If you don't have website shame and you are already sending people

to your website, but they're just not converting, one of the pros of

doing a refresh is you don't have to tear everything down, however you.

, I have the data that backs up knowing what you need to change, and it also

increases your confidence in your site.

Now, you're not at the point where you have website shame, but you're

like, this thing ain't working, so I don't even know why I got it.

It's a waste of time.

And those just some of the reasons of when you're looking at your psyche,

if you're ashamed of it, throw it.

There's no other way to put it.

If you're ashamed of it, throw it away.

But if you're not ashamed of it, but it's just not doing what

it needs to do, website ain't sighting like it's supposed to.

That's when you do that revamp.

That's when you call somebody in.

That's when you start gathering the data to see like, okay, something ain.

Y'all got it?

Does it make sense?

All right.

I want to thank you for listening to episode two.

I will be back with episode three.

Episode three is going to go over where to start when it comes to having a website.

Like what do you need?

Woo.

Woo.

That's gonna be a good one.

. I hope to see you in episode three, and thank you for listening.