There are some facts of life that we all agree on. You should change your tires around 50,000 miles. You should upgrade to a new mattress about every 7 years. But what about a website? How often should you update that? Well, it depends.

Experts say there aren’t any set timelines you should follow when updating your site. Instead, they say you should ask yourself these questions to see if it’s time for an update.

Has My Funeral Home Changed?

Does your website accurately reflect your funeral home and the services it provides families? One common problem we see is that as a business evolves over time, their website style stays stuck in the last decade.

If you’ve had any of the following changes to your funeral home, you should consider updating your website to reflect that:

• A recently renovated funeral home or a new facility.
• You began offering families new services, such as green burials or modern memorial products.
• Your funeral home offers a flower store for families and friends to conveniently purchase sympathy gifts online.

A good website should always accurately reflect your funeral home’s values and services that you provide families.

Is My Website Mobile-Friendly?

This is a question that’s only going to become more important. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, you should start thinking about updating it as soon as possible.

Here’s one of the biggest reasons why. If your funeral home isn’t mobile friendly, Google probably won’t show it in the search results. In 2015, Google released its mobile-friendly search ranking algorithm. Basically, Google’s mobile-friendly update gives a big priority to sites that are optimized for mobile devices. Meaning they will almost always appear first in the search results over non-mobile-friendly sites.

It’s in response to the fact that close to 60% of all searches now come from a mobile device. And that number is growing.

Is My Website Easy to Use?

User experience (UX) was somewhat of an afterthought in the early days of the internet. Back then, just having a webpage with some basic information about your business was all you needed.

As our society evolved to spend more time on the web, the user experience has become an increasingly important aspect of a good website. Think of it as digital customer service. Below are the six aspects of an easy-to-use website. If your website doesn’t do all or at least most of the following, it’s time for an upgrade.

A user-friendly website is:

• Useful – Families should be able to find all the information they need.
• Usable – It should be easy to use and navigate, for people of all ages and abilities.
• Desirable – Just like a modern funeral home, a good website needs modern amenities. For a funeral home website, this includes things like online payment options or social obituaries.
• Findable – A good website is only good if people can find it on the web. A strong SEO strategy will help keep your site at the top of the rankings.
• Accessible — This simply means it’s easy to use, for anyone on any type of device.
• Credible — A good website should inspire trust between your business and the user. It’s the final step in a great user experience. One of the fastest ways to establish (or lose trust) is through design. One study found that when asked why they didn’t trust a website, 94% of people cited design as the main problem.

Is My Website Driving Conversions?

Another important question to ask is how your website works for you. A modern website can be a great marketing resource. It can help your staff get new leads and contact information so that they can reach out to more families. If your website is bringing in traffic, but not helping convert the traffic into potential client families, then you should consider updating.

Things like strategically-placed contact forms and revenue-generating flower stores are great resources to help a website grow your funeral home’s clients.

Update for a Good First Impression

At the end of the day, you should consider upgrading to make the best first impression possible. Little details go a long way in making a positive first impression. Copyright in the footer that says 2004, outdated content, wrong dates, or bad/nonexistent pictures of staff members are all things that can hurt the first impression your website makes.

Remember, 81% of people research a local business online before visiting in person. That means they will see your website first before deciding to contact your funeral home. You should update your funeral home website to always make sure you’re making the best first impression possible.