Website Software Upgrades - Why you need them and what's at stake
There is often a debate about whether you truly need to have your web designer upgrade your website, or whether simply patching and updating it is good enough. The truth is – you need to do both.
While most web designing services will advocate a strategy of frequent updates, those updates will not deliver major new features or visitor experiences. Updates are incremental – and can go only so far. When web software reaches its end of lifecycle, it’s time to insist that your website designer upgrade to newer software. Failing to do so could put your website and your business in jeopardy.
Why upgrade?
Why get your web design service to upgrade your website software, when regular updates and patches are available? Well, while updates and patches may address some critical benefits, like protection against bugs and viruses, it is an upgrade that will take your website to the next level.
There is only so much that creative website design can do for your website. For instance, if a specific functionality is discontinued on a newer version of Android, your web designing agency can use temporary workarounds or alternate solutions. However, the feature will not work the same as it would have had your design team upgraded to the new platform.
So, if you need your site to have broader appeal amongst your audience, there’s no other way than to get your web site design team to upgrade the underlying software and tools. And here’s why:
- While Microsoft rolled out its new browser, Edge, several years ago, your website may likely still run on older Internet Explorer devices. However, even though your website designing agency will have applied all the IE updates and patches, most of your website visitors, who are using newer devices and upgraded Operating Systems, will not be able to access your website
- Sure, you don’t always have to get your web design agency to upgrade your web software. Sooner or later, patches and updates will be available to make your old software compatible with newer web hosting platforms. However, by the time your web designing team gets access to those updates, you run the risk of using unpatched and exposed web software.
- Many web software upgrades are needed, not to deal with operating system or website development tool shortcomings; but are required for your web designer to leverage newer hardware features. For example, your web hosting service may have servers with the latest processors – better, faster, more secure and more efficient. But if your website software is based on older technologies, the site won’t be able to take advantage of what the new processors have to offer.
With technological innovations moving at lightning speed, it’s hard for producers of website development tools, hosting platforms and operating systems to continue to offer enhanced, patched and updated products indefinitely. Sooner or later, their innovations will reach an end of lifecycle.
When that happens, your web designer will then be powerless to do much more than simply react to the changing needs of your customers and visitors. Timely website software upgrades are a way for you and your web design services to be proactive about meeting the needs of your visitors – not just reacting when things don’t work properly.
Website software upgrades - Choice or necessity?
So, should entrepreneurs and website owners give their website designer a choice, whether to upgrade or not? The answer is: Definitely not.
With new vulnerabilities discovered every hour, and newer website browsing experiences created every day, website designing strategies also need to evolve accordingly. If your web development team doesn’t keep abreast with these technologies:
- Your website could be exposed to hackers and viruses – and there may not be much that your web designer can do about it.
- Your customers will gravitate to competitor websites, that are hosted on the latest versions of content management platforms, and you could lose a significant amount of your online revenue
- As a result of using older web software, your upgraded hardware might be underutilised, dragging down your return on investment
If you ask any experienced web site designer, they’ll tell you that upgrading your website software isn’t a matter of choice – it’s a necessity. If you want to stay on the cutting-edge of online marketing, then you have only one choice: Upgrade your website software to the latest versions – or run the risk of losing the battle for web traffic.
