Having a website is a lot like having an old house – sure, you can cover those cracks with wallpaper, but if the foundations are crumbling, you might need to start from scratch.
Unfortunately, websites that are more than 3 years old (on average) can start to show signs of ageing. Websites that are very old (7-10 years) are often so outdated that their foundations are practically gone.
Technology moves fast, meaning that your website will rapidly be out of date if not properly maintained, becoming unsupported by your CMS (content management system) and developing a wide variety of issues.
In short, if you want to live in your lovely old house for a long time, you need to get the basics right. Many websites, just like old homes, can be reinvigorated by updates. However, if your house is so dilapidated, it may be cheaper and more effective to tear it down and rebuild from scratch.
In this blog, we’ll run through the 5 signs you can look out for, helping you know if it’s time to bring your website into the modern age.
1. Your site is getting frustrating to manage
Many Catalyst Web clients come to us because their website is getting difficult to manage. This is, unfortunately, fairly common – a business gets a beautiful new website with all the bells and whistles, then they don’t manage them correctly (often because they’re not taught best practices). The website rapidly degrades as updates come out and features develop bugs.
In rare instances, we find that businesses don’t actually have editing rights to their own websites. This is unethical; a website developer/agency should always hand your website over in full, not hold it hostage. When considering a new website build, always ensure that you’ll have full control over your website after the project is done.
You may need a new or updated website if the following are true:
- Website load times are slow (we recommend that a webpage loads in around 0-2 seconds. Anything longer than this will negatively impact your user experience and will make people leave your site). This is often caused by the build-up of unnecessary files, old pages and other messes.
- Over time, carelessness can lead to viruses infecting your website, or bugs can proliferate, both of which can leave your website not working correctly. You may notice images not working, links breaking and other frustrations.
- Backend admin is difficult and not user friendly. A website should be accessible by your internal team, and you should be trained enough to handle small updates (you shouldn’t need to rely on a third party for all website updates).
- Simple tweaks to a website can often have (often unforeseen) knock-on effects. Changing a plugin for one page can dramatically affect the functionality of another. This, over time, can damage a website beyond repair, meaning a full rebuild is required.
2. Your website is getting messy and disorganised
As years go by, chances are you’ve added to, changed and edited your website.
That’s natural – your business is changing, so, too, should your website! However, years of change can cause chaos in the backend (and frontend). Not only this, but multiple changes stacking atop one another can leave pages looking wildly different, causing friction for users and making your website feel less intuitive.
Having a fantastic navigation experience is crucial if you want your website to perform well (and convert visitors into leads). If you want your visitors to take your preferred actions (whether that’s filling out a contact form or downloading your content), they need to be able to find their way to your important pages. If your website isn’t simple to navigate, or if it’s disorganised, visitors will get frustrated and leave.
We recommend asking for feedback from people who are unfamiliar with your website. Look out for the following signs, as they suggest that your navigation is confusing:
- High bounce rates, high time on page and low pages per session suggest that your visitors are getting lost in your site, or simply aren’t finding the information they’re after.
- Subpages don’t make sense (for example, if your services pages don’t directly link to relevant content).
- Navigation is hard to use (or doesn’t work at all on mobile). Remember to test everything on both mobile and desktop.
- There is a lack of calls-to-action (CTAs).
While you can assess this yourself, if you’re familiar with your website, it can be difficult to notice what’s wrong. That’s why we suggest getting someone who is unfamiliar with your website to take a look. Prefer a professional opinion? Our free website audits deliver a breakdown of where your website’s going wrong, and what needs to change. Click here to book your audit.
3. Your website’s themes are no longer supported by your CMS
Most websites are built using themes – a basic outline for a website that determines its look and functionality. It’s a foundational part of your website, but they aren’t supported forever.
As tech develops and updates roll out, new versions of your theme will become available, and your existing theme will become outdated. On some occasions, your theme will stop being supported entirely, which means your website will be running on an outdated theme which, as you might expect, can cause some issues, including:
- Dysfunctional WordPress features (new features often aren’t compatible with old themes).
- Outdated design standards (websites quickly look old – you’ll know it when you see it).
- No compatibility with new plugins (if you want new functionality, you may need a completely new theme).
While all of the above may leave your website looking a little rough around the edges, and it will prevent you from installing new website functionalities, it does also come with a much more significant issue: cyber security.
Outdated themes and missed updates provide a unique opportunity for cyber threat actors, leaving your data and website wide open to exploitation. If your website is well out of date, or your theme is no longer supported, then it’s definitely time for an upgrade.
4. Your website is more than three years old
Many of the above issues stem from a website simply getting a little old, and by old, we mean older than three years.
“Three years?!”
Yep, we hear you, but tech moves incredibly quickly. Every year there’s new tech, every year Google moves the goalposts, and every year your website will slow down without proper treatment.
Take things like mobile-first and Google’s shift to AI search engines.
In 2019, Google implemented mobile-first indexing, where websites had to be optimised for mobiles before desktop. This completely changed the website game.
Now, in 2025, we’re seeing an AI search engine overhaul – SEO has completely changed, and your website needs to be built to suit new AI search best practices. You can learn more about this here.
So, in the next five years, we expect there to be something else that completely changes the website design and build world. Tech changes quickly – your website needs to be updated to keep up. If your website is more than three years old, it might be time to take a good look at how it’s performing and whether it’s time for an update.
5. Your website content is wrong/branding doesn’t match
Had a rebrand? Launched new products? Changed something about your messaging?
It can be really difficult to keep track of how your business changes, even in small ways. That’s why it’s important to schedule a website review fairly regularly (we look at ours every six months, just to make sure that everything is still okay).
Brand/service inconsistencies can cause issues across your website (and for your sales team), including:
- A misunderstanding of what you do
- A less intuitive user experience
- An unprofessional first impression
To avoid inconsistencies, we highly recommend using a modular website design. Modules allow you to make changes to a webpage without running the risk of damaging your branding. Even if you need to create a new page, or change an existing one, you can import and edit existing modules to suit. This ensures that your website looks consistent, but retains the flexibility your organisation needs as time moves on.
If your brand is no longer properly represented on your website, then it’s time for a new website.
Do I need a full website rebuild, or just a refresh?
Not every business needs a brand-new website. Many website design agencies will push you to have a new website because it’s the most expensive option. We don’t believe in doing this. Instead, we encourage organisations like yours to ask some questions to determine what’s best for you:
Is my website over three years old?
If yes, it may be time for a new website. However, if well maintained, a website can last longer, so this will depend on the current state of your site.
Is navigating my website frustrating?
If your visitors are having a frustrating time navigating your website, or if your website’s bounce rates are incredibly high, it’s likely time for a new website.
Do my website and brand match?
If your website doesn’t match your new branding, then it’s time for a change. This might be as simple as a reskin, but it might be best practice to rebuild your website – this will again depend on the state of your site.
Do we have the budget for a new website build?
If a full website rebuilt is out of scope, then we definitely recommend a website update/tidy up. Alternatively, a templated website could be a fantastic option, designed to update your website for a fraction of the price.
Is our website still less than two years old, but having problems?
A website that’s fairly new shouldn’t be experiencing too many issues (unless it’s been poorly built). However, if you are experiencing issues, we recommend a free website audit, where we can identify what is going wrong (and often can rectify them for a low cost).
Catalyst Web is the specialist website design and build division of Catalyst Marketing Agency. We have a team of expert website designers, developers, strategists and copywriters. It’s our job to create fully optimised websites that are commercially focused.
What does this mean? It means that we build websites that:
- Focus on converting visitors into leads.
- Nurture your target market.
- Deliver a tangible, calculable ROI.
The first step is booking a conversation with our website experts. Click the link below to arrange your no-obligation call:
