The short answer
Fix your website if the foundations are sound: it works on a phone, it can still be updated and you have the logins. Then the problems are content, speed tweaks and a few broken things. Start again if it fails on a phone, runs on a platform or plugins that can no longer be updated, keeps getting hacked, or no longer describes your business.
Decide in five questions
Answer these honestly about the site you have now. If you don't know an answer, that tells you something too.
Question 1 of 5
Does your site work properly on a phone?
Text you can read without zooming, buttons you can tap, nothing cut off at the sides.
Signs your website is worth fixing
Most websites that feel old are not broken. They are out of date. That is a much cheaper problem.
- It works on a phone
- The layout fits, the text is readable and the buttons are easy to tap. That is the hardest part to retrofit, and you already have it.
- The platform is current
- The system it runs on, and its plugins (add-ons that give it extra features), still get updates.
- The problems are content
- Old prices, a team member who left, photos from 2017. That is a writing job, not a building job.
- Slow, but only in places
- Huge photos and one heavy slider are quick fixes. A slow page is not always a slow site.
- A few things are broken
- A dead link, a map that stopped loading, a form that needs reconnecting. Annoying, but each one is a small job.
Signs it is time to start again
These are problems with the foundations. You can patch them, but you pay for the patch again every few months.
- It fails on a phone
- Google uses the mobile version of your site to decide where you rank. If it is broken on a phone, it is broken where it counts.
- It cannot be updated
- The platform or key plugins are abandoned, or updating them breaks the site. Every month you wait, it gets less safe.
- It is slow at its core
- When the theme, the hosting and a stack of plugins are all slow, tweaks only shave off a little.
- You cannot edit or own it
- Only the original developer can change it, or it lives on their account. You are renting your own website.
- The business has changed
- New services, new customers, new area. When most pages are wrong, rewriting them on the old site saves very little.
- Security keeps coming back
- Hacked, cleaned up, hacked again. Repeat infections usually mean the problem is in the foundations.
How to check your site in five minutes
You don't need to be technical for any of this. Grab your phone.
- Open your site on your phone, on mobile data, not Wi-Fi. Can you read it, tap the buttons and find your phone number in under ten seconds?
- Run it through PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev) and look at the mobile score. 90 or more is good. Under 50 is a problem worth asking about.
- Fill in your own contact form and check that the message actually arrives, and not in spam. Many businesses lose leads for months without knowing.
- Write down who holds the logins for your domain, your hosting and the website itself. If the answer is "the guy who built it", ask for them now.
- Read your home page and services page as if you were a new customer. Is everything on them still true?
Write down what you find. Whoever looks at your site next, including me, will give you a better answer with it.
What to keep when you rebuild
A rebuild is not starting from zero. The things below took you years to build up. A good rebuild carries them over.
- Your domain
- Your .co.za is your address. Keep it, and make sure it is registered in your name or your business’s name.
- Your page addresses
- Where an old page moves, set up a permanent redirect (an automatic forward from the old address to the new one). Google says this keeps the ranking value and recommends keeping redirects for at least a year.
- Your best content
- Pages that bring in visitors or enquiries, good photos of your work, and the answers to questions customers ask. Improve them, don’t throw them away.
- Your reviews
- Google reviews stay on your Business Profile. Testimonials on the old site should come across to the new one.
- Your email
- If your email runs on the same domain, the rebuild must not touch it. Check where email is hosted before anyone changes the domain settings.
My take
I'd rather fix a site than rebuild it, and I'll tell you when fixing is enough. But I won't patch a site that fails on a phone or can't be updated. You pay for the patch, then pay for the rebuild a year later anyway. The one thing I insist on either way: you own your domain and your logins.
Kris, founder of TechOnEdge
Quick questions
Will I lose my Google ranking if I rebuild my website?
Not if it is done properly. Keep the same domain, keep page addresses where you can, and set up permanent redirects from every old address that changes. Expect some movement for a few weeks while Google catches up.
Can I keep my WordPress or Wix site and just redesign it?
Often, yes. If the platform is up to date and you have full access, a new design and new content on the same platform can be the cheapest route. It only makes sense to move if the platform itself is holding you back.
How old is too old for a website?
Age on its own does not matter. A five-year-old site that is fast, mobile friendly and up to date is fine. A two-year-old site on abandoned plugins is not.