When should I budget for a new website?

I was asked this question by a client recently:

"It feels like we only built our website yesterday but now we need a new one - how long should a good website last?"

Not having a scientifically researched answer I reached deep into my consulting bag of tricks and pulled out a perfectly reasonable "it depends". Which is an entirely accurate statement and the lifespan of a website certainly does depend on a range of factors including:

• How much has your organisation changed since you built your website?

• How important is it for you to be at the cutting edge of design or technology trends?

• What technology platforms and plugins was your old website built on? What has changed?

These are all factors outside of your control - however there are a bunch more questions that are in your control.

• How well have you culled and revamped content?

• How good have you been at keeping up with upgrades?

• Have you made any (no matter how minor they are) design tweaks?

• When did you last do a security audit?

But really - how long?

2.7 Years: This research article found that the average life span of 200 marketing websites is 2.7 years. A pure marketing website is likely to have a much shorter lifespan than an Umbraco content managed website like the majority we build.

3.6 Years: The first www.iteffect.co.nz website was built in 2010 and fully rebuilt 5 years later, another full rebuild 3 years after that when we rebranded to www.effect.nz and a major refresh 3 years after that.

4-6 Years: A quick review of 10 local and central government websites show major upgrades happening every 6 years. Here is a little journey down memory lane of one of our favourite council sites from the past: