What is that old looking web site doing for you?

You know, that one that was designed, or at least looks like it was designed, in the late 90s? The one older than college students now studying web design? The one that was built for viewing with Netscape, by a computer using a dial-in modem with a CRT monitor? The one that is left side justified, and every page is tabled at 640 pixels wide by 480 pixels high?

What could it possibly be doing for you?

WHATEVER you can say that is positive about it, you can’t deny it could be doing it better. But at this point, you probably should be thinking about two options:

Redesigning your site; or
Decide to NOT have a web site.

Because having a really old looking web site says a lot of negative things about your organization. Such as:

Your organization does not care about its appearance to new marketplace.
Your organization does not know how to best use the Internet.
Your organization has no Internet strategy for either clients or marketplace that would have FORCED change on the web site.
Your organization doesn’t look at its own marketing materials – or else somebody would have gotten sick of how it looked by now.
Your organization does not have the financial resources to keep the site’s appearance relatively modern.
Nobody is looking at your site and making suggestions about what it should include.
Or worse, you have had lots of input and you are ignoring it for any or all of the reasons listed above.

It really is a negative. It is best to get rid of the old looking web site in its entirety, than to have one looking like it was built when Clinton was President. Your website design should focus content, function and audience. If those three things haven’t changed for your organization in the last 15 years, then you shouldn’t have a web site. And if they have changed, prioritize your efforts to represent that change on the site.