Online is more competitive than ever before, and a new study on customer satisfaction has discovered new information backing the importance of updating your website regularly.

Blue Fountain Media recently conducted a study with the help of 1,015 US based Internet users aged between 18 and 60.

The most valuable information for webmasters to take away from the study are:

  • 81% of users think less of your brand if your website is not updated
  • 39% of users would decide against a purchase/service hire if the website isn’t updated and current
  • Over 30% of users say their biggest issue with websites is the lack of search
  • 40% say the search box is the most important functionality of a website
  • Ease of use is the top priority for 43% of those surveyed
  • 50% were enticed to shop by content such as reviews and product photos
  • 25% of those surveyed liked being followed up about a product left in their basket

These stats highlight the importance of ensuring your website is fully optimised for user experience and can give you a good guide to compare your website to. Is your website content outdated? Is your website hard to navigate and doesn’t have a search box functionality to make this simpler? These are all elements you need to take into consideration because even with the best rankings, user experience is all down to you in order to close leads.

You can read the full study here.