How to future proof your new website

Clients often ask: Can you future-proof our new website?

Understanding what is meant by this can be tricky. Will the website be ready for when AI takes over the world? Will the website grow and evolve with them as their business does? Will it work via Siri?

Future proofing your website means building it in a way that is underpinned by standards and adapts easily to change, protecting your investment and avoiding costly reinvestments later.

Here’s a few of our top tips:

User focused

Making sure your website is built with the user in mind. It’s not about how you think it should work, it’s all about the needs, preferences, and behaviours of your users.

The aim is to provide a seamless, satisfying experience that keeps users returning and connects them with what they need. And yes, in the vast majority of cases those ‘users’ are your customers.

Responsive

This is a no brainer, but all too often we see websites that are not device agnostic or, to use the old term, ‘mobile friendly.’

A website should respond to any screen size whether that’s a mobile device, a TV screen or Apple’s new Vision Pro AR headset. Your users browse the internet on so many different devices it needs to look good on everything but also be consistent, so they can go from one device to another and the experience feels the same.

Version control

Version control is often overlooked. Have you ever had changes made on a website and there was a bug that meant it needed to go back to how it was before? But, disaster, the files have been overwritten! Version control helps with this, you can revert back if needed but it also keeps a log of all changes made to the code, so you can pinpoint any issues that may arise.

Technology

Technical choices should be informed by long term business strategies. Your website should be built with technologies that are ever evolving, open source and created in this decade.

There have been so many technological advancements in coding languages and CMS’s that can be harnessed for your website; don’t fall into the trap of deploying technology that is out of date or, worse, doesn’t have a future.

Security

A highly secure website is super important, including making sure that logins have two-factor authentication (2FA) or single sign-on (SSO) to help stop unauthorised access.

Your servers should also be locked down to only use SSH/SFTP; Legacy FTP opens you up to a whole world of security issues. Look to ensure your provider will fully manage what they build for you, including regular security updates, and host it in an appropriate, enterprise grade environment.

Optimisation

A super fast website is everything, a slow loading website is a key factor in users leaving your website. Have you ever done a speed test on your website? I guarantee it’s not as fast as you think!

Optimisation needs to be done just before you launch and checked every month or so, as optimisation metrics change so quickly in the online world.

Always think future!

Future-proofing your website isn’t just a smart choice; it’s a necessary one. By giving time in the initial stages of the project to focus on what user experience you want develop, considering responsiveness across devices, maintaining version control, choosing adaptable technology, prioritizing security, and optimizing for speed, you can create a website that grows with your business and stands the test of time.

Invest in these strategies now to save on costly updates later and to give your users a seamless, reliable experience that keeps them coming back. With the right foundation, your website will be ready for whatever the future holds.

If you're considering a website build and would like to chat about how Dodgems and Floss can set you up for success, get in touch with the team!