The Investment Lifecycle of a Website

It’s natural to be curious about how far your money will go. I see it every day. As the lead of our sales process, I meet with clients and sales leads to discuss project scope and timelines. I talk about budgets, and I talk about the future of their potential project.

Through it all, there’s a common concern — how long will investment in a new website last? How long until they face another large budget request or another intensive web project?

Unfortunately, the answer isn’t what clients want to hear: a website is not a one-time investment but an ongoing responsibility.

Think of purchasing a home — the investment doesn’t stop with the mortgage. Even as you move in, you are already planning for new home projects — a new sprinkler system, a kitchen remodel — or potential emergencies, like a pipe burst.

A website isn’t that much different. We’ve moved past the days of a simple website with a phone number and image carousel. Expectations are higher; for enterprise brands, a website is more than just a landing page. It’s a robust business tool that raises the bar with more significant maintenance, ownership, and investment responsibilities.

There’s no exact formula for planning your website — no two brands are the same. But our experience has shown that there’s more to the question than just how far your initial investment will go. Instead, I’d rather clients understand that, like a house, planning for projects and repairs is inevitable — and it’s better than finding yourself in a couple of inches of water without built-up savings. 

The Investment Lifecycle 

First, let’s be clear: a website project never really ends, just as home maintenance never ends. The site launch is just the beginning.

There are obvious consistent touchpoints throughout a website’s life — security maintenance, CMS upgrades, and bug fixes—but there are also several potential phases and shifts in direction. Websites are communication tools, and because communication changes, from new channels to updated messaging and branding, there’s a need to go beyond regular maintenance.

This might look like one of the following:

• Phase 2 (< 1 year after launch)
  Website redesign projects allow us to think big, but thinking big can strain our initial web budget. Planning for a Phase 2 wishlist can help balance our deadlines and budget with our expanded vision — the next step once the post-launch dust settles.

• Audits & Site Clean-Up (< 2 years after launch)
  People make things messy. The pristine launch day state disappears as an editorial team takes over a site. Once the site has managed a couple of years of content changes and additions, it’s best to get into a habit of auditing the site for compliance. Just like regularly changing a furnace filter can extend an appliance’s life, regularly addressing accessibility, performance, and design issues can stretch your initial web investment.

• New initiatives & Industry Parameters (< 4 years after launch)
  It’s not just editors who make things messy. We live and work in rapidly changing environments; in response, we quickly change ideas, creativity, and technology. Each pivot comes with a new approach, often resulting in new page types, functionality, integrations, or blocks — not to mention updated consumer expectations, legal parameters, and industry standards.

• Design Refresh (< 6 years after launch)
  There is no “standard” shelf life for a site’s design. Sometimes, design trends shift away from the current look and feel of the site. Sometimes, the call for a design change comes from internal shifts and priorities. New leadership, variations in product, pricing and positioning, market landscape, and changing stakeholders are all classic triggers that result in a refreshed design and additional investment into your website independent of an entire site rebuild.

As the website becomes more important as a conversion, communication, and business tool, more attention is necessary for maintaining and improving its effectiveness — whether it’s saving a rainy-day project, unexpected hiccup, or ongoing maintenance. A website is an investment, yes. But it’s not a single investment — it’s an ongoing investment.