Time

Will your website work in 10 years time?

2008-12 was a time when I was probably most productive in terms of the volume of new websites I was completing for clients. It was a real mix of e-commerce, some social media web 2.0, CMS-type websites, and some portfolio websites.

While I’m not actively maintaining most of them now, the majority still work and are in use, making money for their owners, still, in 2024.

Having not heard from the various clients for years at a time sometimes, I sometimes assume that websites have probably broken and the person has got them fixed, or had something new built in the meantime, or maybe they moved into some other business and the website is no longer being used. I’m generally surprised when the original code is still sat there, untouched, and the website has been working normally for the past number of years. Or, maybe the hosting company has upgraded the server and the code still works.

• Have they needed upgrades in 15 years or so? Yes.
• Could they do with a refresh? Probably, some have been to be fair.
• Have the websites paid for themselves by now? Many times over.
• If you looked at the code now would you think it was perfect? No.
• Is the code sensible and clear? Yes.

That’s not to say that some of the upgrades weren’t a headache. And, if the websites use third-party software, occasionally that has been discontinued.

Some lessons learned…

• Keep things simple.
• More third-party software can mean more headaches.
• Build the project as well as you can at the time, but things change with time.

If you need advice on where to start with a new build, or what technologies to use to build it, contact me.