Let's establish something right off the top:

Now let's get started...
You decided in the last century to enter the great online building boom. You jumped off the curb and built yourself a shiny new website out there along the cyber-highway. It was a pretty site too - a few pages showing off your company's history, products, last brochure, maybe a photo of your office. But since then, it's sat out there collecting dust, becoming the dilapidated house on the street folks barely notice anymore. There's little reason to pay attention. It never changes. And the lack of updates and repairs condemns it to the past-its-prime generation...like 8-tracks and trans-fats.

It's time to renew your days-gone-by commitment to your web presence. (Reread bullet #2.) But there's one simple rule: You can't sort of do it. Kind of give it a try. Halfway make an attempt. You're either on the bus - or standing alone in the barren Land of Left Behinds, waving goodbye to the folks riding the Web Express. (Reread bullet #1.)

4 REASONS TO DUST OFF YOUR SITE
1. Fresh material means return visits. How many times did you read today's newspaper? I'll guess - once. (Twice if the comics were REALLY funny.) If you offer visitors the same stale content every time they hit your site, pretty soon they'll just stop dropping by.

2. Your audience evolves. According to stats compiled by Internet World Stats, 72% of Americans are Internet users. Four years ago your customers probably didn't know an RSS feed from chicken feed. Now some of them author their own blogs. Every aspect of your business must strive to meet the needs of your clients and prospective customers...including your website.

3. Search engines love new content. Sure, some folks may know or remember your clever web address. But the rest of the world's more likely to rely on a search engine (Google, Yahoo, etc) to find your online turf. Regularly updated sites always rank higher than stale bread sites in search results.

4. How do you know your site still works if it's been sitting unchecked since its debut? Like web users, technologies evolve. New browsers. New computers. New plug-ins. It's up to you to make certain the cyber-highway stretches out smooth and easy for visitors. Broken links are a sure sign of neglect. Outdated content works against you. And an inoperable site detours folks all together.

STILL wondering if any of this applies to you? Easy enough. Take our trusty reality test.

True or False?
1. Your business has changed or grown.
2. Your site looks like it was designed in the 90's.
3. You apologize for it when you reference it or hand out a business card.
4. Search engines can't find you.
5. You get less than stellar leads, sales or inquiries from the site.

A single "True" means you need to take a gander at your site with new eyes. If you had two or more moments of truth - consider this your reality check.