Site Longevity: Moore's Law

One other factor that is likely to have an impact on the longevity of your website is technology. While we usually have some level of control over design, usability and utility, technology is an outside influence that is typically beyond our control. However, we can anticipate changes in technology and adapt to them appropriately.

One example of changing technology that influences our websites longevity is the ongoing “browser wars”. Recently, all three of the major browsers (Internet Explorer(IE), Firefox and Opera) received major upgrades, most notably IE. In this upgrade to version 7, Microsoft modified their implementation of web standards and CSS, which has led to a more uniform appearance between the three browsers. However, many webmasters who had designed their sites specifically to IE6 were forced to make quick changes to keep pace.

In hopes of avoiding a situation like this, most webmasters were quick to download evaluation or Beta copies of the latest upgrades in order to see how their work appeared in advance. This allowed them to pro-actively make the adjustments to their sites in order to support both versions of the browser in order to ensure a seamless transition to the upgraded technology.

This proactive approach is the one we typically want to take with our websites. We want to work to keep pace with the current technology, and take advantage of the new features that it presents us with. In the end, we wind up with a professionally run website that should function properly with the new wave of technological advances at least until the next wave comes along. It also reflects positively upon our church and commitment, which is a great message to convey as well.

Well, that wraps up this series on site longevity…I hope you collected a few pointers or got some new ideas to take into consideration the next time you sit down to revamp your church’s website!