“How long should a website last?” is a common question for marketing and communications teams, often raised during budget planning, or when frustrations with the current site start to surface.
There’s no single answer, but in practice, most websites have a useful lifespan of around 3–5 years before they need a significant refresh or rebuild. The key word is useful. A website rarely fails overnight; it gradually becomes less effective, harder to manage, or riskier to maintain.
Understanding what influences a website’s lifespan helps teams plan proactively, rather than waiting until issues become unavoidable.
A website’s lifespan is shaped after launch
A common misconception is that a website’s lifespan is determined at launch. In reality, what happens after launch matters just as much.
Websites that are regularly reviewed, improved and enhanced tend to last longer and deliver more value. It's why we have a dedicated team offering ongoing website support. Those that are left largely untouched often age faster, even if they were well designed to begin with.
What actually determines how long a website lasts?
1. How well it continues to meet user needs
User expectations evolve, and so do the tasks people come to your site to complete.
Ongoing user research, testing and analysis can help identify emerging friction points early. Small improvements to navigation, content structure or key journeys can significantly extend a site’s lifespan.
Whilst we can conduct user research for you, it’s actually reasonably straightforward to do yourself. Here’s a blog that outlines how to do user research on a budget.
2. The flexibility of the CMS and build
The CMS and underlying build play a major role in how adaptable a website is.
Platforms like Kentico and WordPress can support long-term evolution when they’re implemented with:
- Flexible content modules
- Reusable modules and components
- Clear governance and workflows
A website’s lifespan is also tied to the lifecycle of its CMS. When a CMS version reaches end of life and no longer receives security patches or support, the website effectively enters a higher-risk phase, even if it still “works”. For many organisations, this becomes the defining factor in when a rebuild or major upgrade must occur.
3. Ongoing security and compliance
For government and public-sector organisations, having a secure site is crucial.
As platforms, integrations and threats evolve, websites need regular updates to remain compliant and secure. Sites that fall behind on maintenance become harder to support over time, increasing risk and limiting what can safely be changed.
4. Accessibility over time
Accessibility is not something you “set and forget”. All of our websites are built with accessibility in mind, but as soon as updates are made, accessibility can be impacted.
Even if a website meets standards at launch, accessibility can degrade as:
- New content is added
- Templates are modified
- Design updates occur without accessibility in mind
Regular checks and incremental improvements help maintain compliance and reduce the need for large-scale remediation later. We use Silktide to regularly test our sites for accessibility issues to ensure our sites continue to meet industry standards.
5. Search performance and visibility
Search engines and search behaviour don’t stand still.
Strong SEO foundations, clear content structure, and ongoing optimisation all influence how visible a site remains over time.
A site that isn’t reviewed and refined will usually see performance plateau or decline, regardless of how strong it was at launch.
Refreshing vs rebuilding
Not every website needs a full rebuild to remain effective.
A refresh or enhancement phase can be enough when:
- The CMS and technical foundations are still solid
- The site can support new modules, layouts and content types
- Improvements can be made incrementally without increasing risk
A rebuild becomes necessary when:
- The site is difficult to update or extend
- Security or accessibility risks are increasing
- User needs have changed significantly
- The website no longer supports organisational goals
The earlier these signals are identified, the more options teams usually have.
A better question to ask
Instead of asking “How old is our website?”, a more useful question is:
“Are we actively maintaining, improving and evolving our website, or are we just keeping it running?”
The answer often determines how close a site is to the end of its effective lifespan. Need help determining what's next for your website? Reach out to our team.