A business website is an essential asset even for small mom and pop shops. But designing, updating and managing a website can often be tedious, time-consuming work. Many resource-strapped organizations find themselves overwhelmed by the prospect of taking on a full website revamp.

However, business websites and internet technologies are changing. It wasn't long ago that mobile website optimization was at the forefront of conversations regarding website upgrades. Today's efforts to improve websites are more centered around improving the user experience — specifically through emerging technologies and tools.

Here are a few ways any business can make an effort to upgrade their website in 2018 (without starting from scratch).

No matter how great a product is, a poor website user experience can be devastating to any business. Recent research from Forrester found that providing a good user experience through your business website could increase conversions by up to 400 percent — which is a hard number to ignore.

When customers need to solve a problem, they often go online. The critical first step toward capturing their attention is making sure they can find your business website, but it's just as important that your user experience convinces them to stay and convert.

Here are several simple guidelines to help you build an experience that attracts cutomers and grows your incoming revenue.

Though boosting website conversion rates seems like a straightforward task for marketers, there's some nuance to crafting a strategy that includes this goal. In fact, while it may sound a little strange, some of the efforts you may take to get customers to convert could actually end up having the reverse effect, driving them away from your website. Here are three mistakes you might be making that could adversely affect your website conversion rate.

1. You're Trying Too Hard to Educate Your Customers

It's no secret that today's customer is well-educated. But don't underestimate just how educated your average customer is. According to Forbes, 82 percent of customers research something online long before they're ready to purchase, meaning they've already done their homework. Additionally, they likely know exactly what they want and are just looking for the right business to help them accomplish their goal.

People take first impressions seriously. That's why a clean and updated website design is vital when it comes to attracting new prospects. And while adventurous property buyers may see value in a fixer-upper, an outdated website will always drive leads right into the clutches of your competitors.

But how exactly does poor web design turn off prospects? And how can you earn them back? Here are the three design updates you need to make:

Ah, bounce rates. Many times marketers are puzzled by this metric. On one hand, it's a fairly easy concept to grasp. Your bounce rate is merely the percentage of people who land on a page and then leave your website without visiting another page on your site. On the other hand, it's some sort of a riddle, as other factors come into play when determining if your bounce rate is healthy for your site in particular. When analyzing your bounce rate, there are questions that typically run through your mind: What factors impact someone's decision to leave your site? How do you know if your rate is good or bad? If you have too many bounces, how do you fix it?

To help you better understand your bounce rate — and begin to improve it — we've put together an easy overview.

Pushing the "publish" button on a new website amplifies a small business launch. But when time runs short, a grand opening looms and social media fans clamor for information, it's not unheard of to activate a website early. Don't get in a rush with web development and fall victim to these four brand-damaging and potentially profit-squashing website design mistakes.

Any e-commerce company depends on website conversions to drive their business. When those performance figures suffer, it's likely because of problems you'll find in your website experience, maybe even on your home page.

This can torpedo your online revenues, but there's good news: Many of the barriers to better conversions are easily resolved through some simple fixes. Here are five ways to increase conversions:

E-commerce depends on clicks, and these call to action examples (CTAs) have successfully generated not only clicks but conversions. If you're not sure how well your CTAs are converting, you can check your average bounce rate. Bounce happens when visitors leave your website without taking any action or, put another way, without responding to your site's CTAs. According to the research firm Compass, e-commerce businesses average a 57-percent bounce rate, while the best companies perform at 35 percent.

The higher your bounce rate, the more likely it is that your visitor didn't find what they were looking for when they got there. To achieve the hallowed conversion, your site's main function should be to help them find it. In addition to being obvious, however, effective CTAs are enticing. Check out how the following companies made their calls to action irresistible.

Popular wisdom states that most people make up their minds about someone within seven seconds of meeting them. And while that might seem extremely short, studies show that when it comes to websites, first impressions come even faster. According to Inc., most consumers form a first impression of a website in just 50 milliseconds. For comparison, the literal blink of an eye ranges between 300 to 400 milliseconds, which makes this statistic even more staggering. So how can you ensure your website is making the right first impression? You may be surprised by what you learn after some simple website comparison. Taking a hard look at what others in your industry are doing (and more importantly, how much success they're generating) can help you inform your own business approach and ensure you're making the best first impression possible.

Emerging digital channels — the rise of social media, the influence of online reviews, the importance of running a blog and publishing content — all seem to demand more than most marketers can afford to give. What's sometimes lost in the shuffle is the enduring value of a good business website.

While you need a variety of digital strategies in place to increase visibility and traffic to that website, there's a lot that simple digital property can do to improve its own value. Website performance metrics aren't only a gauge of your overall digital strategy — they also illustrate the efficacy of your website's offerings and design.