Websites 'do not update regularly'

Small businesses do not update their websites regularly - or, in some cases, at all - new research has revealed.

A study conducted by web design firm Netflare found that the average website has not been updated in the past ten months.

Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of respondents have never updated their sites - despite the typical launch date being as much as four years ago.

A similar proportion claimed that they are not achieving the success from their online presence that they had planned when it was first established.

Despite expecting to see financial benefits in terms of sales, more than a third (38 per cent) said they do not spend any money on updating their sites.

Managing director of Netflare Jon Beal comments: "It's not surprising businesses are wasting the potential of their websites - they lack the knowledge, marketing and support to reap the benefits."

Netflare explains that its research was spurred by the belief that "tens of thousands" of businesses could be "languishing in cyberspace".