I think they realize that their website suck. Plenty of reasons why not updating:

- They think it is expensive to hire someone to do website redesign.
- Last time building a website, the experience was painful and/or expensive
- No one ever told them their site suck
- Current website generate money/leads, why change it?
- The website never generate any money/leads. Why bother?
- Current website is good enough for them
- Current website is better looking than nearest competitor (or any competitor in their area)
- Don't have any money yet.
- If they do have money, never crossed their mind
- Don't have any time yet.
- If they do have time, never crossed their mind.
- Don't really care.

What may look good to you might be bad to others, only a few people can create things that met the taste of virtually everybody. It also depends on what the individual wants.

For example am a graphic designer, i have done work for lots of people and have good ratings, don't get me wrong, i also have a few people who aren't 100% satisfied with my work.

Here is what i have come to understand with satisfied clients, the ones that actually gives you a head start are 99.9% likely to be happy with your work.

So that design might not look awful at all as you think, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.

Go to your library and find an interior decorating book from 20 years ago.

You will be shocked to see plaid upholstry. It's bad on the eyes.

Look at cars. Their designs go from angular to round, and back again.

Look at necklines on dresses. They go up, they go down.

Hardwood. Carpet. Hardwood.

Bellbottoms.

OK. Maybe not bellbottoms. But they tried to make a comeback.

Fact is, what looks good is based on the technology of the moment and some trendsetters' sense of what works at the time.

As far as computers go, great advances have been made in pixelization and animation over the years. I remember my old Commodore 64's graphics looked pretty awesome in 1986 compared to the Intellivision, and the Mac's were nicer than that...and then Doom came out in the early 90s and that was the most amazing thing ever. Today, of course, things are even tinier and more beautiful and better animated.

This is called "state of the art."

Once it was OK to shoot 'Day for Night' with a darkening filter over the lens.

Today (and for the last 20-odd years) that has looked ridiculous.

The state of the art has changed. It's always moving on.

They know but they dont have the time or money or both.

Or because they simply can't be bothered with it - remember that a design change is always risky, as customers get used to a given look and when there are changes they get confused - you do not have to go further then Facebook Timeline...

I was just having this exact .. Really, I think it all comes down to the fact that in the early 2000's it wasn't as easy to do some of the things we take for granted today..

I started messing around with graphics and websites in 2001, and I can tell you ALOT has changed since then.. I remember numerous people selling the most HTML designs for literally thousands.. Im talking a simple, 5 page website based around 2 or 4 colours..

You have to remember in the early 2000's many businesses where just getting on to the internet, so there wasn't really a precedent set to determine what actually looked "good"..

Now several formats have changed the game like flash, wordpress.. better graphics editors like photoshop etc..