When is it time to invest in a website redesign? How do you know if it’s necessary and if it will truly help in reaching your business goals?
We all know that technology is evolving at a remarkable clip – and that means it’s critical to ensure your site stays up-to-date with these changes. It’s generally a good idea to revamp your website every 3-4 years, not only to keep the design fresh and appealing but to ensure the site is secure (and to keep your customers’ data secure!). You might be surprised to learn about new and improved features and functions that are now readily available to make your site better suited for your audience and for the future of your business.
Wondering if your site is due for an upgrade? We’ve rounded up our top signs that it’s time to invest in a website redesign.
1. The visual design is outdated
First impressions are everything! How does your company’s website look in comparison to others in your industry or companies that you aspire to compete with? Do the layout and design elements feel fresh and modern or behind the times? In order to win trust with your customers and clients you need to portray a professional, updated image. According to SME Web Statistics, 48% of people cited a website's design as the #1 factor in deciding the credibility of a business.
A modern appearance will also reflect positively on your company’s brand. If the design of your website is strong and forward-thinking, those characteristics will carry through to your business and its services.
2. The site structure is not intuitive and key information is hard to find
Take a look at your site structure and navigation from an outsider’s perspective. Is it easy to find specifics about your services and is the flow of information intuitive? If company priorities and offering shift over the years, modifications or additions that have been made to the site can make the original structure unclear. Improvements in how webpages and navigation elements are set up have made usability in newer websites much easier – making it more likely for your visitor to complete your desired action.
3. The site was built with older technology
When was your website built? If it was created using an older system or coding, it’s likely there is room for improvement in a number of areas, including security. The site may be using modules or plugins that have lost the ability to be maintained or updated – increasing the chances for a less than ideal user experience. The site may not function properly on certain web browsers and may not integrate well with accessibility software and screen-readers which is important for today’s websites.
Open-source CMS platforms make it easy to keep modules and extensions up-to-date with the latest technology because there is a whole team working to address any concerns. When the system is upgraded, so are all of the sites that were built with it.
4. The site bounce rate is high or pages have slow loading times
When checking your site’s analytics, have you noticed a high bounce rate? Older sites that are built on outdated coding and have media that is not well optimized may slow down loading times, which in turn drive away clients and customers. The web is only becoming faster and more nimble, and web visitors are being trained to expect a site to instantly gives them what they need. We recommend website loading times to be 3-5 seconds – any more than that and it may be affecting your visitor retention rate!
A speedy site loading time will also help with your search engine rankings – Google now considers load speed when ranking a site because it wants to give a user the best experience possible. All the more reason to make sure your site is built with modern coding.
5. The site doesn’t have a blog or regularly updated content
Today’s digital marketing strategy is all about regularly adding new content to your site, and a blog is a perfect place to do this. Your target audience is looking for expertise in your field – and giving them information that is specifically useful in helping them solve their problem helps to keep them coming back for more.
Regularly updated content is also vital in order to achieve higher search engine rankings. Google knows when a website is updated with fresh content and assumes these sites will be most engaging and useful for a specific audience. If your site doesn’t have a blog with regularly updated content, Google will think the information is stale and not relevant, making it less of an optimal pick for that audience.
6. The site isn’t mobile-friendly
The world continues to move towards viewing the web through a variety of different devices and screen sizes (statistics show more websites are now viewed on mobile phones than computers), so it’s imperative for your site to give a great user experience no matter the device. Web design experts have adopted responsive design as best practice from here on out – so if you haven’t yet upgraded your website to include responsive design – now is the time.
See our recent blog post for more about why it’s crucial for your website to be responsive.
How does your site measure up to our top signs it’s time for a website redesign? Though it may seem like a daunting undertaking, a website revamp can make a huge difference not only in how your business is perceived, but also in page loading speed, search engine rankings, and security. If your website is older, it’s likely some of these items hit home.
Get in touch with the website design and development experts at Greenleaf Media to discuss what how a website redesign can help you achieve your business goals.