One of the questions we hear often from small business owners is, “So and so told me that my website needs to be redesigned. How do I know for sure?” That’s a great question… They could be offering friendly advice or pushing to make a sale – it can be hard to tell.
Your website should be providing an exceptional overall user experience for your site visitors, outperforming your competitors on organic search, generating leads for your sales team and increasing conversions.
Truth is, there are no hard and fast rules that dictate how often your site needs to be redesigned and a redesign is an expensive undertaking. So how do you really know when it’s time to invest the resources for a full website redesign?
1. The design doesn't represent your brand.
Brand consistency on every channel of online communication with your customers can help your brand cut through all of the noise to build awareness and trust.
2. Your site isn't easily expandable.
If you can’t integrate a new feature (like an online store) into your site seamlessly and the process of buying from you is difficult, your customers will bounce and find a better experience with one of your competitors.
3. Your site looks outdated.
An outdated site can make your business look unprofessional and not trustworthy.
4. You're embarrassed to share your site.
If you cringe when you send your URL to someone, that’s a sure sign that it’s time to redesign. If you think it looks awful, there’s a very good chance other people do too.
5. You can't make simple content updates easily.
In order for your site to perform well on organic search, you need to keep the content fresh. If you can’t make content updates without assistance from your developer, you should consider a redesign that uses a content management system like WordPress which would allow you to make changes yourself.
6. Your site doesn't work properly on mobile.
According to Google, 94% of people in the US that have smartphones search for local information on their phones. If you haven’t already figured it out, people are impatient and want your site to load the second they click on the link. So making sure your site is optimized for mobile performance is a must.
7. Your site isn't bringing you leads.
Is your landing page delivering the info that was promised? Does your site take a long time to load? Are visitors landing on your site and bouncing before exploring what you have to offer? Are the forms on your site being delivered properly? Any one of these issues could be causing you to lose leads.
If you think your website doesn’t matter as much as it once did because you’re on social media, think again. Your website is still the only place online where you have true control over your message and how it’s shared with your audience. Let me say that again… Your website is the ONLY place where you have true control over your message and how it’s shared with your audience.
If you’re ready to take the plunge and redesign your site, check out these five tips to make sure your redesign is a success!
