When is it time for a Website Redesign?

You Might Need a Website Redesign If...

Sooner or later, you’re bound to need a new website. There are several signs indicating that your site might be due for a redesign.

Perhaps you lose a prospective deal to one of your competitors and wonder if your outdated website is to blame. Or maybe one of your employees keeps sending you examples of your competitors’ cutting-edge websites, hinting at the fact that your site needs work.

Here are some ways to determine whether your website is in need of a serious makeover:

1. Your website no longer reflects your business.
As your business grows and evolves, its objectives, structure, and priorities are likely to change. You may introduce new products or services, restructure or discontinue old services, or begin serving new markets. If your company’s website doesn’t remain up to date throughout this process, you’ll soon find yourself with a website that no longer stands for your business or meets its needs.

2. You’re not meeting your business goals.
You probably have a website to generate leads, sell your products/services, or showcase your company’s background and credentials. If your website isn’t achieving the results you hoped for and is failing to meet your business goals, it’s probably time for a redesign.

3. Your website looks and feels outdated.
Think about how it feels to visit a poorly designed website versus a modern, attractive one. In this day and age, well-designed websites outnumber tacky, outdated websites by a long shot, so make sure your site’s design is up to par. Countless studies have demonstrated that the look and feel of a website directly correlates with engagement levels.

4. Your website isn’t compatible with major browsers, including mobile browsers.
Just five years ago, web designers primarily designed sites to look good in Internet Explorer, so the process of creating a website was fairly straightforward. Today, however, web designers must ensure that a website looks good in all popular browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and mobile browsers. There is no longer a primary browser, so internet surfing takes place across a vast range of screen sizes and browser environments. If your website isn’t compatible with all popular browsers, your business will suffer.

5. Your website loads too slowly.
What do you think happens when someone visits your website and has to wait longer than two seconds for the content and images to load? They leave. With so many websites to choose from, few people are willing to wait around for a website that takes several seconds to load. What’s more, load time is now a ranking factor in Google’s algorithm, so your search engine rankings will also suffer if your website is too slow.

Don’t test your website’s load time from your own computer because it’s probably already cached there and will thus load faster. Instead, check the speed of your site using Google Webmaster Tools or another free online website speed testing tool.

6. Your content is lacking.
No one wants to visit your website to read about how great your company is. They don’t want to read pages upon pages about your products’ features, either. Remember: if your content bores visitors, they’re going to abandon your site in search of something better.

Today’s business websites feature more than just sales copy. They also contain videos, recorded demos, reports, blog posts, and benefits-oriented content that engage readers and reward them for taking the time to explore a business’s offerings. If your website is outdated, redesign and restructure it so that it is capable of accommodating new, enhanced content.

7. You can’t update the content by yourself.
You don’t need to have years of experience in HTML or pay a five-figure bill to a web development firm in order to update your website anymore. Websites can now be built with an intuitive content management system (CMS) that allows you to add, edit, and update content with an easy-to-use editor. If your website doesn’t have a CMS, you might need to invest in a redesign.

8. Your website can’t be found on the search engines.
These days, the most popular way to shop for products and services online is through the use of major search engines. If your company’s products and services aren’t optimized for search, you have little chance of building a successful online presence.

If your website is designed with search engine optimization in mind, it’s far more likely to show up in the search engines for terms and phrases related to your offerings. On the other hand, if your website cannot be found easily when you search for relevant keywords and phrases, you probably need to update its design, structure, and marketing plan to increase its search engine visibility.

9. Your website isn’t social.
Social media is the hottest promotional method to hit the marketing world in the last decade. Your website is the hub of your online presence, as it links your brand to prospects and customers. But you need to connect your website to the social media world through blogging and social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and SlideShare. If your website isn’t compatible with social media, it’s probably time for a redesign.

10. Your website doesn’t generate leads or sales.
You didn’t create a website for the sheer fun of it – you created a website to generate leads and sales for your business. If your site is failing to accomplish this task, redesign it and incorporate clear calls-to-action, lead conversion forms, compelling offers, and clear navigation. Without these basics, your website will struggle to produce results.

And the #1 way to determine whether your site needs a redesign?

Do you find yourself making excuses about your website to prospective customers and business associates? Perhaps you apologize to customers for the outdatedness of your website or lie and tell them that it’s under construction when, in fact, you haven’t even hired a web designer yet. Or worse, maybe you remove your website address from your email signature in hopes that it will go unnoticed. If this sounds like you, stop the madness and begin the website redesign process now. Otherwise, your website will fall even further behind.
 

Bring your website up to date with the help of efelle.

efelle has over a decade of experience in web design, development, and marketing. We strive to create websites that not only look great, but also produce measurable results for your business. Find out how our website redesign services can benefit your brand by giving us a call at 206.384.4909 or getting in touch with our website redesign team today.