There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to when it’s time to redesign your website. There is a myriad of reasons why someone should consider a website overhaul, any one of which can be a source of missed opportunities for your business. Let’s go over some of the more common website ailments that could be signaling you that it’s time to redesign.
1. You don’t like it.
It could be as simple as that. There are several aspects to a website relating to form and function that could be contributing to lackluster design and performance. But if at the end of the day, if you just aren’t proud of your website or are embarrassed to share the URL to new contacts, then it’s time to consider a revamp. Maybe you’ve been checking out the websites of your competitors with envy. If your competition has slick and engaging sites, you may be losing traffic and customers. It’s important to feel good about the message your website is conveying about your business. It is, after all, the central hub for your company’s online marketing efforts – or at least it should be.
2. Your company has gone through a rebrand or evolution.
If your business has grown and expanded its reach or services, or has had changes in identity, you’ll want to make sure your website properly reflects these changes. It’s important for your site to be up to date with any changes in your brand messaging – logo, colors/fonts, catchline, or any changes in your overall story. Think of your website as a digital door to your place of business.
Remember, visitors are both actively and subconsciously taking in all aspects of your website, and it’s imperative to be current and consistent. In a recent survey from Blue Fountain Media, when asked if users thought less of a company when their website hasn’t been updated in a long time – 39% answered yes, they will actually think twice about using a product or service if the website isn’t fresh, user-friendly, and current.
Clear and concise messaging should be able to direct users to content they can find easily and be able to identify who you are, what your unique value proposition is, and why they should care.
3. Can’t easily update content.
You should always be able to make quick changes to your website to stay up-to-date and relevant. Fresh content not only keeps visitors coming back, but can also help boost SEO rankings as Google ranks newer content higher. If you’re finding it difficult to add or swap photos, ad pages, edit content, or add blog posts, you’ll want to look into redesigning your site with a CMS (Content Management System) in place. A CMS has a user-friendly interface that would allow you to update your site even if you’re inexperienced with coding. This means you can easily manage your content without having to pay a developer for every change or addition.
4. High bounce rates and low conversion.
If you’re experiencing high bounce rates, especially on the home page, it’s probably time for a redesign. A high bounce rate is indicating visitors are quickly leaving your site, either because it’s not giving a positive first impression or isn’t straightforward to navigate. And if users are bouncing without exploring or engaging with your site, they most likely aren’t converting.
The longer a visitor hangs out on your site, the more likely they are to either convert right away or at a later date. At the very least, you’re being successful at building engagement and brand awareness. It’s important to have a concise desired user journey with plenty of calls to action and opportunities for conversion. Clear calls to action let a visitor know what to do next and give incentive for doing so. This allows your website to be the lead generation tool it should be – engage, capture, and convert.
5. Slow load speed.
Website speed is essential to not only positive user experience, but to achieving a good Google rank. Studies show that about 40% of users will close out of a loading website within about 3 seconds. Think of all the potential visitors that aren’t even going to make it to your homepage. Furthermore, since the average human attention span is about 8 seconds, those that do manage to wait for it to load will have about a 5 second opportunity to engage. That’s not as likely if they are already annoyed at the long load time.
It may be surprising to note that Google will penalize website pages with low speed scores. This means your site’s SEO rankings are being directly affected by page speed, especially for mobile searches (which now unsurprisingly surpass desktop searches). If you’re unsure of your site’s load speed, Google has an online tool where you can check for yourself. There are many ways to help speed up your site – whether it’s utilizing AMP Stories, compressing files, optimizing images, optimizing code, etc. Don’t be surprised if that bounce rate and conversion improves along with your search engine rankings.
6. Not mobile responsive
Currently, about 70% of all web traffic comes from a mobile device. This means having a website that functions well across all platforms is no longer an option – it’s a must.
Not only does being mobile-friendly improve user experience, but Google indexes mobile sites first while penalizing those that aren’t optimized or responsive.
If your website is not mobile-friendly, it’s time for an upgraded redesign.
8. Not optimized for SEO.
This is a big one. You may have noticed a common theme running through this post – a LOT goes into your SEO rankings. And to complicate things further, algorithms are ever-changing. There are many things you can do to boost SEO organically on your current site – from utilizing tags and keywords, improving page speed, to adding and regularly updating a blog. Remember, fresh content is key. Also, broken pages and links can stop search engines from crawling your site. Adding backlinks to your website’s content is an important strategyl as well.
An SEO audit of your site would give you a thorough evaluation of your website’s searchability factors and uncover any issues that need to be corrected or improved.
If you do decide a redesign is in your future, you’ll want to make sure it’s built with SEO in mind from the ground up. Meaningful content that is relevant to the user will score more points than simply padding the text with a bunch of keywords, which Google penalizes. Organic SEO takes time to improve properly but well worth the effort.
8.Ready for a website redesign?
If you’re not happy with your current site – whether aesthetically, functionally, or it’s just not generating results – it may be time to freshen things up. Fortunately, there are many tools and services available to help you work within your goals and budget. If you’re still unsure and want some assistance evaluating, please feel free to reach out – we’re here to help!