Summary: Revamping your website is something you should do regularly. Here are ten reasons to relook your web design.
Editor’s Note: This post was updated with new content in July 2022.
Technology is developing at the speed of light, and along with it, web and consumer behavior. Likewise, your company’s web design must also evolve. To make sure your website is working well, you need constant web development. Sometimes a company’s needs have changed so drastically it’s more sensible to make a brand new site.
Website redesign is not only about a new design. A few years in web technology can bring important changes that offer better user experience, easier management, better functionality, etc. If you feel like your business website no longer meets your business goals, here are 10 points that help you decide whether it’s time for a website redesign.
When was the last time your business website was redesigned? The good custom of web hygiene recommends redesigning your site after every 2-3 years. By this time, important developments have happened in technology and design. Although the web develops very fast, you don’t need to worry about every little thing. We have had smartphones for many years now, but only a few businesses have set up their mobile presence.
If you cannot recall when the last redesign of your site was, it’s a good indicator to make a new one. Even worse, does your website include Flash elements, automatic music/video player, shiny banners, etc? Definitely, time to make a redesign.
Growth is a natural part of every business. This, in turn, means that your website needs to change. How else will your customers know that your business is doing great? The problem emerges when the originally created website doesn’t support the developments needed. For example, your website has only product descriptions, but you want to add an ecommerce module. If you cannot develop your page the way you want, your online business will stand by. Sometimes it’s easier to build a new website than merely improve the old one.
Company growth comes often with changing product range. You need to show the changes on your website if you sell new products or your product range has changed substantially. A lack of fresh information will outdate your website. Also, you will get a negative image if you show products that are out of stock. Without new products your business loses potential clients – they cannot get fresh information about your business activities. The worst scenario is when you cannot make the changes by yourself, it’s too complicated, or you don’t have the access needed. It’s difficult to keep a positive online presence if your team doesn’t have the know-how for making simple updates to your site.
Business goals are changing and the changing needs transfer to the business website. A website that was created a few years ago may not support it. Many old websites were created in HTML format where you need to change the code to make any changes on the site. This kind of content management is very complicated. If you cannot add or change existing categories and your site requires a major restructuring, you should take the leap and definitely develop a new website.
Have your competitors suddenly risen from the ashes only to steal your clients with their fancy new website? When you can admit that a competitor’s website is prettier than yours, it’s time for changes. Their site could be more functional, easier to use, better organized, modern, etc. 70% of the purchase decision is influenced by the business website. When your website is worse than your competitors’, you can say “goodbye” to your clients.
Does your website include broken links like 404 error pages? Although fixing broken links is easy, it could refer to a bigger problem: your website is unorganized and poorly maintained. If your website has many broken links, errors, missing images, and other elements that are not working properly, you should consider a redesign. When creating a new site make sure to choose a CMS that makes it easy to update information and add new pages. This helps to avoid outdated content.
Have your website visits dropped? Visitors leave the page without any further inspection causing high bounce rates. Maybe your target group expectations have changed? Your website is not adapting to consumers’ needs. Check your web analytics to determine your visitors’ common path on your site. How do they arrive at your site? When and where do they leave your site? If your product pages have a high exit rate it’s a sign of weak digital marketing and/or a change in consumer needs.
No one doubts social media’s importance in a marketing plan. If you don’t share your social channels on your main marketing channel – your website – how can visitors find you in the social sphere? Often, people are too lazy or fickle to start looking for themselves. Social media is an excellent tool for developing customer relations and promoting your brand. If your website is missing social buttons, be sure to add them. Check out your blog and add sharing buttons to each blog post.
Flat design style modern vector illustration concept of web page wireframe prototyping, mobile website interface coding, choosing color palette scheme on digital tablet. Isolated on a stylish colored background.
You see increasing visits from mobile devices but are your visitors leaving your site before converting? The problem is that a regular website doesn’t meet mobile user needs. The increasing mobile trend will bring more and more mobile visitors to your site. That’s why it’s important to offer them the same user experience as on desktop. If your site does not leverage responsive design, it’s not mobile-friendly. You can also create a separate mobile web that doesn’t require rebuilding the old site. Read more about the difference between responsive web design and mobile web.
Rocking on a search engine results page requires constant technical adjustment and content updates. Technical elements include activities like choosing keywords and optimizing pages for relevant keywords. Some CMS systems make it easy to set metadata by yourself without having to change the code. If you don’t have a CMS, you probably need a little help from professional web developers. Search engines like Google, Yahoo! Bing, Yandex, etc. consider fresh and relevant content as a ranking factor. To meet their conditions and stay on top of search results you need to add fresh content regularly. So it’s really important that you can update your own site content and add new pages independently. The easiest way to keep your site fresh is by facilitating a blog!
The list above represents situations that might prompt you to consider revamping your website, but the question is, how will the revamp work to your benefit? What will you gain from a website revision? Let’s take a look at five ways you will grow your business by reworking your web design.
Looking at all the reasons we have listed above, it should be pretty clear that redesigning your website offers plenty of benefits. You should never make the mistake of thinking that web design is only about aesthetics. Sure, it is great to have a beautiful website, but that’s only a fraction of what you are aiming for. In the end, you want a website that serves your business goals. Here is how site revamps can do that for you:
There is no simple answer to this question. Basically, you should update your website as often as it needs to be updated. Minor updates may be necessary every week or every month, while a full revamp is probably best done every two or three years. That being said, it isn’t so much a question of a specific length of time. Updating your website is about responding to your needs and those of your customers. If it is falling short of its aims in this regard, then you should consider a revamp. Technology moves rapidly, search engine algorithms get upgraded regularly, and your customers’ preferences also progress and shift. If you want to know whether your website needs to be revamped, look out for the following signs:
If some of the situations sounded all too familiar, it’s an indicator of an outdated website. Maybe you don’t have to start from the ground and build a brand new site. But it’s important to remove the errors and keep your website at the top level. You can be sure that your potential clients are looking for service providers with prettier, more user-friendly, and more trustworthy web designs. So make sure you are the one who stands out!
Rick spent 20 years in the insurance industry in finance, primarily developing reporting platforms for B & C stakeholders. His ability to speak to consumers of data (managers and analysts) and translate their needs to programmers led him to start his own digital marketing agency in 2004 to develop data driven solutions for business owners.
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