Your website is probably the first point of contact from your potential customers. So when was the last time you took a close look at it? Its hard to admit that your website is ugly or isn’t performing. But chances are if you’re reading this article it’s probably an issue. But how do you know when it’s time to completely overhaul your website? Here are 5 signs you can look for to determine when it’s time for a website redesign.
Your website is too slow
Run your website through a speed tester like the ones listed below to see how quickly it loads. If it’s longer than three seconds, you should update your site just for this reason only. One study found that nearly half of visitors abandon websites that don’t load in three seconds or less, while a separate study found that every additional second to a website’s load time resulted in 7% fewer conversions. The loading time of a website is a technical aspect of the site that deals with the architecture of a page. Very heavy images, poor distribution of content, pages loaded with graphic elements that are not optimized for the web, hosting — all of these things make up the architecture of a page and add on delay seconds, which ultimately affects the performance provided to the end-user. Improvements such as reducing image sizes or switching web hosts are always an option; however, if your website does not have a good base structure, these changes would be a waste of your time and money.
Here are several tools available you can use to check the speed of your website:
Your website design is outdated
We all know that first impressions are everything. The truth is that when it comes to your website you only have around 3 seconds to make that good first impression. If your site doesn’t achieve this within the allocated time frame, you’ll have some missed opportunities. 81% of consumers research online first before buying. On top of that, about 90% of your potential customers will visit your website before contacting your business. With all of that initial research, you can bet those potential customers are seeing your website and your competitors website as well. Although there are no set rules when it comes to how often you should be updating your website, if it’s more than a few years old there’s a good chance your website is showing it’s age. Things like font styles, backgrounds, images, and layout can be a dead giveaway to how old your site is and make your website presence feel outdated. Checking out your competitors websites can be a great way to see how other companies in your industries are staying relevant online. If your website feels out of date in comparison, it’s a good sign that it’s time for a website redesign.
Your website is not responsive
This is extremely important. According to Google, 49% of consumers do their web searches using a mobile device, and this number continues to rise. Further, 65% of smartphone users agree that searches with their devices help them find the most relevant information from the companies that offer the products and services they need. Take a moment to visit your website on your mobile device. Notice anything? If it isn’t perfectly displayed, your site is not mobile friendly. If your site’s visitors have a hard time navigating your site on a mobile device, they won’t be coming back. In fact, if you take a look through your analytics and notice that none of your conversions come from mobile devices, you’re in trouble. The responsive design for mobile devices is not the future; it is the present. Each day that your website continues to appear deficient on phones or tablets is another day of lost revenue.
Your website doesn’t rank well in search engines
If your site isn’t optimized for search engines it means that it doesn’t have the right tags, coding, or descriptions needed for proper SEO. As a result, you will end up missing out on thousands of business leads. An effective website design is optimized for SEO but that doesn’t mean you have to spend months learning it in order to implement it. Be sure to read ‘Top 5 Reasons Why Your Business Absolutely Needs SEO‘ in order to get a head start.
Your competitors have redesigned their websites
Understanding your competition IS KEY in every aspect of every business. So when was the last time you checked out your competition? Take some time to go visit their websites. Do they look newer, do they load faster, or are they easier to use than yours? While it’s true that you shouldnt be blindly following what others are doing, if your competitors have websites that look and work better than yours, you’re going to be at a significant disadvantage.
An effective website is vital to the success of your business
When it comes down to it, redesigning your website can really be a game changer for your brand or business. Whenever you consider a website redesign, you need to think of it as if it were a store. A site is a perfect platform in which your visitors can make purchasing decisions. Think of it this way, if you were to walk into a cluttered store, would you want to stay there? The same thing applies to a website. If your customers can’t find what they’re looking for they won’t be back. If you’re ready to start reaping the benefits of a well designed, fast, SEO optimized website, get in touch with me. I only have slots for 1 or 2 clients each month to ensure that I can deliver my best work for each and every client. So contact me now and we can start the conversation. I look forward to hearing from you!
