Their are a ton of reasons to redesign your website, but it is extremely important to understand why and if it is going to benefit your bottom line. Maybe you just need to look more professional, generate more leads, faster load time, changed your services, merged your business, or you have changed the culture and want to relate to your customers with the new times among many other reasons.
When was the last time you thought seriously about having your website redesigned? Have you had your existing site up and running for so long that it’s still using blinking text? Good time to redesign, for sure. Most of the time, though, it might not be so obvious that it’s time to redesign your website. Even though in the past it might have been good enough just to have a website at all, these days you need to make sure your site is well-designed, engaging, and easy to navigate. So how do you know if it’s time for a redesign? These 9 reasons are good clues that it’s time to update your business’s website.
1) It’s programmed in Flash
Back in the day, all the cool websites used Flash. The days have changed, and using Flash is a bad thing now for a few reasons. First of all, two of the most common mobile devices out there (the iPhone and the iPad) don’t support Flash at all, and even Google has stopped supporting Flash on Android devices. Even more importantly, though, the search engines can’t read Flash, which means Flash is terrible for search engine optimization. Third, users have to install a plugin to see Flash animations, which takes away from the user experience.
Fortunately, there are other options to Flash nowadays. HTML5 allows for animations and other interactivity, and HTML5 is compatible with all browsers and smartphones. A recent survey by CEI showed that 86% of buyers will actually pay more for a better customer experience, so an outstanding customer experience on your website could translate into higher revenues for your company.
2) You have low search engine rankings
Search engines are constantly changing their algorithms, so low organic search engine rankings could mean it’s time to redesign that site. In the past, keyword stuffing was the key to SEO, but Google’s Hummingbird update changed all of that – nowadays, it’s much more important to have original, high-quality content on your site. That’s why sites with blogs perform so well. Designing your site with an eye towards SEO will make sure potential customers can find your website, because 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine, according to Search Engine Journal.
3) It’s not responsive, so it doesn’t work well on mobile devices
A growing number of Google searches are performed on mobile devices, and more than half of local searches are done using mobile devices. The April 21st update to Google’s search engine algorithms will mean sites that are as mobile-friendly as possible will be ranked higher in search engine results, so a website that isn’t mobile-friendly will see a significant drop in its organic search engine traffic.
4) It’s hard to update the content
It’s important to keep your content fresh and relevant, but you don’t want to have to hire a web developer every time you want to change your sites content, images, and blog posts. For this reason, if you aren’t already using a Content Management System (CMS), you should redesign your website using WordPress or some other CMS. These systems have improved dramatically over the years, and are so easy to use now that most 12-year-olds can update a site that is based on a CMS. Once you’ve redesigned your website in a CMS, it’s easy to make content updates to support new advertising campaigns or other changes in your business.
5) It looks old and outdated
Does your copyright say 2013? Do you have a musical introduction that loads as soon as someone lands on your website? Or, does it just look like a page from the Wayback Machine? Web design trends change quickly, and websites that are more than two or three years old can look incredibly outdated. These days, clean designs and easy navigation are all the rage, so if your website doesn’t fit that paradigm, it’s time for a redesign.
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6) You have high bounce rates and/or low conversions
If your visitors aren’t sticking around or just plain aren’t converting into leads or sales, that is a big problem. That means the visitors don’t find your site useful, and are leaving for a website that will be useful and will meet their needs. Keep your audience personas and your own goals strongly in mind before you redesign your website, and work with your design and development team to make sure your new website meets those needs and goals.
7) Your business has outgrown it
Let’s face it, your business evolves over the years, and hopefully grows. This means that a design that worked great four years ago might not be so hot now, especially if you’ve been adding link after link to your navigation menu until it’s as long as Jimmy Carter’s medication list. If you’ve run out of room for calls to action, or your really relevant pages are so buried that nobody can find them, it’s time to update your website.
8) It loads too slowly.
KISSmetrics says that almost half of consumers expect a Web page to load in two seconds or less. A full 40% of people will abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load, so a slow website runs the risk not just of annoying your customers, but also hurting your search engine rankings. A fast-loading website will ensure that your audience sticks around and has a great experience on your site, and there are lots of ways to speed up a website. If yours is slow, strongly consider a redesign with WordPess or Joomla which can be a great start to solve this issue for you.
9) You’re embarrassed to give out your web page address
This one always makes me laugh. Believe it or not, this is the one I hear more than any others. Any of the reasons listed above might make you ashamed of your website and reluctant to give out its URL. Or maybe something completely different makes you embarrassed to advertise that you have a website. If so, the time to update your website is now.
Your company’s website is your business card on the Internet, and it is an investment in your business’s future success. More importantly this is your modern day store front. Keeping your website up-to-date is crucial to maintaining it as a way to increase leads, sales, more happy customers, better awareness of your customer’s wants and needs, and legitimacy . If you find yourself nodding to any of these 9 reasons and thinking, “Yep, that sounds like our page,” then you should get started on a redesign right away.
So, Why Should I Redesign My Website? Did this article help you understand wether or not you need to redesign your website? If not, please ask your questions in the comments below. If so, share with a business owner or entrepreneur you believe can benefit!
This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: Should I Redesign My Website?
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