Are you thinking about redesigning your website but unsure if it is the best thing to do? In this article, we looked deeper into the top reasons to redesign your business website this New Year.
As we shift faster towards digitalization, websites are fast becoming an indispensable asset for businesses. It serves as a crucial touchpoint and the face of your brand. As such, you must make sure your website is up-to-date. If the performance or quality of your site is underwhelming, you might want to consider a redesign. A website redesign is a detailed revamping of your site. It may include a content update, layout makeover, or navigation optimization.
As a website redesign requires resources, business owners must evaluate thoroughly if it is the best option for their company. Reasons may vary. The most common reasons include rebranding, increasing traffic, and adding functionality. Furthermore, your reasons will determine the scope of your website redesign. If your company will change branding, a simple layout makeover might suffice. However, if you change your business strategy, you might want to implement a content management system. This will improve functionality and add more customization options.
Not sure if a website redesign is the best option for your company this New Year? To help you decide, we have listed below the top signs that indicate your current site needs a revamp:
- Your current website is something you are not proud of.
- The website looks and feels old.
- It isn’t mobile-friendly.
- The number of your mobile visitors is dropping.
- Your current website is Flash-based.
- You recently rebranded your business.
- The website is not reflecting your business growth.
- It is not optimized for search engines.
- It doesn’t have a clearly defined content marketing strategy.
- The current website is giving your customers a bad experience.
- Your leads aren’t flowing anymore.
- You want to make your website more secure.
Your Current Website Is Something You Are Not Proud of
In the age of digital transformation, a sale or purchase is already decided even before contact has been made. A customer’s online journey begins the moment they land on your website. Thus, you must create strong impressions.
What your website says about your company can make or break a deal. How do you know if your website needs a redesign? When you hesitate to give clients your website address or URL, it is a sign. If you feel embarrassed about your current website, you must act quickly and resolve the issue. There can be plenty of reasons why you feel this way. It may be because your site looks outdated in terms of layout design or functionality. This will be discussed further in this article. But the thing is, pretending your website doesn’t exist or taking it down is a waste of an important asset. You spent time and money to have your website developed in the first place. Why start from scratch when you can have your existing one redesigned?
Your Current Website Looks and Feels Old
We are all consumers at some point. Thus, you must be familiar with this scenario: You stumble upon a site. Then you realize something is off. It feels old. You can’t tell why, but the homepage makes you bored. So, you left right away and never bothered to check the company’s products or services.
How can a website feel old, you may ask? There are quite a few reasons. Having a poor screen resolution, implementing a table-based web design, and using default fonts are just some of the factors that make your website look obsolete. Poor web hosting and a lack of social platform links also contribute. However, nothing screams out-of-date more than a Flash-based website.
You must make sure your website has the quality to grab your clients’ attention and encourage them to explore. You can do this by keeping your site up to date with the latest trends. Some of these trends include:
- Dark mode
- Above-the-fold CTAs
- Geometric designs
- Minimalist navigation
- Larger-than-life typography
Of course, the elements of your web design must complement and work with each other. Otherwise, your website might end up looking like a hot mess. That’s why you should seek the help of expert web designers.
Your Current Website Isn’t Mobile-Friendly
According to a report from Hitwise, nearly 60% of all online searches are now carried out on a mobile device. Some sectors, such as food and beverage, even reached 72%. Nowadays, people spend more time on their phones than on their personal computers or laptops. The on-the-go lifestyle is fast becoming the new norm. An average person always has a phone with them. On the other hand, laptops are usually used for work-related tasks. If you want to check your favorite online store, your first instinct is to grab your phone. Today’s websites have to be adaptable to all kinds of screen sizes. If your website’s mobile view looks disjointed, your customers might shift to your competitor’s more functional website.
Traditional websites, especially those designed a few years ago, tend to not render well on today’s mobile devices. While most businesses today have been quick to adapt, some companies are still using outdated websites. This can greatly affect their bottom line.
What makes a website mobile-friendly? It is when it can display its content properly when viewed from smaller screens. These can range from iPhones, Android smartphones, and intermediate-sized tablets. A mobile-friendly layout includes:
- Larger, easier to read text
- Mobile-friendly navigation
- Touch-friendly buttons and page elements
The Number of Your Mobile Visitors Is Dropping
With the increased pace of digitalization, the demand for highly responsive websites is now greater than ever. Your site may have been optimized for mobile devices when it was first launched. However, the web is an extremely dynamic place. New trends come up and new web protocol practices replace the old ones. As a result, your website may not be as functional as it was before. If your mobile leads are dropping, it is a good indicator that your site is no longer mobile-friendly.
A website redesign is one good way to reduce the bounce rate from mobile visitors. If you have a high bounce rate on mobile, it is bad news. The bounce rate is the percentage of website visits that are single-page sessions. In simpler words, your prospect left right away after landing on your site. This is one of the criteria used in measuring a website’s performance. A website redesign is a great opportunity to maintain old customers. It is also a good strategy to gain new clients. By keeping your website mobile-friendly, you are always one step ahead of your competition.
Your Current Website Is Flash-Based
Many years ago, Adobe Flash was the gold standard in web design and development. The Flash player had incorporated interactivity and animation into traditional websites. Online marketing has also relied heavily on Flash. It was used not just to make games but to support entire websites as well.
Fast forward to the present, and you will be hard-pressed to find a Flash-based website. When it was released in 1996, users connected to the Internet via dial-up connections. Internet speeds back then were considered extremely slow by today’s standards. Flash failed to transition to the era of smartphones and faster connections. Not to mention, it was plagued with security issues. Because of this, Adobe no longer offers security updates for Flash and urges its clients to uninstall it.
In a nutshell, web developers don’t use Flash anymore for the following reasons:
- There are better alternatives, like HTML5.
- Flash isn’t supported on major platforms.
- Search engines don’t like it.
- It is plagued with security concerns.
- Flash also requires a separate player.
- It is greatly inefficient.
If your website is still Flash-based, this New Year might be the best time to adapt to the changing times.
You Recently Rebranded Your Business
Just like people, your business identity will change with time. As your company grows and your competition increases, your brand can become dated. Great branding is critical to any business. Your brand is the identity that sets you apart from your competitors.
Rebranding is an effective marketing strategy to keep your company relevant to the changing times. It can increase company value, set business expectations, and widen your client base.
There is a disconnect when you decide to keep your old website after rebranding. The purpose of why you rebrand your business is to make your clients see your company in a new light. By still using your old website, you are understating your growth as a business. At the same time, you are undermining the potential of your new brand. A website redesign due to rebranding can be as simple as changing the color scheme of your layout. It can also be as extensive as a layout makeover. Whichever the case, these changes will help convey your message to your clients: your business is growing stronger than ever.
Your Current Website Is Not Reflecting Your Business Growth
It’s part of the process. As your company grows with time, you will venture into different markets, offer more services, and target new client groups. You must keep your customers updated with all of these changes. One effective way to do so is by making sure your website reflects this new information.
Expanding as a business offers plenty of potential. It can provide exposure for your products and services to a broader audience. By broadening your client base, you can bring in more customers and increase your sales. All this can lead to higher profits. Your client base is the key to your success.
If your website still has the same information as when it was first launched, you are missing a lot of prospects. You must keep your website updated every time your business changes. Your customers might go elsewhere because they don’t know that you are offering the services they are looking for. The main purpose of why you expanded is to reach out to a wider customer base. Updating your website with all these changes is one effective way to do that.
Your Current Website Is Not Optimized for Search Engines
In today’s world, consumers rely heavily on search engines for most, if not all, of their needs. In October 2020, Google was ranked first amongst the most visited multi-platform web properties in the United States. Search engines help us find everything from hotel recommendations to business-to-business providers.
Search engine optimization, or SEO, covers a wide range of strategies to improve your site’s ranking in search engine results. It involves increasing the quality and quantity of your website’s traffic. It also helps in expanding brand exposure through organic search engine results. SEO is all about gaining insight into what people are looking for online. Knowing these things will help your business reach out to a wider customer base.
If your current website is not optimized for search engines, you are missing a lot of prospects for your business. With the COVID-19 pandemic hitting the fast-forward button towards digitalization, consumers are now turning online for everything. Making and keeping your website SEO-friendly is one way for your business to thrive in these trying times.
Your Current Website Doesn’t Have a Clearly Defined Content Marketing Strategy
As your business grows, you will need a clearly defined content marketing strategy. It is one of the most effective methods of audience engagement. It also helps strengthen your brand presence and drive sales. Overall, it is a proven and tested growth method for all businesses. Content marketing is crucial because it satisfies what your audience wants to know. In doing so, you create trust, improve customer relationships, and generate more leads for your business. Consumers nowadays expect top-quality and consistent content from their trusted companies.
How does a content marketing strategy help your business? One of its benefits is that it promotes brand consistency. Being consistent with your brand messaging helps in making your company name more recognizable and identifiable. It helps you stand out from your competitors. Brand consistency is one of the many factors that can determine the success of your business. Your content throughout your website needs to have a unique voice, style, and pitch. If your current website is lacking in this aspect, a website redesign can help you with that. A website redesign is not just about changing your color scheme or revamping your layout. It also covers how to improve your website’s content.
Your Current Website Is Giving Your Customers a Bad Experience
Your website navigation will greatly affect the amount of time a visitor will spend on your web pages. User experience (UX) will directly influence search rankings, bounce rate, and client satisfaction. Your website must be efficiently designed. Navigation options should be readable, functional, and easy to use. Clients must be able to find the information they need quickly.
Frustration is the last thing you will want your clients to experience on your website. A horrible UX can take many forms. If the elements of your home page are not well-coordinated, your visitors will leave right away. The same goes for jumbled and confusing layouts. Your website should be designed in a way that helps users accomplish tasks quickly.
Your website should avoid unnecessary complexity. Creativity can indeed help in keeping your audience engaged. However, piling one design element after another for the sake of novelty will do the opposite. Everything that you put on your website must be well-thought-out and have a purpose. Otherwise, you will only make your site difficult to navigate for your clients.
Your Leads Aren’t Flowing Anymore
Lead generation is the process of persuading site visitors to provide you with their contact details. You can then use this information to get in touch with them for a possible sale. Most of the time, this involves getting your prospects to sign up for an email list. However, lead generation can also mean collating phone numbers, social media information, and physical addresses. In other words, visitors turn into leads the moment they give you their information.
Lead generation can take place through online forms for most websites. Your prospects can fill out these forms to send an inquiry or submit a referral. Whatever the case, this method of lead generation can help your business reach out to more clients. If your website is failing to bring in more leads, it could be a sign that you need a redesign.
A redesign can streamline your website with the right calls to action. This way, you can better optimize your site for lead generation. You can have calls to action implemented on every page. Additionally, take advantage of every opportunity to convert visitors into leads.
You Want to Make Your Website More Secure
Cybersecurity is not just a concern for big organizations. Small businesses can be just as susceptible to website hacking and viruses as larger ones. If your website was developed many years ago, you face greater risks of cyber crime.
A website redesign provided by professional web developers can help you protect your data. Professional web developers choose the right CMS and web host. They make sure that security is incorporated into the design from the beginning. You also don’t have to worry about updates anymore, as they can take care of them for you.
Conclusion
A well-designed website is one of the most effective marketing tools you have at your disposal. Make the most of it by keeping it updated and easy to use. When you feel your website is not performing well anymore, you must consider a website redesign. It may take time, money, and effort. But, it will be a great investment that can assure your online success.
When you are ready for a website redesign, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. You may give us a call at the following numbers: +1 (877) 216-0852, +1 (877) 300-6564, or +1 (866) 777-8315. We would love to hear from you soon.
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