It is a good rule of thumb to keep a watchful eye on your online presence. The digital landscape is changing every second of every day. And new brands are launching their competitive products at every turn. Your business has had the same website for a while now, and you may be wondering if it is time to bite the bullet and go all-in on a website redesign.
If you’re reading this article, you may be nodding your head at this point. But how do you know when it’s time to move past the content updates and instead opt for a website redesign? In our experience, there are a few telltale signs that your website is in need of some TLC. Maybe it’s slow to load, maybe it doesn’t look great on mobile, or maybe it’s not generating qualified leads.
Here are the 4 key signs to consider when deciding whether or not your website needs a redesign.
Sign #1: It’s 2019 and your website is still not optimized for mobile
Running a business is tough and takes up all of your waking time. Your website is probably the last thing on your mind, but it’s the first thing on your customers’ minds. With users spending the majority of time on their mobile devices, it’s no longer okay to have an inaccessible site that provides a poor user experience.
On average, a person checks his or her phone 46 times a day — an indicator of the extensive mobile usage in developed markets.
If a potential customer can’t figure out how to navigate your site on their phones, contact you easily or — better yet — can’t find you in search engine results, they’ll quickly abandon your website and contact a competitor instead. If your website isn’t set up to display your content in a readable way, you’re missing out on potential sales/leads on a consistent and ever-growing basis.
Sign #2: Your website looks like it was built in 2001
First impressions are everything, and your website is no exception.
In most cases it’s the first interaction customers have with your brand or business. There are some simple design best practices regarding colors that work well (and those that don’t), fonts that are less legible on certain screen sizes and resolutions, the list goes on and on. And these are just the tip of the iceberg, we could go on for days about UI/UX best practices for today’s digital space that would have made web developers from 2001 head’s spin.
Competitive markets and constantly changing landscapes of the web make it difficult to stay relevant. But keeping a pulse on what your top competitors are doing with their websites, as well as just having some favorites from a functionality perspective from other sectors is always a good idea.
But if your website isn’t up to snuff, don’t sweat it; tomorrow is another day and there is no better time to redesign your website than now.
Sign #3: Your website take more than 3 seconds to load
As technology advances, consumers are growing increasingly accustomed to instant gratification. According to a Kiss Metrics report:
- 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less
- 40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load
- A 1 second delay in page response can result in a 7% reduction in conversions
If your website doesn’t load within 3 seconds, potential customers are leaving your site in favor of your competitor’s more modern websites. You’re literally leaving money on the table.
Redesigning a website on an SEO-ready platform that’s built with speed in mind will instantly alleviate these issues.
Sign #4: Your website visitors aren’t converting
One of the clearest signs your site needs a design overhaul is dwindling or non-existent conversions. In other words, customers aren’t purchasing your products or contacting you for more info. They aren’t taking that next step to continue a dialogue with you. Just like in the dating world, you start to wonder — is it me? And sometimes it is them — they aren’t ready to make a purchase or it isn’t exactly what they are looking for after reading information on your website.
But sometimes, it is you. It is your website experience and it could be turning users off. There are several reasons why this may be occurring:
- Your website isn’t mobile-friendly
- Your website’s information architecture (IA) — e.g. the navigational structure — may be confusing or contain irrelevant links.
- There isn’t a clear hierarchy of information, and/or the layout isn’t coherent
- Your brand message isn’t clear
- Your contact form is difficult to fill out (or perhaps not working at all) or it isn’t easy to get to
Luckily all of these reasons can be easily addressed when you redesign your website on a simple platform.
Your next steps
If your website exhibits any (or possibly all) of these signs, it’s time to seriously consider a website redesign. Check out some website design tips to keep in mind if you are ready to take the next step in redesigning your website.
Maybe you know you are lacking in one particular area, but the others are a bit cloudy and up to interpretation? Not quite ready to call it quits on your current website? We get it, it can seem like a big undertaking and time-suck when you already have a lot of other projects for your small business going. Having a conversation with a web design and development agency is a good next step to help determine if you need to go down the redesign route or just need to update some features instead.
And remember, keep the user (or customer) top of mind when you are thinking about your website. Think about if they are getting what they need, when they need it. Because if they aren’t, then that means you likely aren’t achieving your goals either.
