6 Questions to Determine if It’s Time for a Website Redesign
Your website is often the first place your audience encounters your brand. What kind of first impression is it giving? If you have hardly touched your site in a while and you know it’s not bringing many, if any, leads for your business, you probably need a website redesign.
A subpar website is not only ineffective but can also hurt your business by negatively affecting your credibility and scaring visitors away. Plus, Google generally doesn’t like poorly designed websites, so chances are you won’t show up in search results.
If you suspect it’s time to redesign your website, ask yourself these six questions as you evaluate your current site.
Are the visuals and design outdated?
A website is not something you set and forget! So whether you designed it yourself or someone else did, if your site hasn’t been updated in years, you’re overdue for a refresh. Especially if it:
Gives ‘90s or early ‘00s vibes
Is clunky and filled with unnecessary information
Has too much information packed onto one page (most likely, the homepage)
Is text-heavy
Contains outdated imagery
Most of all, are you embarrassed to share it? If so, it’s time for a website redesign.
An outdated, unappealing site will lead visitors not to trust your brand. It makes a poor impression and shows prospects that you don’t take pride in your online presence. You wouldn’t let your physical storefront or office fall into disarray, so why would you allow your digital home to languish?
Can visitors find what they need?
Think of a website you visited where you couldn’t find what you were looking for. What did you do next? Most likely, you left out of frustration!
One of the fastest ways to lose potential customers is to have a difficult website to navigate. If you don’t quickly and clearly show visitors what you do and what they need to know, they will bounce off your site. Worst of all, they’ll probably find answers and solutions elsewhere, meaning another brand will end up with their business instead of you.
Always make sure the following information is easy to find:
Products or Services: What solutions do you offer? How can someone purchase from/work with you?
About Us: Who are you? Why do you do what you do? What experience and credibility do you have?
Contact: How can someone get in touch with questions or concerns?
Easy navigation is a crucial part of creating a positive user experience. Burying or simply not having essential information will only cost you business in the end.
Is it difficult to update content?
Do you struggle to make basic content changes? If it’s a hassle to edit your web copy, add or remove images, or create a new page, it’s time to redesign your website.
It should be easy to make these quick edits to your site. If you can’t do something as simple as editing, adding, or removing a product, you’ll struggle to keep up with industry changes and customer needs. This can also cause business inefficiencies and customer confusion.
Maintain control of your website by redesigning it on an easy platform for you to manage. For example, SkyHouse Creative designs many of our clients’ websites in Squarespace, a user-friendly content management system (CMS). Clients can easily learn how to make simple changes and don’t have to rely on a designer for every single content update.
Does your website reflect your brand and mission?
If your brand strategy and identity have evolved but your website has not, you’ll need a redesign to ensure your digital home aligns with your overall brand.
So, if you’ve updated your:
Mission
Service or product offering
Logo
Brand colors
Font systems
It’s time to update your website to ensure brand consistency!
Plus, if you have new services or products, you should showcase them online as soon as possible. A recent study showed that users' average time on a page is 54 seconds. While this depends on the industry and type of website, overall, brands have a pretty short amount of time to show prospects everything they have to offer.
Is it responsive?
Your website should resize and fit various screen dimensions, from desktops to laptops to tablets and mobile devices.
Having a mobile-friendly website is essentially a requirement nowadays. In fact, another recent study found that almost 70% of all website traffic in 2020 came from mobile devices! Customers want their information quickly and easily, often when they’re on the go. If people visit your website and it doesn’t work or display correctly on their device, they will get frustrated and bounce.
Additionally, Google penalizes websites that are not responsive, meaning your site is likely to get pushed way down in search results. Not having a mobile-friendly site is another surefire way to lose business. If yours is not, you need a website redesign as of yesterday!
Does it bring you leads and sales?
If your conversion rate is low, but your bounce rate is high, it’s another sign you need to redesign your website. A lack of leads and sales could be a result of one or a combination of issues, including:
Visitors are confused or can’t find what they’re looking for
An outdated site design is driving people away
Lack of mobile responsiveness
Slow load times
Unclear calls-to-action
Any of these is enough to confuse visitors or lose their attention, thus driving them away. To start, you want to make sure people are spending some time on your site. Are they sticking around for a while? Exploring other pages? If so, this is a good sign that they are researching your business. Even if they don’t make a purchase right away, they’re aware of your brand and will likely visit again. But it will be challenging to get people to stay for long, never mind convert, with an old, slow, confusing site.
Is it time to redesign your website?
If any of the above struck a chord, you have your answer. Your digital home should be something you’re proud to show off. It should serve as a guide for your prospective clients, building their trust in your brand and driving them to the desired action–whether that’s buying your products or investing in your services. And it should act as a 24/7 salesperson for your business, continuing to bring in traffic and conversions even while you sleep!
Are you ready for a website redesign? SkyHouse Creative will be happy to assess your current website and goals to design a functional and attractive website that meets all of your needs. Simply tell us a bit more about your business by filling out our client inquiry form, and we will be in touch shortly.
