A website is every business’ online front door. It’s the first thing people see when they arrive at your doorstep looking for more information about your products and/or services. Once your site loads, it takes .5 seconds for users to form an opinion about your overall brand. Needless to say, you need to make sure your website is visually pleasing and provides a quality user experience from the get-go.
48% of internet users say that a website’s design is the leading factor in deciding a business’ credibility. You need to make sure your site is designed with the customer’s needs in mind. As the internet is an ever changing and evolving facet of modern technology, this means your website should also evolve quite a bit from the time it was originally created.
So, why redesign? Why can’t you just update the page every now and then to reflect business updates?
Good question. If any of these points apply to you, a redesign may be in order:
Your website is no longer aligned with your marketing strategy.
Your website is a tool that should help you reach your marketing goals. It exists to expand your customer base and increase conversion rates. If that’s not happening – you need to consider a redesign. Take a close look at your website’s conversion rates to get a clear idea on what aspects of the site need to be adjusted.
It isn’t mobile responsive.
Over 17% of all web traffic comes from mobile devices. You will lose leads if your website isn’t showing up correctly on mobile.
Your competitors are changing their websites.
73% of businesses in the United States are currently investing in design to differentiate their brands. If you’re not constantly monitoring the performance and functionality of your site – your competition probably is. While you don’t need to do a complete redesign every single time your competitors do, if they are making extreme changes that are causing your business to go down in search results, you need to improve the attraction of your site.
It’s not functional.
Is your website easy to navigate? Can a user find everything they need to know immediately upon arriving at your site? If you’re hearing that it’s hard for people to get from A to B within your site, you need a redesign. Functionality should be a principal focus for you. If users are having difficulty finding what they’re looking for, your site isn’t going to drive leads.
You plan on implementing a new and improved content strategy.
If you plan on updating your website’s content to improve SEO and search results, you may want to consider redesigning your pages to guarantee easy navigation to your amazing and informative content.
Use the points above as a checklist. While you don’t always need to orchestrate a full website redesign, consistently checking to make sure that none of the above apply to you is a good idea for your long-term business goals.
Businesses that describe their online efforts as “design-driven” are 69% more likely to have exceeded their annual business goals. Is your organization part of this percentage? It’s no secret that a website redesign will expensive and time-consuming. However, if your current site is ultimately ineffective in bringing in business, then it’s time for a refresh. The results will be well-worth the time and money.