Major signs that it’s time for an online overhaul
Your website is an important part of your business and should be the centerpiece of your digital strategy. A website introduces potential customers to your brand and showcases your expertise, professionalism and personality. A stylish, responsive and professional-looking site will attract more leads and, ultimately, drive conversions. A poorly-designed and outdated site, on the other hand, can make a bad impression with visitors, turning them off of your brand and resulting in lost business.
Read on to find out whether your website might be due for a good revamp.
Your Content Is Outdated
Your website’s content should always feel fresh, current and relevant. Keep an eye out for these telltale signs that your site is outdated:
- Abandoned blog: Maybe your last post was a year or even three months ago. Either way, there’s no evidence that it’s being updated consistently.
- Old branding: Your logo or graphics are inconsistent with your current marketing collateral.
- Inaccurate content: Your content describes services and products that you no longer offer, or features a tone and style that no longer fits your brand.
If any of these describe your site, it’s time to reconsider your content strategy. Having fresh content on your site will not only make it more interesting to visitors, but it might help you achieve better search rankings, as well.
Your Site Looks Outdated
A modern look is just as important for your site as having fresh, relevant content. The truth is: users care about how your site looks, and a cluttered or generally outdated design can make your brand appear unprofessional and untrustworthy. While ‘90s and ‘00s fashions are making a comeback—hello one-shoulder tops and strappy sandals!—your web design shouldn’t follow that trend.
Websites like Squarespace, Wix and Shopify make building a sleek, professional site easy. These platforms are also really flexible, allowing you to build a site without the need for coding skills. Looking for inspiration? Check out our article on the basics of web design to learn more about how to build a strong and aesthetically pleasing website.
Your Site Isn’t Responsive
More people than ever are browsing the web on mobile devices. Last year, the Pew Research Center reported that among the 83% of Americans who use the internet at least occasionally on a mobile device, 89% go online daily and 31% are online almost constantly. This means that it’s more important than ever that your website be responsive, offering a consistent experience across devices. A separate mobile site with bad UX design can cost you visitors and, in turn, leads.
When redesigning your site, keep in mind that users want mobile sites to be easy to read and navigate. Jenny Gove, a UX Research Lead at Google, suggests prominently displaying CTAs and search features, keeping menus short and making promotions easy to dismiss, among other things. You can also optimize your website for mobile by creating mobile-friendly content that your audience can read and appreciate on the go.
Your Site Isn’t Optimized for Search Engines
We’ve stressed the importance of SEO in the past, and we continue to keep it top of mind. There’s no use in having a great website if your audience can’t find it. If your site isn’t appearing where you’d like it to in search engine results—or if it isn’t appearing at all—it’s time to incorporate SEO into your website redesign and content marketing strategy.
Start by familiarizing yourself with some of the key factors that Google considers when ranking your site. Some best practices to keep in mind for your redesign include: incorporating appropriate keywords into text, tags and URLs; optimizing meta descriptions and including internal links to your own content to demonstrate your authority and help guide users to your most valuable information.
Your Site Isn’t Getting Conversions
What if you have a site that you love, but you still aren’t achieving your conversion goals? Then it’s a good time to review your site’s design and content in order to determine what isn’t working. According to Medium, “If your marketing activities are constant but you are seeing a decrease in your online sales or leads, it could be a sign that your website is not connecting with your audience.” Of course, before you start making tweaks and adjustments, find out what isn’t translating. Your data will only be as useful as how you analyze it!
Be sure to review your UI/UX design––a better UX can increase your conversion rate. You can also think about redefining your content pillars to better connect with your target audience, and A/B test some different CTAs and see which ones your leads respond better to.
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Want to make your website more strategic, effective and eye-catching? Check out our portfolio to see some of the redesign work we’ve done in the past, or contact us so we can help!
