You don’t need a website redesign, right? You’ve got some content posted, your product page is up-to-date and the “about us” section don’t look half bad. Plus, you just did a redesign… uh… when was that again?
Sound familiar?
If you’ve ever caught yourself wondering if it’s time to jazz up your old site, wonder no more.
13 Telltale Signs It’s Time For a Website Redesign
Look out for these 13 clues… any one of them could mean it’s time for a redesign.
#1: Your Site Isn’t Mobile-Friendly
If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, a redesign is absolutely vital.
In 2015, Google announced that mobile-friendly site design would become a stronger ranking factor. This change impacted sites as big as Upworthy and NBC Sports. If your site isn’t mobile friendly, it probably hurt your search ranking too.
Using a responsive site layout is the best way to make your site mobile-friendly. Basically, a responsive layout is designed to adjust to fit whatever size screen your viewer is using, without using different urls or inconvenient redirects.
#2: You Don’t Have Any Traffic
Your website should be drawing new people to your business- so if you’re not getting the traffic you need, that’s a problem. The right website design will make your site more appealing to search engines and viewers alike, helping you attract more traffic.
A smart redesign will allow you to build a site that strengthens your SEO, social media, and content strategies, boosting your traffic.
#3: You Aren’t Getting Any Leads
So your website has plenty of traffic, but you aren’t generating leads. What gives?
Poor site design makes it hard to convert readers to leads. So, if you aren’t getting the leads you need to make a sale, it may be time for a redesign.
A strategic redesign will allow you to target qualified leads. You can do this by:
- Offering plenty of conversion opportunities throughout the site. Incorporate calls-to-action in your blog posts and in your site’s sidebar.
- Making it easy to subscribe to your blog or sign up for an email newsletter.
- Developing professional and informative landing pages that will allow you to convert the information you need from your new leads.
#4: Your Site Doesn’t Make A Good First Impression
In business, first impressions matter. That’s why you wear a suit to meetings, introduce yourself with a firm handshake, or say hello when you walk in a room.
Your website is your way to make a great first impression online. Having a great site design is crucial.
Open up your site and imagine you’re visiting it for the first time. Does it have the impact you want it to?
- Are your colors appealing?
- Is your font easy to read?
- Is your layout clear?
- Is your navigation easy to find and understand?
- Have you sacrificed user experience for cutting-edge design elements?
Examine your site with open eyes. You may really love the colors, design, or font choices, but if your current design leaves something to be desired, it’s time for an upgrade.
#5: Your Site Is Outdated
Things change fast online, and outdated content or design elements on your site will leave a bad impression on your customers.
If your site is outdated, it’s time for a redesign.
Ask yourself:
Is all of my content up to date? You don’t want any out-of-date statistics or descriptions of products you no longer sell cluttering your website.
Do all of my links work? If you’re linking, whether internally or externally, to defunct sites or pages you’ll need to make some revisions.
Do all of my apps work? Check for any add-ons, apps or videos that no longer work like they should.
Does my design look modern and professional? Online styles change. If you haven’t done a redesign in years, you’ll want to update your layout.
#6: Your Site Doesn’t Match Your Branding
Your website is one of the most powerful tools you have to market your brand well. If you recently rebranded your business, you’ll want to update your site design to reflect that change.
When looking over your site, ask yourself:
Is my branding consistent?
Does it clearly communicate my company’s mission?
If you answered no to either of those questions, consider a redesign.
#7: You Hate Updating Your Site
If you’d rather go to the dentist than make updates, it may be time for a redesign.
A professional redesign can improve how you experience your website by making it easier to use on the backend.
GROW Design works with business such as Jada Windows to improve not only the customer’s experience on the site, but the business’s experience, too. We do this by developing custom applications that make your website more accessible and easier to update. It’s important that your team be able to create new pages, make edits, and upload content.
When the backend of your website is streamlined and user-centric, you have greater control over your site and can better use it to reach your goals.
#8: Your Site Doesn’t Incorporate Social Media
Many of your viewers will find your site through social media. People will share your blog posts on Facebook and viewers will see reviews their friends post about your business.
If your site isn’t set up to take advantage of the traffic social media can bring in, it’s time for a redesign.
Incorporate buttons on each blog post so that people can share them easily, and make sure you have links to your company’s social pages.
#9: Your Company Has Grown
If your company has recently expanded, you’re no doubt excited about the new opportunities before you. Maybe you’ve moved to a new location, are offering a new line of products, or your business has recently grown in size.
Redesign your site and show off the exciting changes!
You’ll want to add new pages and content that reflect the expansion, and update your branding and image.
#10: Your Site Is Slow
Is your site more tortoise than hare?
Tools like PageSpeed Insights can tell you if your site is slow and why.
Slow site speed can kill traffic and make your website ineffective. Not only that, a slow site speed can damage your SEO. Search engine bots don’t want to spend ages crawling through your site any more than people do, so a slow site is a poorly indexed site.
A redesign can have a huge impact on how quick your site loads.
A good designer will improve your site speeds by optimizing your image, minimizing redirects, eliminating unnecessary plug-ins, and caching.
#11: Your Site Is Confusing
If your site is confusing, then it’s time for a redesign.
You want your site to be as user-friendly as possible. Your visitors should have easy access to whatever they’re looking for, be that a product page, content, a contact us page, or whatever else they may need.
When planning a website redesign, GROW designers do comprehensive usability research and testing to build a user interface your customers will love. Whether you choose to work with a professional team like ours or do your own redesign, make sure you design your site with usability in mind.
#12: You Aren’t Meeting Your Goals
One of the best ways to measure how successful your site is is to set specific goals.
For example, you may want to measure things like new and returning visitors, the bounce rate for your site’s various pages, or which keywords generate the most traffic.
You can set up KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) through your analytics software to measure these goals. Your design and development team can help you determine which KPIs will be most effective based on your business’s industry and the type of website you run.
If your site isn’t meeting the goals that are important to you, then… you guessed it… it’s time for a redesign!
#13:You Only Want To Make Small Changes
The key to knowing when your website needs a redesign, and how much you should change, is balance.
Are you concerned about making too many big changes at once? Reluctant to redesigning your website too often, or too dramatically?
A redesign can be small- like switching to a more appealing color scheme and making it easier to get to your business blog from your homepage.
Making small, incremental changes is a great way to approach a website redesign. This can make the transition to a new site smoother and help you maintain consistent SEO.
You can update your site’s design without completely overhauling it.
If any of the clues above made you think of your website, a redesign might be in your best interest.
We understand that a redesign is a huge commitment. A good site design takes a lot of time and effort. That’s why it’s essential to have a professional site design that will drive your business forward.
If you’re interested in building a website that will help your business flourish, don’t hesitate to contact our team of professionals here at GROW Design and Development. We’d love to speak with you!
