It can be hard to admit that your website is outdated or underperforming. The hard truth is an old website can cost you customers. These days, 87% of shoppers do their product research before making a purchase, which means visiting your website. In addition to that, the average human attention span has been reduced to about eight seconds, meaning if you want to grab their attention, you better do it fast!
So, how do you decide whether or not it is time for a website redesign? Webster Digital Marketing is here to breakdown the telltale signs it is time to overhaul your site once and for all.
1. Your Website Is Not Responsive
In 2019, 52.6% of website traffic was from a mobile device. Meaning the majority of people view websites from their phones and tablets as opposed desktops. The best solution is to have a responsive design, meaning your website will respond to the size and functionality of whatever device the viewer is using.
Having a responsive website design includes elements such as responsive layouts, navigation links that are easily clickable, image optimization, click to call features, and more. Having a design that makes your content illegible or unusable for mobile viewers will send your potential customers elsewhere.
If you are not sure whether or not your site is mobile friendly, you can test your site here: https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly.
2. Slow Load Speed
Have you ever visited a website just to feel like the page won’t ever load? These days, people do not have the patience for a slow website. They will simple go back to the search page and try the next option. Not such a great first impression, huh?
Not only does slow loading pages cause your customers to leave, but it also severely hurts your Search Engine Optimization (SEO), or where you rank on Google and other search engines. This could mean that your competitors with faster websites will rank higher than you in search, causing your customers to potentially never even see your website to begin with.
A website redesign can help with bloated or outdated coding, images that are not web-optimized, and in general, benefit the speed of your site. To see how fast your site is, use https://gtmetrix.com/.
3. Poor User Experience
User experience is such an important piece of the puzzle, there are entire degrees for user experience design. User experience is about considering the user’s needs while visiting and navigating through your site. Responsive design and load speed can be a part of the user experience, but it can also dive deep into functionality and design.
If your website does not have consistency throughout look, feel, and usability, your audience may feel a disconnect and leave.
4. High Bounce Rate
A bounce rate is a metric that represents the percentage of people who view only one page of your website and then leave. If your bounce rate is high, this is a good indication that your current website is difficult to navigate, unprofessional, does not provide enough information, or just underperforming.
The whole reason to have a website is to provide your potential customers with valuable information that helps them take the next step: buying your product, contacting you, or scheduling an appointment. Chances are if your bounce rate is high, visitors are not doing anything but leaving.
Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic, currently as a platform inside the Google Marketing Platform brand. You can use Google’s analytics system to calculate your bounce rate by dividing the total of single-page sessions divided by total page visits. To check this stat, go into the Analytics audience menu and click the “Overview” option. This will give you the bounce rate for your entire site.
If you don’t have Google Analytics set up for your website, WDM may be able to help.
5. Your Site Does Not Reflect Your Content Strategy
Content is king! It has been for some time and it will continue to be. The messaging on your website can help build loyalty and improve user experience. It can also improve your SEO. Here are a few questions you should ask yourself about your website’s content:
- Can users easily find your content?
- Is your content clear and concise?
- Does your content represent your branding and business identity?
- Can search engines easily find and index your content?
- Do you have separate pages for each service you offer?
- Are you using relative keywords and search terms throughout your content?
- Does your content include relevant calls-to-action?
- Do you have enough written content on each page? (Versus being placed in images or as videos. We recommend 600-800 words per page.)
- Has your content recently been updated and is it easy to update?
- Do all of the links on your website work?
- Are you breaking apart your content with headers and images?
If you answered no to any of these questions, it is time for a website redesign!
6. You Cannot Update Your Website
We hear this a lot from clients, and it surprises us every time. Some website designers actually write in their terms of agreement that they own the website, not you. Meaning that the design company can charge you every time something needs updated.
This can not only add up in costs, but it’s also just bad for businesses. When you want to change anything, whether it be a short sentence to the entire copy on a page, you should be able to.
At WDM, we always give clients admin access to their own websites. We are here to help your company, not nickel and dime you along the way. If you are unable to edit your own website, you definitely need a website redesign.
7. Your Site is Not ADA Compliant
ADA compliance refers to meeting the standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design. If your site fails to meet ADA standards, you risk lawsuits and heft fines. For example, first-time violations receive a $55,000-$75,000 fine, while repeat violations can reach $150,000. Federally funded organizations can also lose funding.
Sites like Wave and Web Accessibility can help you determine how ADA compliant your website actually is.
8. Your Website is Just Old
If your website is older than 5 years, chances are you need a website redesign. A lot has happened in website technology in the last 5 years, making them quicker, more functional, and more compliant. In addition to that, websites older than 5 years most likely look old too.
While we understand that appearance can be in the eyes of the beholder, most people can tell the different between old websites and new. This can give people a number of assumptions about your business, whether it’s that you don’t care about your business or your customers, or that your quality of goods or services is questionable, or just the fact that your competition’s website looks that much better.
Time for A Website Redesign?
Webster Digital Marketing designs professional, mobile-friendly websites that won’t break the bank. We create websites with the best practices for design and digital marketing in mind. So stop scaring away customers with your old website, and redesign your website today!
