12 Signs It’s Time to Update Your Website

Millennials and Gen Zers have grown up with electronics and all things digital. Because the younger generations are so comfortable with technology, businesses have to keep up with current digital trends to reach their target audience where they want to be reached – online. It has become normal to have the instant gratification of finding what you’re looking for via a Google search, businesses are constantly trying to keep up and be found.

The digital world is an integral part of our existence. People relate the credibility of websites, businesses, blogs, etc. to their digital presence. If yours is behind the times, it may have a significant impact on your sales and overall success.

So does your website need to be redesigned? How do you know? We’re going to provide you with the top 12 signs that your website is in desperate need of a redesign or rebuild. If you answer YES on more than 2 of these, you might be at the rebuilding phase of your website journey.

When was the last time you updated or looked at your website? If it’s been a while, that’s a guarantee that it’s time for an update. Trends and styles change all the time, which means you can’t just “set and forget” your website. An old website will make your business seem dated.

You need to make sure the interface of your website is attractive, the products and services are up-to-date, the tone is contemporary and fresh and it’s fast-loading. Customers won’t sit and wait, they’ll go somewhere else, so you need to make your website as enticing as possible so they choose to stay. Remember, this is your first impression.

Here’s a checklist of things you should consider updating:

• New location
• New contact details
• New services or products
• New team members
• New awards and certifications
• New photos of your building, team, products, etc.
• Update your project portfolio and add any news
• Ensure all information is still correct

If you get stressed out just thinking about updating your website or adding new content, then it is time for a website redesign. Website technologies are changing all the time. There are new platforms, new updates, and new plug-ins being launched every other week, and the best thing is they’re all designed to make your life easier.

If your website was designed even just a few years ago, it’s more than likely that some updates could dramatically simplify your marketing life. Truly, there’s no need to wrestle for hours with a page that isn’t formatting properly. You also shouldn’t have to engage in battle with a hosting company or developer who built it for you.

A modern, up-to-date website will be easy to run, allowing you to make edits instantly. If this is something you struggle with, it’s worth asking for professional help. A digital marketing company will be able to help you sort out the rights to your domain (or buy a new one) and set up a user-friendly website that will be running in no time.

If you’ve redone things inside your website more than once, chances are that you have broken links or a lousy SEO structure on your website. This happens when you end up with pages five levels deep in your structure or pages that link to nowhere, causing 404 errors on your website. Sometimes this can be fixed, but again, couple this problem with any one of the issues listed on this page, it’s better and cheaper to start over.

Poor website structure kills SEO efforts, while an excellent website structure will boost your SEO efforts. In the competitive online world we live in, it is better to be on the side with all of the boosted efforts to help your business succeed.

A high exit and/or bounce rate is most likely an indicator that visitors aren’t finding what they need on your website, which can have a negative impact on your website performance and SEO.

Who is your target audience? What are your goals? What are your strategies to draw them in? Does your website answer these questions? If not, it may be time to update your website and brand messaging to ensure you’re providing value to your targeted audience.

Work with your target audience in mind and develop strategies with your design and development team to reach these goals.

Getting visitors to your website is a great first step. If those people aren’t turning into customers at some point, then something is wrong with your website. You need to ensure it’s easy to get the information they need, and that there are clear steps on how to get to each step on your website.

For example, can people click on your phone number on your site from their phone and call you? At the bottom of a page full of information, is there an option for them to learn more by filling out a contact form or scheduling an appointment? These are simple enough things to add, but they make a big difference to people wanting to use your products or services. If they can’t do it easily, they are more likely to move on to a competitor.

Getting visitors to your website is a great first step. Now you have leads, but if those leads are not turning into customers, then something is wrong with your website. You need to ensure it’s easy for visitors to get from A to B and that every visitor follows a logical path through to a conversion decision.

For example, is it is for people to contact you? Can they easily find your contact information? Can they click on your phone number to call you right from the website? Is your email address clickable? At the bottom of a page full of information, is there an option for them to learn more by filling out a contact form or scheduling an appointment? These are simple enough things to add, but they make a big difference to people wanting to use your products or services. If they can’t do it easily, they are more likely to move on to a competitor.

Plain and simple, if you aren’t getting enough leads or conversions from your website, it’s likely time for an upgrade. All the reasons we’ve outlined on this list can contribute to poor conversion rates and, if more than one problem looks familiar, you owe it to yourself and your bottom line to update your business website.

93% of online experiences start with a search engine, like Google? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most important factors in your digital presence. This is how potential clients will find you organically (free).

SEO affects where your website is ranked when a potential customer searches for the services you provide. For example, if a customer were to search “roofer,” would your roofing company’s website show up on the first page of organic search results, or page 100? 75% of users never scroll past the first page, which means your potential customers are more than likely reaching out to your competitors who live on page 1 instead.

A top SEO ranking boosts traffic to your website, and therefore your sales. If you’re struggling in this department, it could be time for a website redesign.

If your website doesn’t resize for different screen sizes, then you without question need a website redesign.

Why does it matter?
All of its content is squished onto a small screen which means it’s hard to read and any buttons are hard to interact with. Optimizing your website for mobile devices is imperative. 46% of people use their mobile devices as their primary research tool, while 67% of customers are more apt to purchase when a site is mobile-friendly.

According to Search Engine Watch, Google reported that 50% of smartphone users say they visit a local store within a day of researching it, and 18% of local searches lead to sales.

Currently, Google checks and determines a good portion of its ranking based on your mobile usability. They do not want to serve websites to users that do not comply with modern, responsive web design. Not only will Google hurt you, but when you do get traffic to your site on a mobile device, you risk losing business to this problem. When we see this, it’s an automatic rebuild – no matter what!

If your website isn’t optimized for mobile, you’re missing out on potential customers – don’t get left in the dust! It’s an EASY fix!

If you are like me and you’ve ever been to a website that takes 10 seconds or more to load, you’ve probably hit that refresh button and if it didn’t load you left before it completed. There is nothing worse than a slow-loading website. A slow load time kills conversion, SEO, and User Experience.

If your site is slow, people are more likely to abandon it before they even see how valuable your business could be to them. According to SEO expert, Neil Patel, 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less.

If your website isn’t loading quickly, customer satisfaction will decrease just as fast. This will not only hurt your reputation but your SEO as well. The ripple effect of a slow-loading site can reach farther than just one frustrated customer.

Sometimes this is fixable with caching, hosting, CDN’s and website improvements. Sometimes you have to know when to cut your losses and start over again. Don’t let a slow load time of more than 4 seconds contribute to your business development loss. It’s a problem we can EASILY solve for you!

Sometimes people will go through the exercise of updating their company’s branding, but in the process, forget to update that brand across their website. Rebranding is a HUGE reason to look at redoing your website. Brands and websites are SO closely related and tied together, and it often makes sense to handle them both at the same time. That way, we can execute your brand on your website and use your website to support your brand.

Also if the content on your website is outdated–phone numbers, services, mission statement, old photos–this will definitely drive away potential customers and a loss in sales. Since a website can be the main motivator that drives visitors to choose to do business with your company, you want to make sure that it caters to your target audience, is up-to-date, and makes a good first impression.

A website redesign is an easy fix to this problem and is more cost-effective than losing business.

If you’ve added products or services or changed the direction or focus of your business, then most likely your messaging on your website is off or isn’t communicating accordingly to your target audience. If the messaging is not matching the images and layout of your website this isn’t helping either. At this point, it’s usually best to start over. It might be that you need to rebrand, but maybe it’s just that proper messaging and website flow can help you get back on top of your game. Whenever you pivot your business heavily, like most owners are doing during COVID, you really should be looking at your website.

If you’re looking at a bill of $3-5k (or more) to fix all of your website’s problems, it’s likely WAY more beneficial for you to rebuild (sometimes even cheaper). If you’ve got 8 out of 10 of these things wrong – or even 3 out of 10 – it can be honestly less expensive to start over and build an SEO-effective website that follows your company’s brand.

What’s the difference?
When you fix a website, the web designer has to go through and take the time to figure out the coding, the structure, look to see what’s outdated, and that takes a lot of time. It is quicker to just redesign a website from scratch.

If your current website is guilty of even just one of the signs listed above, then it’s time to redesign your business’s website. A website redesign could be what takes your business to the next level. Not sure where to start? Website design and development is what I do – I’d love to work with you to enhance your website’s ability to perform and bring it into the modern digital age. If you’re interested in learning more, contact me today by calling us or scheduling time in my calendar, and let me show you what I could do for you and your business.