Why do I need a website redesign? Do you ask yourself these questions as a company or business? Let us have a conversation then you decide.
First if you have a Facebook, Instagram or twitter account , then that is not a website! Want to understand more read these article that shows the Website design Vs Social Media Account.
Picture your ideal office set up. I mean the perfect workspace for you and your team.
Clean with ambient looks, with big windows for the natural light and the room to be spacious. Branded with vibrant colors that best describe your brand. The furniture and wall paintings are in sync with your décor and your branding guidelines.
More so, visitors are greeted by a friendly receptionist who knows how best to assist them. It feels like a home away from home and everyone who visits your office would want to come back.
That feeling of your dream workspace is a feeling that should be echoed in everything that represents your brand.
Remember:
Your Website is part of your brand.
- How do you feel when you look at your website? Or first of all, Do you have a website? If you do not click on these Website Design link to see how you can get one. If you do, Does it elicit pleasant thoughts or is it just “functional”?
- Do people who visit stay and come back again or do they pop in and leave before you can even say Hi?
- Is it your ideal space? These are some of the questions you should candidly answer by yourself before deciding whether or not it is time for a redesign.
Having a visually appealing website that is also user friendly is crucial for your business. It will boost your brand profile to potential new customers and increasing visitors’ conversion rate.
You could be wondering, what if I do not have a website? Will this information be relevant to me? Understanding what to look out for and mistakes to avoid will be useful when sourcing for your website. This will ensure that the brief you give to your developer is clear and delivery is according to your specifications. You can also check at our website solutions here.
Okay lets jump ahead and check these 9 reasons why I need a website redesign.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
1. Outdated Content On Your Website
If you can’t remember the last time you updated anything on your website, then you are doing a disservice to your customers and company brand. Content on any type of website needs to be constantly refreshed. This is because there is always a new product to be marketed or new offers to be given.
We sometimes forget that a website helps us serve a wide variety of stakeholders including suppliers, licensing authorities, creditors, marketers, and even learners. An updated website therefore not only serves their different needs but also helps add to your credibility and brand loyalty.
It is important to note that as you update your website with new content, the message and the target audience needs to be clear. Whether it is to communicate a change in location, new offers, responding to a customer’s complaint, or just a season’s greeting message, the message should be tweaked to suit the tone of the message.
In other words, always think like the customer when posting new content on your site. Eventually, this will reflect positive results on your website’s traffic and conversion rates.
Take note that hackers also identify such dormant websites and use them for their malicious activities. Hence fresh content to some extent plays apart in security. You can check out other security measures from this article.
2. Your Site Is Not Mobile Friendly
You can watch this video on the best practices to learn about a mobile friendly website among other web best practices. In summary, having a website that is not mobile-friendly is a major reason why you need a website redesign.
A recent study from StatCounter found that globally mobile phone devices account for 53.81% of all tools used to access the internet. Desktop (Laptops and PC) users make up 43.27% while tablets make up the remaining 2.92% as of April 2020. This means that for most online users, it is far easier and more convenient to use their mobile phones to access the internet.
The website dimensions and graphics need to be able to adapt to any screen size with ease. Users do not want to keep zooming in and out to see the content that has been cut on different tabs because your site is customized to one specific screen size.
Fun fact: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) requires that your website be mobile-optimized as part of the criteria to get favorable rankings
3. Limited Functionalities
We don’t like it when things start getting too complicated that’s why we pay for experts to do some things on your behalf. Adding or removing functionality on your website should not be like changing a car’s engine. Functionalities like adding a calendar of events or including a slider banner to advertise your new products or offers.
These features may not have been part of the agreement with your developer. Though as your business needs grow, these functionalities should be easy to include.
However, websites that were designed with lower version templates could face challenges when trying to add new features and functionalities.
There are multiple options for upgrading a website and using plugins (software that acts as an add-on to a website or browser and to give it additional functionality). However, if the template version was too low then you might have to consider a full redesign.
4. Your Website Is Not Versatile
Good businesses are scalable and the same applies to websites.
If for instance you are operating an online store and your product lines have grown, then you might need to construct a page for each product with the additional sub-categories, to fit your expanding catalogue.
5. Poor Information Flow
Your website reflects your business or personal brand and your brand is your story to the world. How you communicate it is through more than just through words. The information on your site should be well structured to flow.
If a visitor cannot tell whether they have landed on your about us tab or contact us page or has to go through every tab to get what they are looking for, then it is time to consider getting a redesign.
As highlighted above, always try to put yourself in the customer’s shoes when reviewing your website. If the website layout does not flow and the story is all jumbled up then it is time for a redesign.
6. Slow Loading Page
There are several reasons why your website could be slow to load.
- Hosting sites serves are slow or overloaded
- Image files are too large
- Too many ads
- Catching issues
- Too many plugins
- Poorly-written scripts and bad coding
It should not take more than 10 seconds to load your page. Long loading times affect your user experience and may be damaging to your sales efforts. Users will get bored after a few seconds and drift to your competitor’s website.
The good news is that most are developer-related and can be fixed with some simple coding techniques. You need to assess what is causing the website to be slow by seeking expert advice to know if it is a simple fix or if you require a redesign.
7. You Have Rebranded
A rebrand is usually exciting. It is like a rebirth, a clean slate. You will need to rebrand your online platforms. One of the best tools to communicate a rebrand is through your website
After undergoing such major changes to your company’s brand and direction, the natural thing is to have your new website reflect the new story you are telling. Depending on how your website was developed, you may need to redesign it and update it with your new look and feel or it may call for a new website.
If the nature of the business has changed or expanded, say from offering a service to selling actual products then you may need to think about a redesign.
8. Your Website Feels Too Complicated
People like things simple. You should always seek to hear user reviews and comments about your website. If users complain that your website is too complex or that they can’t ever seem to find what they are looking for, then you better act on this feedback and act fast.
If users find your site complicated or too cluttered, they will not spend time looking around. When this happens search engines like Google interpret this as a bounce rate. If many users bounce then your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) will not work well as the search engine will assume your users do not like what they see.
The site is complicated and can also be affecting you as the owner. If it is too hard to upload new content or you need training every time you want something done on the site then probably you should consider a redesign.
9. The Website Is Not Meeting Your Brand and Sales Objectives
Apart from the good design, well-formatted text, and good graphical elements, the website should be able to help you increase your conversions rate, receive feedback, or grow your brand.
A good website should have well laid out forms, have a way for customers to reach you, and call to action options (book an appointment or order now buttons). If it is an e-commerce shop, the photos should be captivating and well laid out to solicit a reaction from the target audience.
A website that does more harm than good to your sales and brand efforts is better of deactivated than being online.
Conclusion.
In summary, just as your dream workspace needs to be very appealing and elicit a good reaction from your physical customers so should your online workspace. A good website should make it easier for you to tell your brand story and effectively sell your products and services. Remember as you think of engaging a web agency to avoid making wrong decisions read these article on questions to ask the website company to gauge if they are fit to work with you.
A Website without visitors is like a ship lost in the horizon | Dr. Chris Dayagdag
Having read through the 9 reasons you need a website redesign? Which of the challenges are you facing right now? comment below to get assistance.
