It doesn’t matter what industry your business is in – websites work. They make your business appear more credible and help to attract new customers. They’re also the perfect place to showcase your products, services, and shape people’s perception of your business. Think about it. Would you trust a business with either a badly designed or non-existent website?
Probably not. It’s almost 2020, and for your business to survive, it needs an online presence. However, it’s not enough to simply have a website. If your website is outdated or poorly designed, you’ll end up turning off customers and hurting your search engine rankings. This is why it’s so important to keep your website fresh, interesting, and up-to-date.
How do you know if your website needs an update? Here are 6 questions you should ask yourself to help you decide if it’s time for a redesign.
Is It Visually Appealing?
Your website is your brand’s chance to make a first impression. Are you making a good one? According to one study, first impressions are 94% design-related, with its visual appearance and navigation system having the largest overall influence.
Think about it this way: your website could have the best content around, but if your audience doesn’t find it visually appealing, they’ll probably never read it to find out. If you’re using out of date digital design trends, such as flash, rounded-edge boxes, or music that auto-plays, your website will feel outdated. This will ultimately affect the user’s overall perception of your brand.
Consider what your target audience would most want to see. Then, browse the latest digital trends. These two things should help you decide if your website needs an update or not.
If you’re still unsure of whether your website is visually appealing (we’re not all designers, after all), we also suggest that you check out your competition. What do their websites look like? If your website looks old or stale when compared to theirs, then it’s time for an update.
Does It Include an Effective Call-To-Action?
A call-to-action is something on an advertisement, website, or piece of content that inspires the viewer to do something. Your call-to-action could encourage them to visit a certain web page, subscribe to your email list, or reach out and contact you for more information. Basically,it’s there to let your user know what to do next.
For example, if you have an e-commerce website, a call-to-action should help move your customer further down the sales funnel. An example of this would be a “Buy Now” or “Add to Wish list” button. If your website does not include a call to action that is compelling and highly visible, it’s time to upgrade to one that does.
Does it Load Slowly?
People don’t like to wait, so if your website is loading slowly, it’s definitely time to consider a redesign. But how slow is too slow? According to research performed by DoubleClick, if your website page doesn’t load in 3 seconds or less,the bounce rate will be around 53%. Ideally, your website should load under 3 seconds to properly compete.
Is It SEO Friendly?
A SEO (Search Engine Optimization) friendly website is one that allows search engines to read and explore the pages on your site, also known as crawling. When a website is not easily crawled and understood, it won’t be ranked in any search results on search engines such as Google.
To create a SEO friendly website, many factors are considered, including your website’s domain name, URLs, navigation system, page loading speed, image alt tags, and more. We know that was a long list, but don’t feel too overwhelmed! If you don’t fully understand SEO or don’t have time to learn, just contact a SEO expert! It’s their job to understand all these on-page factors, so they’ll know the best solutions for the specific problems your website faces.
Is Its Design Responsive and Optimized for Mobile?
Have you ever tried looking at your website on your smart phone or tablet? If you haven’t, do so now. In the past, people only used their computers when they needed to search. This simply isn’t the case anymore. Now, more and more searches are performed on mobile devices. If your website doesn’t work properly or look nice on these screens, potential customers won’t bother using it.
If your website’s design is responsive, it can conform to whatever device it is being used on. Whether you’re viewing it on a computer or smartphone, the font needs to be readable, the menus usable, and so on. By creating a responsive website design, your users will have a good experience no matter what device their viewing it on.
Do You Just Have That… Feeling?
If the voice in the back of your head is telling you that your website might need an upgrade, listen to it! For your business to be successful, it needs a website that will encourage growth. As a business owner, you know your business better than anyone, so trust your gut feeling. It’s probably right.
Final Thoughts
Your business’ website is the most powerful marketing tool you have, so make sure to use it to your advantage. If your website isn’t visually appealing, responsive, and built with your users in mind, it’s time to upgrade to one that is. Once you can confidently answer “Yes” to the above questions, your business will be perfectly positioned to reach new levels of digital success.
