When was the last time you updated your website? Your business may be suffering from a slow, outdated, underperforming website.
Your website is your connection to the world outside your office. Many businesses create unique websites and then leave them for years to come without updating them. While the information may be the same and still relevant, technology has since improved and surpassed what was state-of-the-art just 6–12 months ago.
Technology is a leading factor for needing to update your website. However, even design styles, layouts, and website organization significantly impact how your user perceives your site and your business.
What are some of the indicators that you need a new website?
There are many indicators for a website redesign. In this post, we will cover the top five factors to consider.
Top 5 Reasons to Redesign Your Website
Redesigning your website will certainly help fix stagnated performance. However, it is also a great idea when planning to take your business to the next level. Let us look at five key factors to consider when redesigning your website:
1. The Site Design is Old and Outdated
Design and layout styles change rapidly. Much like the flavor of the month at Starbucks, what consumers look for in design changes frequently.
Now, I am not saying you should change your website whenever the weather changes. However, if your site is a few years old, you may want to consider changing it.
Watch for the signs:
- Your page has a higher-than-average bounce rate of>80%.
- The website design is over two years old and has not been updated.
- Your site looks vastly different from other websites.
Tips to fix it:
The first thing you need to do is see just how outdated your site is.
It could be just a simple layout refresh or responsiveness for mobile usage. However, it could also be a more complicated issue, such as updating your website content, i.e., design, user experience, funnel flow, or the back-end software.
2. Users Have a Hard Time Navigating to Relevant Content
Even if your site uses the trendiest designs, if your users cannot easily find what they are looking for, they will leave and go elsewhere.
There was an old rule for a user experience that stated every user should be able to complete their targeted task within three clicks. This was known as the three-click rule. However, the focus has shifted from the target number of clicks toward the relevance of content leading your visitor to where they intend to go. Site navigation is one of the most important things to consider in any website redesign.
Watch for the signs:
- The average time on a page is either short (10 seconds or less) or too long, accompanied by high bounce rates.
- Your site has good traffic but low conversions to sales or leads.
- Google Analytics User Flow and Behavior Flow tools reveal that most visitors do not follow the user journeys or pathways you laid down for them.
Tips to fix it:
The easiest way to diagnose website performance is to use a heatmapping tool. This will help give you a visual illustration of how users traverse your website.
Once you have narrowed down your website bottlenecks, you can continue improving the user experience by enhancing navigation to relevant content.
3. Site Design Is Not Done with A User First Mindset
One of the most common mistakes in website design is not understanding your target audience. Every website or physical store needs to tailor the user experience to its target audience, a buyer persona. You would not lay out an interior design store the same as a pet store simply because you need to cater to your clientele and how they shop.
A well-created web design questionnaire, industry research, and buyer persona development can help immensely prevent this issue. These are essential things to consider when choosing your web development team, as not all web designers consider these aspects.
Watch for the signs:
- Your website is attracting everyone but your intended audience.
- Your website’s traffic is significantly skewed towards just one section, while other areas are ignored entirely.
- The site’s search history reveals people are searching for something you are not targeting as an offering.
Tips to fix it:
Fixing this issue depends on why it is happening.
One main reason is that your site is too generalized and not specific to who you are targeting. This happened when the area was designed without a particular buyer persona.
You will need to reassess who your buyer is and build a new buyer persona to define better who your audience should be. Fortunately, there are a lot of tools to help with this, or you can work with a web development team that puts the buyer at the forefront of building websites.
4. The Business Is Pivoting
It is not unusual for a business to pivot. Reasons for a business pivot can be any number of things from their niche that are no longer relevant or have found a more robust offering to target.
When this happens, a business will undergo a rebrand, if not a total and complete overhaul. This will also entail completely redesigning their website to better match their new offerings.
Watch for the signs:
- The logo and branding no longer fit the company’s mission or offerings.
- The website’s messaging and image no longer matches the new offerings’ buyer persona.
Tips to fix it:
New branding often includes a new logo, color palette, font and layout, and website refresh.
5. The Site Needs to Promote New Products or Services
Not every product launch or new offering will constitute a complete website redesign.
However, with a significant change in products or services, it is beneficial to redesign your website to better reflect the new direction of the business. Still, it allows you to launch with current trends, technology, and design.
Watch for the signs:
- Most leads and sales generation are derived from just a few of your offerings.
- Your once trendy and hot items are no longer generating traffic and sales.
Tips to fix it:
Companies like Apple, which do major product releases and regularly change their website, have dedicated designers they work with.
Be proactive rather than take on redesign requests as they come in. Plan ongoing redesign work in your website management proposal to ensure your site is regularly updated to the latest tech and trends.
Keep Your Website Up to Date and Competitive with A Redesign
Download the free 15 Reasons For Redesigning Your Website e-book for even more reasons and tips for your website redesign. Staying relevant in the digital world is a constant game of cat and mouse.
