Your website doesn’t necessarily need to look terrible to be underperforming.
In fact, many businesses become accustomed to their website and don’t realise how dated or difficult to use it has become. Technology changes. Design expectations change. Google changes. More importantly, your business changes.
A website that worked perfectly five years ago may no longer reflect the company you’ve become today. Here are ten signs it could be time to consider a Website Redesign.
1. Your Website Looks Outdated
First impressions matter online.
Visitors will quickly form an opinion about your organisation based on the quality of your website.
An outdated design doesn’t necessarily mean flashing banners and graphics from 2005. It can simply mean that typography, spacing, photography and layouts no longer reflect modern expectations.
If your business has evolved but your website hasn’t, there can be a significant disconnect between the company you are and the company visitors see online.
2. It Doesn’t Work Properly on Mobile
Your website should be designed for screens of all sizes.
That doesn’t simply mean squeezing the desktop website onto a smaller screen.
Navigation, buttons, forms, images and content all need to work naturally on mobile devices.
Try using your own website on your phone.
- Can you easily navigate it?
- Can you read everything without zooming?
- Can you complete an enquiry form comfortably?
If not, potential customers may be experiencing exactly the same problem.
3. Your Website Is Slow
Visitors don’t have much patience for slow websites.
Large images, poor hosting, outdated plugins, unnecessary scripts and inefficient development can all contribute to poor performance.
Speed is particularly important on mobile connections.
A redesign provides an opportunity to review the underlying website rather than simply changing how it looks.
4. You’re Not Receiving Enough Enquiries
Traffic is useful.
Enquiries are better.
If people are visiting your website but aren’t contacting you, consider whether the website makes the next step obvious.
Strong websites use strategically positioned calls to action such as:
- Get a Quote
- Book a Consultation
- Arrange a Visit
- Request a Callback
- Talk to Our Team
The appropriate CTA will depend on the business, but visitors shouldn’t have to search for a way to contact you.
5. Your Website No Longer Represents Your Business
Businesses change over time.
You may have introduced new services, entered different markets, expanded geographically or repositioned the brand.
Your website should evolve with you. If you’re constantly telling prospective customers:
“Ignore that part of our website – it’s out of date.” that’s a fairly strong indication that something needs to change.
6. Updating Content Is Difficult
Your marketing team shouldn’t need to contact a developer every time they want to change a paragraph.
Modern content management systems such as WordPress make it possible for businesses to manage much of their day-to-day website content internally.
A redesigned WordPress website can give your team greater control while allowing more complex technical requirements to remain professionally managed.
7. The Navigation Has Become Complicated
Websites often grow organically.
Five pages become 20.
New services are added.
News sections appear.
Landing pages are created.
Before long, navigation designed for the original website is trying to accommodate something much larger.
A redesign provides an opportunity to reconsider the information architecture of the website.
The goal should be simple:
Help visitors find what they’re looking for as quickly as possible.
8. Your Branding Has Changed
If you’ve invested in a new logo or brand identity but your website still reflects the old company, you’re presenting two different versions of the business.
Brand consistency builds recognition.
Colours, typography, photography, tone of voice and messaging should work together across your website and wider marketing.
NetCreater’s Branding & Graphic Design team can also develop visual identities alongside website projects where required.
9. Your SEO Foundations Are Poor
A beautiful website isn’t much use if nobody can find it.
A redesign provides an opportunity to review important SEO fundamentals including:
page structure, headings, URLs, internal linking, metadata, image optimisation, mobile usability, page performance and structured content.
It can also allow you to create dedicated pages around the services, sectors and locations that are commercially important to your business.
However, redesigning a website without considering existing SEO can also be risky.
Existing URLs and rankings shouldn’t simply disappear when a new website launches.
Redirect planning should therefore form part of the migration process.
10. Your Business Has Simply Outgrown It
Sometimes there isn’t one major problem.
You’ve simply outgrown the website.
Perhaps you now need:
- eCommerce
- Multiple locations
- API integrations
- Online applications
- Recruitment functionality
- Booking systems
- CRM integration
- Customer portals
- Better reporting
- More advanced forms
Trying to continually bolt functionality onto an old platform isn’t always the most effective solution.
Sometimes rebuilding properly creates a stronger foundation for the next stage of the business.
Does This Mean You Need a Completely New Website?
Not necessarily.
Sometimes an existing website has a good technical foundation and simply needs improvements.
Other times, continuing to modify the existing platform can cost more than rebuilding it correctly.
That’s why we recommend reviewing the website before deciding.
Is Your Current Website Working Hard Enough?
NetCreater can review your existing website and identify opportunities across design, mobile usability, navigation, content, calls to action, performance and SEO foundations.
We’ll then help you determine whether improvements to your current website are sufficient or whether a redesign would provide a better long-term solution.