Picture this situation: you get constant phone calls from clients asking where they can find a piece of information on your website. Your analytics show high bounce rates and visiting competitors’ websites always gives you an uneasy feeling that you’re falling behind. Sound too familiar? You are not alone. These are some of the reasons why businesses go for a redesign of their website.
A redesign can be expensive though, and convincing others to do it can be difficult. Let’s look at six reasons why you should go from thinking of a redesign to executing one:
- The design is not responsive: Your website should be designed thinking beyond just the desktop. Having aresponsive web design is imperative today. Mobile browsing has increased significantly over the past couple of years, and chances are that most people visit your site through their tablet or a smartphone. If they are not able to view your site properly and easily click on links, they will leave quickly. Not optimizing your site for them would be a grave mistake, not only in terms of viewers but of sales. This is why a incorporating a responsive web design is so important.
- Conversion rates are low: One way to measure whether your site is connecting with customers and leading to sales is through conversion rates. When checking your analytics to see how your website is performing in terms of search engine optimization, you might notice that your conversion rates are low and your bounce rate is high, then there is a problem. People that are visiting your site are exiting quickly, and are either not finding what they are looking for or are not liking what they see. A redesign could change this for the better. A website should engage and call your visitors to take a positive action (ie. make a purchase). Making your website appealing to others will encourage them to stay and invest in your brand.
- You lack a proper CMS: Having your website on a proper CMS, or content management system allows you to make edits or changes on your website when you need to, and on a constant basis. Many companies use it to run their website, or blogs, because it diminishes the need to know programming or hand coding greatly. A good content management system will allow you to have more control and power over the content that goes on your website. An outdated CMS will make it hard for you to do so, which will only pull you back (and we all know how fast time moves on the internet and in the world of technology). A good CMS also fits into the principles of ESR or evolutionary site redesign, in where instead of going for redesigns or improvements every couple of years, it is a constant process.
- Not search engine optimized: Chances are your website’s design can be part of the reason why you are ranking low on the search engines. Google is constantly updating their algorithms and what was deemed acceptable could change in a matter of seconds. If your past designers did not optimize your website for SEO, they might be unintentionally committing some of the mistakes in SEO. While websites in the past were not built with SEO in mind, today’s are. A redesign can help correct simple mistakes in terms of coding or poor web structure.
- Your website is hard to navigate: Ever heard of the phrase “less is more”? In the midst of you trying to create a “wow” factor in your homepage, you might scare away your viewers. Overindulgence in elements like flash, constant pop-ups, or trying to make an intricate and different type of home page might frustrate a user’s experience on your site. A simple, clean design done by a team of professional web designers, with a clear navigational bar will require less effort from the viewer’s side. Additionally, if users keep on running into broken links or can’t find key information on your site, like where to contact you or place an order, they will leave quickly and negatively affect your bounce rates.
- Change in business direction: Whether you are undergoing a change in your businesses brand, or your business is shifting focus, a major change in your business strategy could be a great time to introduce a website redesign. Sometimes, changes can be a matter of colors and logos, but others it can go to mean a much more profound change of content. Additional features such as e-commerce tools, forums, or maybe even social media might be required. Updating your layout to reflect on these changes is a good idea.
Redesigning your website can be task that many fear because of the time, cost and planning that it undergoes. But is it worth it? Of course. Your website is your primary vehicle for promoting your business online. And if you have not done many changes in the past, it can be a little worrisome, but the good news is that you don’t have to do it alone. Partnering up with a good web design team can simplify the process for you.
We are a Vancouver-based web design and digital marketing company that can aide you in your website’s redesign and metric monitoring. Our web design team believes in simplicity and efficiency. Our low cost web design plans will allow you to get a customized, SEO-friendly site that is user friendly, all for a price that can fit any business budget.
