Keeping up with the latest design trends in web development can be overwhelming. Websites can get dated very fast with all the new technological advancements in web development. If you are not sure your website needs to be redesigned, consider these 10 signs that it might be time for a facelift for your website.
Your site looks outdated
One of the keys to knowing your website is outdated is checking the footer for the year the website was created (Copyright 2014) and if it is a few years back, then you know it is time for a redesign. Another clear sign is that your last blog entry was two years ago. Outdated information reflects poorly on your overall brand. Some might get the impression you are no longer in business or just don't care about your website identity.
Watch out for your competition
Put yourself in your client's shoes. Visit three of your competitor's websites and compare them to yours. What are your initial thoughts as a consumer? Would you stop navigating your site and move on to your competition. If the answer is yes, then you should redesign your website immediately. What is the main difference between your competitor websites? It can be the consistent branding of the logo with complementary color schemes to informative content that compliments the sales conversion.
Mobile-Friendly Website
Having a mobile-friendly website is now the standard in web design and should be a non-negotiable feature on your website. If you don't have a mobile-friendly website, you are letting your clients know that you don't find it important for them to have a great user experience on their mobile device. We suggest navigating your website and you will find it so difficult, you will leave your website. Just imagine all your potential clients having the same problem. 50% of all traffic on the internet are users on their mobile devices. Remember when redesigning your website that you also focus your efforts on the mobile device version of your website
Search Engine Optimization not implemented to your website
Most people assume by just having a website, you will magically get traffic generated to your website. Unfortunately, there is no magic dust to make this happen. A website that is optimized for search engines will increase visitors to your website. The best solution is to have a free SEO audit that analyzes keyword descriptions and content analysis. The only way you can improve your SEO is first to know where you currently rank.
Your website does not have a blog
If your content does not change on your website, it will become stale. Why would you get repeat visitors if the website isn't dynamic? A simple solution is to incorporate a blog. Updating your audience with new services, testimonials, press releases, can go a long way in developing trust in your brand. Search Engines love blogs. As you keep on posting blogs, you will see an increase in traffic to your website
Your website has a high bounce rate
If you are not familiar with this term bounce rate, it means the percentage of visitors who just view your home page and navigate to another site. The way you determine your bounce rate is to use Google Analytics or any other website analytics provider. 50% is the average bounce rate for the majority of all websites and can vary from industry to industry. Having a low bounce rate means you have captured your audience's attention with the purpose of generating sales on your website.
Your website has no call-to-actions
What is the purpose of your website? Is it to submit a form, sign up now or get started today by calling your phone number. By having these call-to-actions implemented on your website, you can help structure your website in a creative manner. Without a plan for call-to-actions, you are letting your visitors search your site with no distinctive purpose.
You are not using a Content Management System
The most popular CMS websites are Wordpress, Joomla, and Drupal. The main advantage of a CMS is that it allows non-web designers to make website updates fast and efficient and saving you time and money. You don't have to know HTML code to publish pages. It is a very simple platform that is an open source allowing you to integrate widgets and extensions to your site for more dynamic functionality.
Your website is using website builders from Godaddy, Wix, and Weebly
When you are trying to make your best impression to the world wide web, having your website on these website builders by Godaddy, Weebly, Wix make your company look cheap and unprofessional. They advertise it can be done quickly and at a very low price and sometimes even free. In fact, most professional web developers struggle using these website builders because they are not as user-friendly as advertised. They are limited when it comes to SEO functionality and design interface. While these do it yourself website solutions are a good solution to get a website presence on a limited budget, these website builders can actually damage your brand. You may be saving money, but you can also be losing money and opportunities to generate business online.
Stay updated to reduce website hacks
Most older websites are vulnerable to website hacks. Keeping your website updated with the latest software update helps reduce the risk of malware injection. Don't give hackers a loop hole to websites that are no longer supported. An outdated software might not be equipped with certain patches that may make it vulnerable to the hacks. Before making any updates, be sure to make a backup of the website.
The purpose of this blog was not to convince you to invest in a new website but to help you understand how neglecting your website can be a determining factor in how your website may lose out on business opportunities on the online world.
