In this digital era, a huge chunk of consumers operate solely online. Gone are the days of relying on physical stores and traditional advertising methods; nowadays, if a potential customer is trying to learn more about your business, your website is the first place they’ll look. Therefore, having a strong online presence and a well-designed website is crucial. While you may already have an existing website, it’s important to regularly review it to ensure it’s still achieving your goals. Is it user-friendly? Does it effectively convey your brand identity?
If you’re unsure whether your website would benefit from a redesign, we’ve compiled this list of the top signs that indicate your website is falling behind the times.
1. Your site isn’t mobile-friendly
Considering that the majority of traffic nowadays comes from a mobile device, this is perhaps the most important point. If your site doesn’t deliver a mobile-friendly experience then you risk losing out on a significant portion of your customer base. If your site doesn’t have a responsive design, then it may be best to start from scratch and build your site with the user in mind, allowing a mobile-first approach right from the start.
2. There is a high bounce rate
A ‘bounce’ occurs when a user lands on your site and then leaves without visiting any other pages. This can happen for a multitude of reasons, whether it’s poor design, a confusing layout, or a slow loading speed.
To reduce the bounce rate on your site, you should take the following steps:
- If a site takes ages to load then this can prove off-putting, so ensure your site is as fast as possible by optimizing page speed.
- Make your content more accessible.
- Include clear call-to-actions to help users navigate the site.
- Ensure your site is mobile-friendly and optimized for mobile devices.
- Make sure the site is well laid out and easy to follow.
3. Page speed is too slow
The page speed of your website is hugely important for a wide range of reasons:
- It can impact user experience: If your site is slow and frustrating to use, there’s a high chance that this may lead to a short visit as the user abandons their search.
- It can affect search engine rankings: Search engines, like Google, use page speed as a ranking factor. Therefore, if your website is too slow, this can lead to lower rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs).
- Slow page speeds are less mobile-friendly: As mobile internet usage can be more temperamental than a desktop connection, it’s vital that your website loads quickly.
- It can cause lower conversions: Users are more likely to abandon their purchase if the website takes ages to load.
- Faster page speeds have a competitive advantage: A fast and responsive website can improve conversion rates, increase customer engagement, and demonstrate your commitment to user experience. Users are therefore more likely to choose your services over a competitor with a poor website.
4. User-friendly flow isn’t prioritized in the design
By analyzing and taking into account the needs and behaviors of your users, you can improve website usability and the user experience. This can then lead to reduced bounce rates and improved conversions.
5. Your brand identity isn’t reflected
Does your website convey the values and goals of your company? Is your brand identity effectively expressed? If the answer to these questions is no, your site may benefit from a redesign to ensure that it aligns with your brand identity and supports your marketing and branding efforts.
6. Your site is outdated
If your site looks old and outdated, potential customers may assume the information is out of date, too. A website redesign offers the opportunity to evaluate your site and review your content to ensure it’s still relevant to your business, branding, and target audience. An outdated website may also use an old-fashioned design, framework, and coding language, leading to a poor user experience.
Furthermore, an older site may not follow current SEO best practices, which can impact the organic traffic driven to your site. By having a website redesign, you can introduce SEO-friendly elements that improve your search engine rankings, all while ensuring your site stays one step ahead of its competitors.
7. Your site isn’t delivering the traffic, leads, or conversions that you’re hoping for
If your site isn’t performing as it should be then you shouldn’t just carry on as normal. It’s important to take another look at your website and consider the reasons for this, such as:
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- Poor Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): Poor SEO practices can make it challenging for potential visitors to find your website, resulting in a low search engine ranking.
- Weak or irrelevant content: Make sure your content is informative and engaging; if it fails to capture the interest of your target audience, this can lead to low traffic and conversions.
- Usability and user experience issues: If your site is slow and hard to navigate, users may not engage with your content or follow calls-to-action.
- Weak conversion funnel: A conversion funnel describes the journey a buyer goes on before making a purchase. It’s important to regularly review your site’s conversion funnel to identify any potential obstacles that are preventing users from being customers.
- Insufficient marketing efforts: A website redesign gives you the chance to evaluate your marketing strategy to ensure it’s still relevant and helps the visibility of your site.
- Lack of trust and credibility: Should your site not establish credibility, users may be hesitant to trust your business, which may affect conversions. You can improve confidence in your brand by adding testimonials, reviews, and accreditations.
If you think your website might benefit from a redesign, the team at Breeez can help. As a full-service digital marketing agency, we can evaluate the performance of your current site and suggest a whole host of ways to improve its performance.
From our offices in Charlotte, North Carolina, we help businesses nationwide to improve their online presence — contact our friendly experts today to get started.