Outdated design, content that reads like journal entries and a bad layout harm the brand image and cost lost sales. The website redesign does not require redevelopment of the entire website; code editing, upgrades, and improvements can make a huge difference to the user experience.
Should you consider website redesign?
With more companies increasingly becoming well acquainted with online marketing, it is of great importance for a website to stand out and act as the company’s best ‘salesperson’. Below are some of the ways to determine whether your website is functioning efficiently or if your company needs a website redesign.
1. Your competition outranks you
Among other factors, content marketing and SEO actions play a significant role when it comes to organic traffic. Search engines results are the outcome of algorithms that identify whether a website is either relevant or not with what the online user is searching for. A website that is frequently updated with informative and engaging content, it is likely to stand out in search engines results and consequently stay ahead of the competition.
A way to determine whether your website is lagging behind or not is by doing a simple online search for keywords related to your business. For instance, if you are running a business that sells business gifts, search for the term ’business gifts.’ If you find out that your competitors’ websites rank higher in the search engine results than your website does, then it is time to think about your website redesign.
2. Your site does not adjust to mobile screens
Since smartphones are the number one online browsing device, having a mobile-friendly website is one of the most important factors in terms of user experience. If the user experience is poor, your website’s visitors are highly likely to visit other websites (probably a competitor’s one) so as to find what they are looking for.
Moreover, search engines like Google, Bing, Yandex and Yahoo rank higher the websites that are mobile-friendly and optimized. With more searches completed on mobile devices than on computers, your business must have a mobile-responsive website in order to stay aligned with today’s SEO tactics. It’s worth mentioning that websites which are not mobile-friendly, are penalized in search rankings.
3. Your site appears to be outdated
Website design does affect user experience. If your website’s design has not been recently updated, chances of it becoming outdated are high.
Functionalities like inappropriate pop-ups increase bounce rates. Moreover, potential customers associate your website’s efficiency and design with the quality of services or products your business offers. If your company’s website design is poor, lots of visitors get the impression that the services and products your business is offering are not of the greatest quality.
In addition, the interaction with your website’s look and feel is the first experience many of your new leads and new customers have with your business. Offering a pleasant experience to your potential and existing customers consequently increase sales.
4. Your visitors do not convert into customers
Increased traffic to your site doesn’t necessarily mean increased sales. There are numerous sites with high traffic but low sales. Most of these sites experience traffic because of their social media marketing, or just a great reputation. With Google Analytics, you can find out the loophole in your website that seems to be the reason as to why visitors do not convert into customers.
It could be that your website’s load time is painfully slow, or maybe the navigation is not easy or perhaps what your offer is not clearly shown (visible discounts, special offers or free shipping). Whatever the reason is, potential opportunities are wasted so you should start considering immediately the website redesign.
5. High bounce rate
Your website’s bounce rate specifies the percentage of visitors who visit your site and then leave without visiting any other pages rather than the one they landed on. If the bounce rate is high, it means that visitors either didn’t find what they were looking for or the website was difficult to use.
6. No sign-up option for emails
Your website’s visitors emails are extremely important for building a relationship between them and your brand. Email sign up forms will simply allow you to re-engage with your leads by communicating relevant content or promotions and thus convert them into customers.
