There are a number of reasons to redesign your website, some more compelling than others. However, redesigning your website is probably one of the last things you think about in your business. However, it’s important to understand and acknowledge the critical role your website plays in your customer acquisition efforts and the overall impact that it has on sales and revenue. For marketing to be effective, every touch point with a prospective customer must be in alignment. That includes your website which is one of your most important salespeople. That’s why when considering a website redesign, which is your main storefront and a key player in your lead generation efforts, you should consider the following 12 reasons to redesign your website
1. You are embarrassed by your website
If you are embarrassed to give out your website address because you are afraid of what your prospects might think of it, it may be time to consider a website redesign. I come across many business owners at networking events who simply don’t want anyone to visit their website because they are embarrassed. They know that they need a redesign and they are planning to get around to it, they just haven’t yet. A bad website can hurt your business far more than not having one at all, because of the perception it gives of your company.
2. Your website no longer accurately reflects your brand.
To be taken seriously and to be considered a professional, credible business, it’s extremely important for your website to portray a strong brand image that represents your company accurately and captures the essence of your brand. A stronger brand image has the ability to take small businesses and entrepreneurs and make them stand out among their larger competitors, levelling the playing field.
3. Your website is outdated compared to the new design trends.
With design trends changing every few years a website that is two or three years old can easily seem outdated when compared to a competitor who has a website that is up to date with the latest design trends. The latest design trends now call for a flat design utilizing simple patterns that are two dimensional with a clean, modern look that caters to mobile interfaces as well as desktops. It takes a simple, minimalistic approach to design, which has been embraced by many companies, including Microsoft, Apple, Starbucks etc. With mobile usage on pace to overcome desktop usage, complex designs with large images, make it more difficult for visitors to browse your website. Flat design makes it easier.
PLANNING A WEBSITE DESIGN OR REDESIGN?
4. Your website isn’t responsive.
Responsive design makes a website easily adaptable to fit the screen sizes of any mobile device. In reviewing your analytics if you discover that a large chunk of your website visitors are originating from a mobile device it’s time for a responsive design. Your website visitors may be using different mobile devices such as an iPad, iPhone, Tablet, Samsung Note etc. A responsive design makes it possible for visitors to navigate your website easily across all these unique devices, providing a great user experience. Furthermore, Google is now telling searchers whether your website is mobile friendly or not with their new mobile-friendly test. This will inevitably affect your credibility, click-through rate, lead generation and sales.
5. You are losing mobile visitors.
If your website is not mobile friendly and a large portion of your visitors are originating from a mobile device, you may be losing visitors and experiencing a higher bounce rate than usual. This will no doubt directly affect your bottom line, because it will cost you valuable leads. An effective website redesign will address this issue and help you reduce your bounce rate and increase conversions.
6. Your website does not reflect the expansion of your capabilities and offering.
If the list of services that you provide has grown and your old website does not reflect the full suite of services that you now provide, this can result in customers going elsewhere to get a service that you provide because they weren’t aware that you offered that service. By redesigning your website you can expand your list of services to include all of the services you provide, so that each visitor and customer is aware of everything you offer.
7. Your website is not optimized for search engines.
Perhaps your website was built utilizing a template or your URLs are dynamic. A website redesign can help you improve your site architecture so that it is more SEO friendly. A website redesign can help you improve your coding and make your website as a whole more SEO friendly utilizing custom page URLs, H1, H2, H3 Tags, Page Titles and Alt Tags by utilizing a more advanced Content Management System that gives you greater flexibility and makes optimizing your website easier.
8. Your website currently does not support a content marketing strategy.
Implementing content marketing as part of your marketing strategy can help you build trust, establish credibility and increase traffic and leads. If you are planning to implement a content strategy and your current website architecture wasn’t built with a content strategy in mind, a website redesign can make it easier for visitors to find your content, for you to cultivate a lead database and implement marketing automation. A new website will help you to set a better foundation to get you on the right path to successful content marketing.
9. Your website is built on outdated technology.
Perhaps your website is still built-in flash which is difficult for search engines to read and difficult to access on mobile devices, or maybe your website is running on plugins that have not been updated in years. Updating your website with the latest technology and plugins will help your website to perform better and be more efficient, providing a better user experience for your visitors.
10. You want greater control over updating your website.
Having greater control over managing and updating your website means that you can deploy marketing campaigns at a faster rate because you don’t have to wait on someone to make the changes for you. Having this capability allows you to test more landing pages and ascertain what is and isn’t working for you at a faster pace, helping you to see results faster.
11. You want to improve your website lead generation.
A new design that is streamlined with the right calls to action allows you to better optimize your website for lead generation. Implementing calls to action across each website page, including on your blog, so that you are taking greater advantage of every opportunity to convert visitors into leads will significantly contribute to your bottom line.
12. Improve your website security.
Perhaps one of the greatest concerns of our time is cybersecurity, and small businesses and entrepreneurs are just as susceptible to website hacking and viruses as larger businesses. If your website was built years ago and hasn’t been updated since you are at greater risk for malware and hacking.
I hope you find these 12 reasons to redesign your website useful. It’s easy to get complacent when your website is working and it’s bringing you business, but it’s also important to maximize the opportunities you have. Great marketing means continual improvement in order to increase sales, maximize your return on investment and lower your cost per acquisition.