2021 the year of website redesigns...
It seems to be the year of the website redesign. From large companies to startups, people have been busy relaunching their brand new websites, and with good reason too. Technology and the Internet are rapidly improving and getting smarter. Design trends are coming and going, how sites are being used are influenced by social media and community interaction. Your website is and should be your most powerful marketing tool – it’s the face of your brand.
The internet is changing, meaning different problems need solving, redesigning and overhauling websites goes beyond just the look and feel. The functionality, presentation, how fast they load, and how well they can be updated are all things that are prompting a website redesign.
If you haven’t noticed, Right Angle has also been busy making some changes to our own website. So how do you know if its time to refresh your website?
Here are 8 signs your website needs a redesign.
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1. That design is so 2012
There is no set expiration date for a website, but clients often ask us; “How often should we redesign our website”? We recommend a redesign or freshen-up every four to five years. Why? Because web design trends as well as web practices are changing rapidly and if your website is a few years old, it may look outdated. It could be as obvious as your copyright info still saying 2012, or sidebar/widgets (remember when that used to be a thing).
Websites have evolved quite a bit over the years. Today, it’s all about a clean design, easy navigation and user experience. So don’t let an outdated website get into the way of your business leads and conversions. An impressive website conveys much more than just content. You can change your website’s design, improve its speed, use new colours wisely and add new videos and animations. You should also pay attention to getting a decent web hosting service for your website. All these factors contribute to making your site feel fresh again.
…think outside the box.
Dreadful sliding tags
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Widget City
2. Not Mobile Optimized
I’m sure by now that you must have read or heard this… a gazillion times.
You need to ensure that customers will be able to use your site easily no matter which device they are using, and every call-to-action on your pages can be easily seen and clicked on these smaller devices. With almost 80% of time happening on mobile, it is extremely important that your website is fully responsive.
We all want everything to be as smooth and interesting as possible, and the answer to that is a responsive website with a great user experience.
3. Your Website is Slow
Your site page speed is one of the factors that affect your search engine ranking. The loading speed of your website is essential to its success. Studies show that users are likely to click away (or bounce) from a website that takes more than 2 seconds to load.
A slow page speed could be a result of many things – images that are not optimised, erroneous scripts, too many videos, or outdated codes. If your site takes more than 2 seconds to load, it may be time to consider a website redesign or at least a speed audit and optimisation.
4. You’re Not Being Found on Google
Are you finding that users are not coming on your site as often as before?
Is your website not drawing enough traffic or are users unable to find your website. This is an indicator of poor SEO strategy. Search engine algorithms have changed quite a bit over the years. At one time, the key to SEO was to plug your content with as many keywords as possible. With the recent Hummingbird update rolled out by Google, having original, high-quality content on your site is now one of the main ranking factors, which is why sites with blogs perform so well.
Getting your products and services in front of people who are interested in buying them is the main objective and is key to the success of your website and more importantly your business. SEO isn’t a one-stop-shop. Your content and keywords will need optimisation and constant “baby-sitting”. So if you’re seeing your organic rankings plunging, it’s time for a review.
Check our SEO page for more information.
5. Your Site Is Not Easy to Navigate
This is a biggie. Your site’s navigation is a critical element of its success. If users enter your website unable to find the information they’re looking for and have difficulty navigating through the various pages on your site, chances are they’ll end up frustrated and exit the site.
Having a disjointed user journey can often lead to a decrease in traffic and returning visitors, along with an increase in frustrated users and high bounce-rates.
Fortunately, with proper planning and implementation of great navigation design fundamentals, you’ll enable your visitors to find what they’re looking for quickly and easily, making for a great user experience.
6. New Brand Message? New Brand?
A website will remain as one of your most valuable business assets. It functions as a hub of your online activity and in many cases, the first impression a potential customer will have of your brand. Which brings me to my next point, does the look and feel of your site line up with your current messaging and utilise the correct colour scheme of your brand? Have you recently rebranded your business, perhaps a change in overall identity, brand values and mission statement? If so and your website doesn’t blend well with your new rebrand, then it’s time to update it so that everything’s consistent.
Your brand should convey one message and reflect the same look and feel across the board and will allow you to attract the correct target audience. Your website should utilise your brands colour palette wisely (ideally 2-3 colours). Not only will using a simple colour scheme improve the aesthetic of your site, but it will promote brand recognition, as users will be able to remember this colour scheme and relate it directly to your brand.
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7. Security concerns
All websites whether they’re big or small are prone to brute force attacks from hackers. There are several forms of security loopholes your site may have which will enable the hackers to gain access. It’s important that you secure your website in the best manner possible making sure all your valuable website data is protected.
Older websites can be an open cesspool of security risks due to them not being updated with the latest coding standards and security patches. For information regarding security risks have a read of our most recent blog here.
8. Are your competitors moving ahead?
Spy on your competition! have a good look into your competitors within the industry. Chances are that your potential customers are also looking at, and interacting with some of your competitors. Analyse their website for the factors mentioned, such as: is it easy to navigate, does it look cleaner, is it fast, and was it designed with user experience (UX) in mind.
If your website is straggling behind competitors, for any reason, you may already be losing potential customers which is another sign your website needs a redesign. Stay ahead of the game! Keep track of your competitors websites and make sure that you stay ahead of the game.
If your competitors are moving forward…
..so should you.
Here we’ve given you 8 reasons why you should consider redesigning your website. If you need any help or advice on the best ways to move things forward and grow your business, get in touch, we’d love to help!