7 Signs Your Website Needs A Redesign

Things move fast in the world of web design, and what was once fresh and modern doesn’t stay that way for long. Not only does your website need a cosmetic update now and then, but it’s vital to stay on top of the latest trends and best practices in marketing, design, technical SEO, user experience (UX), functionality, and security.

Businesses who keep up with the latest developments and monitor their website correctly are the ones who are found in search engines and effectively convert visitors. So, if you’re wondering whether to invest in a website redesign, know that your competition may be beating you to the punch. So, how do you know if your website needs a redesign?

1. The existing website isn’t performing well

First things first, how well is your website currently performing? Use Google Analytics to track visitors and conversions. You’ll be able to calculate your conversion rate very quickly, but how do you know if it’s any good?

Average conversion rates vary significantly between different industries and products, so it’s a good idea to research and benchmark yourself against businesses similar to yours.

You may find your website suffers from one of the following issues:

• Visitor numbers are low
• Visitor numbers are high, but conversion rates are low

In the first scenario, you should immediately start looking into digital marketing strategies such as SEO and paid ad campaigns to drive visitors to your website.

If you are satisfied with your visitor numbers, but the conversion rate is low, you should consider a website audit and redesign to identify and fix the problems.

2. The website doesn’t look or feel like your business

Whether you intend it or not, your business is perceived in a certain way based on every touchpoint, a prospect or customer has with your products, assets, and employees. Your website is an online representation of your business and should be designed accordingly.

For example, this is an e-commerce site for a clothing brand that caters to a teenage demographic. It’s immediately apparent as soon as you land on the website, and the tone of their design is bright and fun.

On the other hand, this insurance company’s website uses colours, imagery, and copy to present a professional and trustworthy image that represents their values.

If your website does not reflect who you are as a business, then a redesign is needed.

The first thing to do is create a brand persona that outlines how you wish your brand to be perceived by website visitors. From there, you can build a website that reflects your brand values and relates better to your target audience.

3. Information is missing or outdated

Online users expect information quickly and at their fingertips. There is an element of trust that when you visit a website, you are receiving accurate and up to date information about a company.

Conduct a website audit of every page. If the information is incorrect or out of date, you should rectify this immediately as it could harm brand perception.

Common fixes to look out for are:

• Contact information
• Pricing
• Expired promotional offers
• Product details
• Inventory

4. Only coding experts are able to update your site

You may not be a web developer, but a website should be built for easy functionality on the backend so that people across different roles in the company can manage and update it as needed.

If you struggle to make necessary changes to your Website information, add new pages/posts, or swap out design elements like images, it is definitely time for a redesign.

Check out the services of a web development company like Perception System to see how a redesign can make your life easier in the long run.

5. Inadequate SEO

When was the last time an SEO expert looked at your website and updated it in line with the latest trends and best practices? If the answer was more than 1-2 years ago, you should consider an overhaul of your site’s content, structure, and design.

Having your website optimized to be found through search engine results is a must, but it’s more than just littering a few keywords around your content. Check out these tools for analyzing your current SEO status and a guide on how to optimize your website.

6. Consumers have a hard time navigating from place to place

If you’re always hearing from customers that they find it challenging to navigate your website and see what they are looking for, your site is in desperate need of a redesign for user experience (UX) capabilities.

Another way to test this out is by analyzing the bounce rate and session duration to see if users are getting frustrated and bouncing from your website. Other tools, such as click heat maps and scroll maps, can help to paint a picture of the path visitors are taking (or trying to make) through your site.

Final thoughts

If any of these scenarios are ringing true, it’s time to start thinking about what you can do to improve your website and whether a redesign is an answer.

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Tags: Website Design , UX , Guest Post