How to Know it is Time for a Website Redesign
I know you invested in a website five years ago. It was perfect, so why do you need a website redesign?
I will give you the benefit of the doubt and let you think it was perfect five years ago. Unfortunately, that was five years ago and so much has changed. Think about how often you upgrade your computer or phone or car. In many cases, you are running your business on a vehicle that is older than the car you drive to get there every day.
It is time for a website redesign. As a matter of fact even if your website is only two years old, it may be time to start thinking about an update. Here are few really good reasons to call a web design company.
Your website doesn’t meet visitor expectations.
Your customers are not web novices. They surf from site to site all day long. They have come to expect things which your site might not deliver.
- What information do visitors look for when they come to your website? Check your stats, then make sure this information is front and center.
- Does your search function work? If someone is looking for something which is only relevant to a few people, how will they find it? (Hint: They won’t drill down through three levels of navigation).
- Your website should include current product and service information. If you don’t carry a product or offer a service anymore, take it off your site. If you have three new, very profitable products they should be prominently featured.
- Does your navigation make sense to someone who is not familiar with your products, service or industry? Don’t guess. Do a test with people who don’t know your business and see how happy or frustrated they are after spending time on your site.
- Your website must be responsive. This isn’t optional anymore. It is an important part of the user experience as more and more people use their phones and tablets throughout the day. In addition, search engines are giving preferential treatment to websites which are mobile responsive.
Your business has changed.
Even fairly stable companies grow and change in the course of five years. In all likelihood you have adjusted your marketing strategy; your website should be a part of that strategy. Your competitors haven’t been standing still. Now is a good time to take a look at what they are doing and go one step better.
SEO is a like a horse race. You make a change and move ahead. Then your competitor does something and they move ahead. If you are locked into a static design which can’t be adapted easily you will always be playing catch up.
Your website isn’t creating leads.
Even if you don’t sell products directly from your website, it should be an integral part of your sales process. It should help you introduce your company and build a pool of interested prospects.
- Your website’s look and tone should create a positive impression for your target audience
- The information should be presented in an easy to read format. Yes, you can be professional without jargon or corporate buzz words.
- Your landing pages should motivate people to interact with your brand with calls to action which actually convert casual visitors into leads.
The results of a website redesign
Take a look at some of the before and after images for sites which were more than five years old when we did the redesign.
We built the original site using the Artister Theme on a WordPress Platform in 2009. It served for many years but by early 2016 it was showing it’s age. The new, mobile responsive site built with the Divi foundation is significantly less cluttered.
The most important information, the phone number, twilight services and calendar, are clearly front and center. And the calendar, which is one of the most commonly viewed elements of the site is now a large, interactive feature of the home page.
We were so excited when we launched the Randall Beans Website in January of 2012. Built using a WordPress theme from Studio Press we had a clean site which we could change and expand as the Randall family of products grew. After four years, however, there were so many facets to the Randall brand including the farm, organic products and an expanded emphasis on healthy living. There was just no way to tell all those stories.
The revised site, also built using a WordPress theme, features a longer more engaging home page. This allows us to feature all the different stories in a more organized manner. The primary call to action is the browse the recipe button. Since updating the site we have seen a 250% increase in the number of recipe downloads. Clearly the new call to action is working!
More on the subject of web redesign
Roundpeg is an Indianapolis web design firm.
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