How to Know When It’s Time to Redesign Your Website

 

If your website was last updated in ’97 and features a flashing rainbow background…you probably already know it’s time for an upgrade. But often it’s not easy to tell when a site needs a simple refresh or a full-scale redesign. Does a website made in 2010 need to be redesigned? What about one made in 2015? 

 

The truth is there is no set expiration date for a website. The best way to know if it’s time to redesign your website is to look at what features your website is lacking. Use the checklist below to see if it’s time for a new site.

If your site can’t be read easily on smart phones and tablets, that’s a huge red flag. According to Google, 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing and 40% visit a competitor’s site instead. That’s a huge slice of the market you’re missing out on. A site that adapts seamlessly to any screen is the best way to keep those mobile customers.

We all know how important it is to rank on Google – it’s still the most-used search engine on the web and a hub for potential customers. A quick way to check if you’re reaching your customers is to think like they do. Open up Google and type in some of your keywords without your business name attached – are you showing up on the first page? If not, that’s a good sign it’s time to give your SEO some attention.

As the internet rapidly advances, users are less and less willing to sit patiently through slow load times. 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less (Kissmetrics). There are some fixes you can make to increase your site speed, but that’s just putting a band-aid on a gaping wound. If your site is loading slowly, it’s probably time for a new site. 

This is usually the biggest sign that it’s time to redesign your website, but many business owners overlook it. If you’re seeing significantly fewer conversions over a long period of time, that points to a problem with your site. There could be any number of reasons why your conversions are down – maybe customers can’t find what they need quickly and are leaving, maybe there aren’t enough calls to action telling them what to do or maybe the content is unappealing and too sales-y. Whatever the reason, a good web developer can tell you where the holes are and how to improve your conversions.

Social media use is now a part of most customers’ lives. Facebook alone has over 1.8 million active users as of 2017. Does your site integrate with your social media channels? Your blog should be shareable with quick links to share on social media. It should have the behind-the-scenes groundwork to auto-populate images and correct text when your customers share a link on social. And, ideally, your site should automatically post updates to your social networks for you.