4 Top Reasons For A Website Redesign [And More]
Your website is your number one business asset and sales tool, so why should you consider a website redesign?
Based on growth-driven and responsive web design, continuous improvements create a better-performing website. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll need an entirely new site—but perhaps you’ll make some branding improvements, a few functional modifications, or really any other changes based on your overall goals that will improve your bottom line.
While you could rack your brain all day on why you don’t need a website redesign, there are several important reasons why you should.
Your Website Is Broken = Time For A Website Redesign
I know, I know—this might seem obvious, but it’s time to wake up and smell those digital roses.
It’s very likely that you need to redesign your website if any of these apply:
- Broken links
- No call to action or it is difficult to figure out how to contact you
- Little to no content or important content is hidden
- Unresponsive design
- Confusing navigation
- Out-of-date information, products, or services
- No social media buttons
- Missing privacy policy
- The site loads at turtle speed
- Your logo is not consistent with current branding
- Your business goals have changed
- The website doesn’t support your marketing strategy
- Your bounce rate in Google Analytics is higher than 40%
- Google Analytics or some sort of data tracking tool is not associated with your website
- Your images look like mosaic pieces of art
- You’re not getting the results you want
Unfortunately, there are some really bad things that could happen as a result, such as your site being deranked or even removed completely from search engine results. If you’re not sure where to start, consult an expert. They can help guide you to the best solution suited to your goals and needs. Every redesign is different, as no two businesses are exactly the same.
Your Site Is Not Responsive
Responsive web design allows you to accommodate all users, despite the platform they may be using. Putting a plan in motion for a responsive website redesign should be a top priority if it hasn’t been made one already.
About 80% of Internet users use a smartphone to browse the web—and that number will only continue to grow. If you include the people who also use tablets or gaming consoles, this adds up to an audience beyond the hundreds of thousands that want responsive, valuable user experiences (UX) on their handheld or gaming devices. Mobile users have made it clear that they want a similar (if not the same or better) experience as on their desktop. If your competitor’s site has a responsive design and your site does not, they already have the advantage. To find out if your site is mobile-friendly (and responsive) use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.
Your Competitors Newly Redesigned Site Is Taking Traffic Away From Yours
Obviously, you don’t need to redesign your site every time a competitor makes an update. However, monitoring your competitors’ sites can help you understand why they may be substantially rising up in rankings while your site drops a few spots. Perhaps they’ve added a live chat or implemented a fresh new SEO strategy. What other changes have they made? What could you do on your site to gain the advantage and stay on top of SERPs (search engine result pages)? A proactive approach to your marketing strategy is key to staying on top of these changes your competitor could be doing right now. Show ‘em who’s boss.
If you’re wondering where to begin, perform a quick search for “website competitor analysis tools” to jump-start the process. This way, you can get a lead on (if you haven’t already) on who your competitors are and what they’re doing. You might be surprised by what you find.
You Haven’t Incorporated SEO In Your Design
If you want to rank highly, your website MUST be optimized these days. Search engine optimization (SEO) has become a staple step in growth-driven design. Optimizing images, using proper keyword techniques, and integrating basic meta marries perfectly with responsive web design as it has everything to do with site speed, your site’s credibility, and the relevancy of your content. All of these things are important to show Google, other search engines, and (most importantly) your audience recognize just how awesome your site really is. Strategy and implementation can be challenging at times, so it can be a huge relief to have a web design team that truly understands the unique relationship between responsive design and SEO. 😉 😉 😉
Ask yourself some questions to begin the SEO process. Think beyond a keyword list. What is the purpose of your website? Who is your audience? Who do you want your audience to be? Why do they want to visit your site? What do they get out of it? Exploring the answers to these questions will help you figure out the appropriate steps to take when planning an optimization strategy, such as a targeted keyword list or how to create and distribute relevant content.
Your audience’s first impression of your business is almost exclusively based on their initial experience while visiting your website. So, how do you make it memorable? It can be a bit of a struggle figuring out where to start this process. Make the process easier and begin to narrow down where to begin by downloading
Smack Happy Design’s Website Redesign Questionnaire: