11 Signs Your Website Needs a Redesign Now
“There is no perfect formula for success. Iterate your digital business strategy, and remember that you don’t need to fear failure, you need to fear not trying.”
— David Vogelpohl, VP of Web Strategy at WP Engine
1 | Updating your website content is tedious or difficult
Is your website simple to access, update and manage for you and your team? Do you need a tech team just to make changes to your site? If your business is using technologies that are restrictive, it may be time for a website update.
Migrating platforms and updating your website’s core foundation is a great opportunity to give it a refresh as well. If you leave it as is, it will only get harder to maintain your website which slows down your marketing.
2 | Your website doesn’t always work
Do you feel like your website is constantly having problems? Are you jumping from issue to issue? Outdated websites are often crawling with bugs giving their owners annoying headaches and serious problems.
If your website regularly has functionality issues that affect how you or your customers use it, redesigning and rebuilding your website will alleviate most — if not all — of those obstacles.
3 | Your website is slow to load
Have you ever clicked off a website because it took too long to load? Your customers may be doing the same on your website. In fact, Kissmetrics estimates that 40% of visitors will leave the website if the loading process takes more than 3 seconds.
A full website design will give you a professional, new look, but it will also help improve website conversions with faster speeds and page loads.
4 | Your customers can’t find information on your website easily
A crucial design element is user experience (UX) which maximizes the flow of pages to make it easy for visitors to access relevant information and navigate to important pages. 88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience.
If your current and prospective customers can’t easily find information on your website, that’s money going down the drain.
A website redesign will improve user experience to lengthen how long people spend on your website by making it easier for them to find the information they need.
5 | You recently rebranded
Has anyone been surprised when they land on your website? Are your bounce rates through the roof? This often happens when your website no longer reflects your current branding or you’ve recently rebranded.
While swapping logo files and changing colors is a great first step, it’s not enough for your branding to be fully reflected in your website. This is one of the most common reasons rebrands fail, and why they can be so expensive.
A full website redesign will take a holistic approach based on your new brand’s values and visuals to ensure your customers understand who you are and what you offer as soon as they land on your site.
6 | Your competitor’s sites look way better than yours
You’re casually stalking your competition, right? It’s why you know how they’re priced, what they’re posting on social media, and how their website looks. If you get design envy when you look at your competitor’s website, they may be outpacing your business.
Every business operates within the lifecycle of their industry. It’s why you often see multiple brands in the same niche making shifts around the same time. If your competitors have all launched new website designs, it may be time for you to shake yours up as well.
7 | Your site isn’t mobile-friendly or responsive
Today, it’s not enough to have a mobile-friendly website. Your website needs to be responsive to all types of browsers and devices through adaptive design. Over half of websites worldwide are now accessed from mobile devices, touch tablets, and more.
When users have an unsatisfactory website experience on mobile, 51% will go to a competitor, and 40% will buy from that competitor. Astoundingly, 93.3% of small business owners’ websites aren’t responsive. If yours is not, it’s time for a website redesign.
8 | You’re not showing up in search results
Is your site optimized technically for search engines? While publishing keyword-rich content to your blog is important, that’s only half the battle. If your site doesn’t have a solid foundation of technical SEO, all of the work is wasted.
Technical SEO makes it easy for search engines to crawl and index your website pages, so your keyword-rich content actually shows up in search results. If you want to rank higher online, you may need a website redesign, but you can start with a technical SEO audit to find out.
9 | Your business has changed since your last website design
Has your business changed since you last updated your website? Are you getting calls about services or products you no longer offer?
Businesses change and evolve over the years. Your branding and visuals may remain the same, but the heart and soul of your business develop over time. If you’ve changed up your offerings, shifted to a new focus, or can see that your website no longer reflects your business, you definitely are in need of a website redesign.
A website that doesn’t speak to your business not only doesn’t help your sales, but it can do damage to your online persona.
10 | Your sales are stagnating or business growth has slowed
We don’t often associate sales with websites, but we should. Slow-loading websites cost retailers $2.6 billion in lost sales each year. Bad design, poor content, and misleading messaging can also result in dollars down the drain.
Your website is a sales machine for your business. If your sales team is struggling or revenue has plateaued — or even dropped incrementally over time — your website may be in need of a redesign.
11 | You’re not proud of your website
Do you hate your website? Do you avoid telling people about it? Have you taken your website address off your email signature and business cards? If you’re not proud of your website design, it’s hurting your marketing and crippling your business growth. This is definitely a sign that it’s time for a redesign.
Website statistics via SWEOR
Is it time to revisit your website design? Get an honest quote now.
Other resources you might enjoy:
- Our website design process
- Gallery of website design examples
- How we make our clients smack happy
- Case studies on successful website designs
