We often get asked the question; how do I know I need a new website?
Here are 7 common indicators that tell you a new website would be a good idea:
1. Your website is slow to load
Website response times are one of the main reasons visitors will leave your site. There can be many reasons why your site isn’t as quick as it used to be. Too many redirects or plugins, poor hosting, too much traffic, lack of image optimisation, to name a few. Slow loading also affects your Google rankings on searches too. New website techniques/software have a big impact on speed.
2. Your website does not work well on mobile
It is estimated that over 50% of online activity is via smartphones or tablets. If your site isn’t designed to be responsive to all devices, it can be a massive turn off for your visitor. Research goes as far as to suggest that users will leave a site immediately if they are mobile-friendly. Responsiveness is crucial these days and if your website quite old it probably wasn’t built to be responsive.
3. Your website no longer reflects your business
As we know, over time, things change. You may have refreshed your branding and not caught up with your website or practices and trends in your industry may have evolved. What was important when you designed your website originally may no longer be applicable and can make you and your brand look outdated and behind the times.
4. Your website does not show up well on search engines
Depending on the competitiveness of your keywords, Specialist SEO support may be necessary to improve your listings. However, without a professionally built website, this SEO success will be tough. Google ranks sites according to specific criteria including their security, mobile-friendliness, speed, quality of content and image optimisation.
5. Your website is not receiving many enquiries/sales
This could be a combination of all of the above. It could also be that your website design is not engaging and holding the attention of the visitors and they are ‘bouncing’ off your site. Your content may not be using the right tone or sharing the right kind of information. Your website functionality may be confusing, and your call to actions not be powerful enough. A new website can address all of these.
6. Your website has been updated several times
It’s obviously fantastic when your business, and what you can offer, grows. And it’s super important that your website grows and evolves at the same time. What is not so fantastic is when your drop-down menus get too long, or products/services look ‘shoehorned’ into the site. If this has happened, the User Experience will be compromised and it’s better to start off fresh, with a new website, rather than keep trying to update.
7. Your website just doesn’t look good anymore.
For lots of reasons, a website can end up looking weak, outdated and inefficient. According to Blue Corona, 48% of people said they rated a company’s credibility on the quality of their website design. A poor first impression can cause a visitor to leave a site and look for a similar business that has a website that meets their expectations.
