Why Your Website Needs A Redesign: 15 Signs That You Need To Update

Written by

Tyler Besse

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Why Your Website Needs A Redesign

In this blog post, we’ll explore 15 signs that your business needs a redesign and why it’s important to invest in updating your site. With understanding how to spot these key indicators, you can take charge in updating your company’s website and stay ahead of your competitors!

Table of Contents

Your site is not mobile-friendly or responsive.

The technology landscape is constantly evolving. Mobile traffic is on the rise and continuing to grow as more consumers use their devices to search Google and browse the web. This rise of mobile device use on websites has led to the increased demand for responsive web design services. 

Mobile-optimized and responsively designed websites can offer an efficient user experience no matter what device they are using (i.e. mobile, tablet, laptop or desktop). Even within those devices you have a variety of screen sizes. Responsive web design ensures that all users will have the same functionality and great user experience.

Mobile traffic is overtaking desktop traffic on many websites. This means that if you are not optimizing your website for mobile devices, then customers will likely leave your website for a competitor that has a website that provides a great user experience to people on their smartphones.

Search Engine Watch performed a study that showed that 50% of smartphone users say they visit a local store within a day of researching it, and 18% of local searches lead to sales. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile, you’re missing out on potential customers – don’t get left in the dust! 

Above is an example of a mobile-optimized website.

Your website is not performing well in search results

If your website is not performing well on Google and other search engines it is usually a good sign that it is time to update your website. 

Google uses a variety of factors for ranking websites including website speed, mobile responsiveness, bounce rate, etc. A new website redesign can utilize a strategy to address and improve these metrics in order to get you found more in search results.

Google and other search engines are constantly making changes to their algorithm and altering what factors they use to rank a website. This means it is important to make sure that your website is optimized to perform well in this ever changing environment.

Your site has a high bounce rate.

A high bounce rate is when a user lands on a webpage, does nothing, and then leaves. Having a high bounce rate can cost you valuable leads for your business.

A high bounce rate can be due to a variety of factors including slow load time, unappealing aesthetics, confusing navigation, or even outdated content.

Bounce rates are just one of many important site performance metrics. You can use a tool like Google Analytics to measure these and other key performance indicators.  It is very common for website page bounce rates to rise over time and is usually a good indicator that it may be time to invest in updating and upgrading your businesses website. 

What Is a Bad Bounce Rate?

Your website is slow to load.

Google, and other search engines, use load time as one of their key metrics when ranking websites in search results. If your website speed is slow, it is usually a good sign that it is time for a website redesign and update.

If your website takes too long to load potential customers or users will likely leave the site. A study by Think with Google found that if a website takes more than 3 seconds to load, 53% of mobile users will leave that website before it has a chance to finish loading.

This means that if your website loading time is slow not only are you going to perform poorly in Google search rankings but even if somebody finds your website then they are probably going to bounce quickly after seeing how much slower than normal everything loads on your site.

Your website is not converting new customers

Your website’s conversion rate is one of the most important metrics internally for any business.

Conversion rate optimization is the process of testing a website’s design, content, and layout on your visitors to improve their experience.

If someone does not convert, it can be due to a variety of factors such as poor aesthetics, a slow loading time, or even hard-to-navigate design.

When you are considering upgrading your business’ current website, conversion rate optimization is an important consideration for boosting new customer interest in your product/service offerings.

Your website is more than 5 years old.

We always recommend redesigning a website every 3 to 4 years and if your website is more than 5 years old it is definitely time to invest in a redesign and upgrade.

Keeping the website modern with the newest technology in the field will help with improving your website’s ability to appear in search results on search engines such as Google. It will also help with a user experience which will then in turn result in more conversions and leads through your website.

Your site is not delivering the traffic, leads and conversions you expect.

Your website should not just be an “online business card” but instead it should be a tool used to drive in more business through leads and sales. If your website is not bringing in new customers then it is time to invest in an upgrade.

We always like to describe it as “investing in an update” because your website should have a return on investment for your business. It is easy to find someone who will build you a basic website, but it is harder to find someone to build you a website that will be a lead generation tool for your business.

Lead Generation

You’re embarrassed to give out your URL.

Websites are for marketing your business. If you’re embarrassed to give out the URL, then it is time to upgrade your current site. Having an old or unprofessional website can reduce a business’s credibility to potential new customers.

You should not be embarrassed by your website, but instead, you should be proud of it. You should want potential new customers to go to visit it.

Do you have any particular features that your current website is missing? Do you feel like it does not represent who you are and the services or products that you offer? If so, then an upgrade is definitely necessary.

Your new website should include all of the features of a modern site: mobile-friendly design, responsive to different screen sizes, and much more. You want to make sure people can find what they’re looking for on your site with ease!

Adding new content to the website is difficult.

Whether you are using a content management system (CMS) or working with your current website provider to make changes, it is important that adding new content to your website is easy to complete.  The reason for this is that it impacts how many visitors you get and your position in google search. If the process is difficult or impossible to complete, then there are consequences.

If your CMS is outdated or your website provider does not encourage the addition of new content then it is time to make the change.

Your website has broken links and images.

The first thing you need to do is identify all the broken links and images on your website.

One way you can quickly identify if your website has any broken links is to use a free tool like Ahrefs Broken Link Checker. This tool will scan every page of your website to identify if you have any broken or “dead” links. 

If images and links are at the point that they are failing, this is usually a good sign that your website is outdated and that it is time to start investing money in upgrading to a modern website.

404 error

If your business has changed since your last website redesign.

If you have added new services to your company’s portfolio and they are not featured on the website then it is time to invest in a redesign. Your website should always feature all of your available goods and services.

The following are a few of the many reasons to upgrade your website: 

  • It will include all services that you offer.
  • It is easier for customers to find whatever they need on one site and not have to go from company page to company page which wastes their time.
  • Keeping things updated can help you stay ahead or keep up with competitors and allow you to stay relevant in today’s ever-changing world.
  • You may be missing out on potential business by offering outdated versions of products.

Your marketing strategy should be the driving force behind any major business decision and establishing an online presence with modern web development methods will help make that happen.

All your competitors have newer websites.

In today’s world, if you don’t have a website that is up to date with the latest in design and technology then you are risking your company’s success. With this in mind, it may be time for you to update your own site or run the risk of being left behind by competitors who do have a professional website. 

Having an outdated website while your competitors have invested in this platform can have a few consequences.  

The first is that the user experience of your site may be poor. Visitors will find it difficult to navigate through or they could get frustrated with a glitchy website that freezes, crashes, or takes an age to load due to outdated coding. This will cause them to leave and look elsewhere for services. 

Secondly, google search rankings for keywords and phrases related to your business can suffer. Google uses user experience data and speed statistics as factors when ranking websites in their search algorithm. This can cause a decline in web traffic and leads/sales generated through organic sources.

Your site does not offer an excellent user experience.

As a website owner, you should always be aware of the user experience your visitors have with your site.

Poorly designed and developed sites are very frustrating to use because they often: lack organization; offer confusing or unwanted content; require too many clicks for navigation; make it difficult to find desired information on the page and many other reasons.

They can also lead people to leave their site without completing their tasks or converting into customers (more than 50% of online shoppers abandon their carts). In general, poorly designed websites cost more money on customer acquisition while being less efficient at generating new leads.

Google and other major search engines use user experience statistics (i.e. bounce rate and time on site) in their ranking algorithms. So not only will a poor user experience cause potential new customers to leave, but it will also cause Google to show you less often in search results.

Your customers can’t find information on your website easily.

Basic information like contact information, services, and contact forms should be prominent features on almost every website.

If potential customers are on your website and can’t find what they are looking for they will likely leave and find another site that does have the information they were hoping to find on yours. 

This means you need to update a static site with new content frequently or even better is creating a seamless user navigation to help people find what they are looking for easily. 

If you want users who come from Google searches to stay, then make sure your first page has those keywords and that the information they are looking for is easily available.

LeBeau Business Group

Make sure all of your contact information is easy to find

You’re website is confusing or difficult to navigate.

Easy navigation and a good user experience are critical to the success of your website.

User testing helps with determining how easy it is for people to navigate on your site, which can help identify what areas of the site need further optimization.

Improving the design of a page or entire site will naturally help with improving user navigation and conversion on your website.

You will also want to make sure that all pages load fast as there are plenty of studies linking slower loading times with higher bounce rates. 

When users have high-quality experiences while browsing through your content, they will be more likely to visit in the future or convert to a customer during their first visit.

Conclusion

If you answered yes to any of the above statements and questions, then it is likely time to consider investing in an upgraded website design.

The truth is that your website could be what’s holding you back from getting more customers. Today’s consumers want websites to be clean and easy to navigate, without having too many distractions or loud colors on their screen.

Think about it like this: if a customer can’t get through your website quickly enough to convert due to a poor user experience – what are they going to do? They’ll leave!

There are plenty of professional web designers out there who will help you makeover your site with a custom look. The cost may seem steep at first glance but think about the return on investment by having more traffic on the website and a higher amount of leads generated organically through this tool.

We hope that this post has given you an understanding of the importance of website design. Although it may seem less important than SEO, a well-designed website will have a major impact on your business’ success. If you’re ready to get started on upgrading your site, contact one of our web designers today to learn how we can help!

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