In today’s fast-paced world, trends that used to last for years can come and go in a matter of months, sometimes even weeks! When everyone can see everything all at once all of the time, change has become the constant, and is happening quicker than at any time previously. Everything from how we do business to how we communicate is in a continuous state of flux. Your digital online presence is no exception and this includes your website.
Every once in a while you may find yourself asking: “Is my website up-to-date? Are there any new developments that will make my website easier for potential customers to navigate or purchase my products/services? Or does my site look out of date?”
With these questions in mind, let’s discuss when it might be time to spruce up your website, or go full hog for a complete redesign.
A website redesign is a significant undertaking that requires a lot of time, effort, and resources. However, it can be a worthwhile investment for companies that want to stay competitive and relevant in today’s digital landscape. Here are some reasons why a company might choose to update or redesign their website:
Rebranding
A company may choose to redesign its website to reflect a new brand identity or messaging. A website is often the first point of contact between a company and its customers, so it’s essential to ensure that it accurately represents the company’s values and mission. Having a new, modern website to go with your new spiffy logo can ensure your potential customers are seeing your brand in the best light online.
Improving User Experience
How many times have you gone to a website only to get frustrated when you cannot easily figure out where you need to go, find what you’re looking for, or where the customer support is located (sometimes I think they do that one on purpose!) A website redesign can be implemented to help improve the user experience by making the site more intuitive, user-friendly, and accessible. And let’s face it, a well-designed user experience (UI) can lead to increased engagement, longer session times, and most importantly: higher conversion rates.
Updating Technology
As we covered at the beginning of our post, as technology evolves, websites must keep up with the latest trends and best practices. There seems to be a psychological conditioning we have developed as a species, that when we go to a website whose design, user experience, or speed seems even a little out of date, we tend to automatically think the company is a bit out of date as well. Now that might not make or break a conversion on your site, but keep this in mind: if the consumer is out there doing their research, they are probably hitting your competitors’ sites as well, and if those sites are more up-to-date then yours, it can make the difference between getting that sale.
A website redesign can help ensure that your site is optimized for speed, mobile responsiveness, and search engine optimization (SEO).
Staying Competitive
As we also discussed, in today’s fast-paced digital world, companies must stay competitive to survive. Having a state-of-the-art website redesign can help a company stand out from its competitors by offering a unique and engaging user experience. A great redesign can allow you to really show off what your company is all about!
Also, as tech improves, websites become more efficient at displaying content (faster load times for graphics and displaying pages, etc.), and that can be a real plus for keeping users engaged on your site.
For instance, you may be using a plugin that no longer plays well with your site’s theme and is consequently dragging your load times down, or maybe there is a new plugin that does what you’re looking to do a lot better than what you have. All these little things can make a big difference in how your website comes across to your visitors.
Improving Conversion Rates
Let’s face it, everything we do concerning our online presence, from the look, feel and performance of our website, to our social media posts and PPC ad campaigns are all designed to drive one thing: Conversions. With that in mind, embarking on a site redesign, or even a simple series of updates, gives you an opportunity to take advantage of new technologies, or improve on what you already have in order to create a user experience turbo-charged to get users into the sales funnel and create sales.
A website redesign can help improve conversion rates by optimizing the site’s layout, content, and calls-to-action (CTAs). This can lead to increased sales, leads, and revenue.
Updating Content
Now’s your chance to really hone in on your messaging, and to make the look and feel of your site permeate a sense of what your brand is all about. A website update or redesign can provide an opportunity to refresh the site’s content. This can help keep the site relevant and engaging for users while also improving its search engine rankings. Google wants to serve up the best solutions for their user’s search queries, and their best practices for doing so change often. While you don’t need to change your content weekly to reflect Google’s best practices, it’s good to evaluate your content every once in a while to ensure Google is getting what it needs to give you the best ranking.
Improving Accessibility: A website redesign can help improve accessibility for users with disabilities. This can include adding alt text to images, improving color contrast, and ensuring that the site is compatible with screen readers. People with disabilities need stuff too, and you don’t want to leave them out of what you have to offer.
Check out our affiliate accessiBe to learn more!
Improving Security
The hackers and thieves know where you live! (well, at least online anyway) A redesign can address and improve security concerns by ensuring that the site is up-to-date with the latest security protocols and best practices. This can help protect the site from cyber threats and data breaches. As sites age, they become more and more vulnerable to more modern cybersecurity risks.
Improving Analytics
When your site is properly configured to track user behavior and engagement, it can provide valuable insights into how users interact with the site and how to optimize it for better performance. With an updated or modern redesigned website, those protocols and optimizations are easier to perform, and keeping up to date with them is easier as well.
The Bottom Line
Your website is your digital storefront. It represents what your company is all about, and shows why a customer should choose your brand. It’s often the first place people go to after first meeting your brand online or off. So having the best site possible (budget taken into consideration) can make a big difference when it comes to making that conversion.
Whether it’s to improve user experience, stay competitive, or update technology, a website redesign can be a worthwhile investment that can lead to increased engagement, conversions, and revenue.
However, it’s also essential to approach a website redesign with a clear strategy and plan to ensure that it meets the company’s goals and objectives. That includes knowing when your site needs that kind of love.
Recent Comments