Nowadays, the first impression that your audience has of your business, comes almost exclusively through your website. So, the design and functionality of your website can play a huge role in terms of retention and conversion rates. Redesigning your website for it to be as efficient as possible, is not something that can be taken lightly – which means that it will require a good deal of time, thought, and money.
You might be wondering, how do I know whether it is time to revamp my website? The answer can be different to different companies, however, for small businesses, it’s essential for your website to be as up-to-date and functional as possible. Like other businesses and industries that offer their customers a product and/or service – the first stop that your customers have to the company is their website.
Ten Indicators That Point To A Revamp
There are ten important indicators which can help you gauge whether it’s time to revamp or create a new website. If you find that a few (or more) of these indicators are applicable for your website, then that’s the best way to indicate that it might be time for a revamp.
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Frequent Glitches and/or Down-Times
If your prospect or current customers visit your website to find that it is inaccessible due to a list of possible problems or you experience unplanned/unexpected downtime – that might be signifying that your website has deeper issues that might affect your credibility. For small businesses that might end up damaging your reputation.
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Non-Responsive Website
Generally, a large portion of consumers tends to spend 40% of their time on the desktop with the other 60% being on mobile. So, if you have an unresponsive site, it won’t bode well for the large percentage of consumers that use their mobile devices for web searching.
- Increasing Bounce Rate, Decreasing Traffic
The bounce rate of your website shows the number of people that leave your website after only viewing one page. The traffic of your website shows the number of visitors that your site has. When the bounce rate is high, it could point to different factors, including slow loading pages, the number of banner ads/pop-ups on the page, and/or irrelevant information.
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Not SEO-Friendly
In order for your site to be SEO friendly, it must have a few things, including a submitted sitemap leading to search engines, efficient navigation, unique/fresh/optimized images and graphics, and keywords within your content.
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Not Setup As Your Main Lead Generation Tool
Your website needs to be the driving force for your online lead-generation strategy. Older websites tend to lack the design and functionality that gets your customers through specific channels.
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Outdated Design
Visitors often unconsciously hold all websites to a certain standard. If a website does not match the expectation that they have in terms of design, then they are likely to just leave.
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No Incorporated Social Media Platforms
If your website does not have icons that link to your social media platforms or have the ability to share the content written on your site – then it might discourage users from visiting as it reduces your credibility.
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Only Developers Of Your Website Can Make Changes
If you have to send any change to your developer to implement, then it’s important for you to revamp your website. Content Management Systems (CMS) have drastically improved to make them easier than ever to use – even for tech-challenged users.
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Evolving Brand
As a website is generally the first interaction that the customer has with the brand, it should be kept up to date. Brands always continue to evolve, your website should too.
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Outdated Functionality
There are various functions that have changed over the years. If you still have a site that is built on HTML, then it should be updated to the WordPress Platform. Does your main menu still have a navigation button named ‘Home’? Your logo should instead be placed on the top left of every page that leads visitors to the home page. If your site requires visitors to use Adobe Flash in order to view the site, it’s time to revamp your website.
If any, or all, of these indicators, apply to your website, you can now know for sure that it’s definitely time for you to revamp your website. According to Orbit Media Studios, a websites average lifespan around is two years and seven months (2.66 years to be specific). This figure does not change regardless of the industry that you are in. The number shows that the lifespan of a website’s design is not that long. Technology moves at a fast pace – websites are no different.
