Many consumers first learn about a company today when they click on a search engine result. What they find when they take this action determines whether they want to purchase from the company or look elsewhere. How can a company know when it is time to redesign its website? What signs should it look for?
An Outdated Website
Design trends change regularly, and websites need to keep up. If the bounce rate of the home page is very high, you need to re-design your website. An update should be done every two years, if not more often, for the best results.
Look at the sites of competitors. If the company website looks nothing like theirs, it may be time for an update, particularly when their sites are similar. Although each site needs to be unique, it also needs to provide what consumers want.
Analyze the site to see what is working and what isn’t. For instance, a site that isn’t mobile responsive can easily be fixed. However, systemic issues take more work, and these issues need to be addressed immediately.
A Lack of Results
A gorgeous website isn’t of much help if internet users cannot find what they want. In fact, it’s just taking up space on the web. An effective website increases the company’s customer base. If the current website fails to do so, it’s time for a redesign.
Look at existing conversion rates, including visitor-to-lead and lead-to-customer. This information helps identify where problems lie on the website and how best to fix them.
For instance, landing pages need to inspire the visitor to learn more, while the call-to-action must effectively convert visitors and leads. A text-heavy site or one that uses industry jargon will turn people off, as will a site that doesn’t match the company’s voice or meet the needs of the target audience. Keep this in mind when determining where changes are needed.
Site Purpose
Marketing strategies change over time. This does not mean the site must be redesigned each time the marketing goals undergo an adjustment. Nevertheless, companies need to check the website regularly to ensure it remains in alignment with the current marketing plan.
Learn whether any updates to the marketing strategy have affected the conversion funnel. Determine whether the site’s purpose has changed and ensure it remains in alignment with the goals. If the marketing strategy hasn’t been updated in a while and problems become apparent, the first step will be to update the strategy. Once this has been done, the site can be updated.
The Target Audience
A company’s target audience may change over time, as the company learns what its clients are most interested in. When the website receives inquiries from individuals it isn’t targeting, there is a problem. The same holds when certain portions of the website receive a lot of traffic while other sections are completely ignored.
The company may need to narrow the focus of the site to better meet the needs of visitors. Conduct a persona development exercise with the help of data collected from the site. Make adjustments to the user persona profiles where needed and plan the website redesign around these updated profiles.
Unclear Navigation
An aesthetically pleasing website won’t keep customers engaged if they find the site difficult to navigate. Cluttered navigation, a confusing user journey, dead ends, and excessive call-to-actions are only a few of the many reasons a customer may choose to leave the site.
Look at the average time on page to see if visitors are struggling and leaving the page or site. Ten seconds or fewer on a page suggests there is a problem. When daily traffic is high, but leads and conversions remain low, the site navigation may be the issue.
Look at the Google Analytics User Flow and Behavior Flow tools. They help the business determine whether customers are following the pathways established for them.
Employ session recordings and heatmaps to learn more about visitor activity on the site. Reach out to site visitors to learn if they encountered any problems and where they did.
Return to the basics and focus on web design fundamentals. The UI must make use of composition, balance, and components to ensure visitors understand it.
Content Strategy
Content strategy plays an important role in the success of a website. Outstanding content improves customer retention and SEO, among other things. As search engines regularly update their algorithms, businesses must ensure their content strategy undergoes regular updates. In addition, the company has to ensure the content can be found.
Any time major changes are made to a company’s content strategy, the site needs to be redesigned. This ensures the new content is easily found. Include calls to action in these updates for improved results.
New Products and Services
A website may need to be redesigned if the company is offering new products and services. This applies to those companies that offer new products regularly and much of their revenue depends on these products. Updating the site ensures it remains profitable and relevant.
Major corporations that offer new products regularly, such as Apple, need to redesign their sites with each new launch. However, most companies don’t need updates this often. Update the site when there is a major change in the product or service lineup or once every two years at a minimum.
Errors and Bugs
Any errors and bugs on the site need to be addressed promptly for the best customer experience. When there are numerous errors and bugs, a site redesign often is the best way to address the problems. A website audit helps find these areas and determines how best to fix them.
Look for redirects that take a visitor to the wrong place. Security issues must be addressed immediately, and pages or images that don’t load should be removed or corrected.
Website design needs to remain a priority for every business. A bad experience on the site could lead to the permanent loss of the customer. Ensure the customer’s first impression of the company is a good one with an outstanding website.
The design plays a significant role in this. Seek outside help if the website needs attention and the business can’t provide this attention or doesn’t know what needs to be done. The website is too important to leave anything to chance.
