Time for a Website Makeover: 7 Reasons its Time to Redesign Your Site
Whether you’re a blogger, a business owner, or an artist with an online portfolio, your website can make or break you. An outdated website isn’t just unattractive to visitors, it also gives them a bad first impression of you as a professional. If you feel underwhelmed every time you look at your website, it might be time for a website makeover.
Here are 7 reasons you might need to flip your website design.
1. Your Security Is Outdated
If you have a website of any type, you should be very concerned about your cybersecurity.
There has been a massive increase in cybercrime in 2020, and there’s no end in sight. Cybercriminals are always finding new ways to hack and crack people’s sites and cause untold amounts of criminal mischief. This includes stealing your information, customer information, funds, and even taking down whole webpages.
If you haven’t updated your website in a while, it’s likely the security isn’t up-to-par. A good cybercriminal could easily hack your site, whether that be to infect it with malware, steal information, or make your site inactive. If you’re planning a website makeover, make sure to ask about updating the security features.
2. Your Website Is a Snail
Speed is one of the most important metrics for success when it comes to web design.
Not only will a slow website lose you visitors, it’ll also lower your Google search ranking. That means fewer eyes on your site, and fewer conversions. Your site may suffer from slowdown for a lot of reasons, including using old tech and being cluttered with large images or widgets.
Whatever the case, if your website is too slow to browse and load, you should consider hiring website makeover services. A professional website redesign company can optimize your site for speed while keeping it presentable.
3. You Have No Mobile Presence
Increasingly, website traffic is being driven by mobile devices.
People love browsing the web on their phones, so if your website isn’t mobile compatible you’re missing out on a huge market of new visitors. Think about it: when you come across a website without a mobile interface on your phone, what do you do? Likely, you leave the site and find an alternative or put it off until you’re at your computer.
Most people will simply abandon the site altogether, never to return. Not only does having a mobile presence increase traffic, but it also increases your Google search ranking. If you don’t have a mobile site yet, it’s time for that website redesign.
4. Your Brand Has Changed
Sometimes, you need to shake up your brand to attract new customers.
This could mean changing your logo, your products, your company culture, or your business entirely. If you’ve recently rebranded, you can’t leave your website as-is. You need your website to reflect what your company has to offer in every way, from the colour choices to the logo and the way the products or posts are presented.
If you don’t know how to redesign a website, a rebranding can be time-consuming. That’s why it’s best to leave a rebranding makeover to the professionals. Let them know the style you’re looking for, show them some representations of the rebrand, and let them work their magic.
5. Navigating Your Site Is a Nightmare
If there’s one thing that’s important to visitors of any website, it’s navigability.
Users don’t want to have to learn how to use your website. It’s not a puzzle — it should be straightforward and simple right from the get-go. That’s why so many websites use similar navigation tactics like collapsable navigation bars, in-site search engines, and colours and design aspects that lead the eyes to the most important site features.
As mentioned before, website visitors love speed over everything. Bad navigation equals slow speed, meaning more visitors abandoning ship and finding an easier alternative. If even you have trouble navigating your website, get a website makeover.
6. You Hate Looking at It
Sometimes you have to follow your gut when it comes to a website redesign.
Try visiting and browsing your own site a few days in a row and seeing what you think. If you find yourself embarrassed by the site, hating the way certain things look, or just underwhelmed by the site, you need a redesign. It’s your website, after all — you should be happy with it.
Take note of some specific things you want changed and give those notes to your web design professional. This will help get your site to a place you’re happy with.
7. Your Competitors’ Sites Are Better
The business world is a competitive place, and you have to do everything you can to stay a step ahead of your competitors.
Browse through your competitors’ websites and see how they are. Do they have more engaging designs than yours? Are they faster, more functional, and easier to use than your own?
If so, you need a website makeover. Take note of what your competitor sites are doing that you’re not, and take inspiration from that. Implement these new features onto your website, and try to think of ways you can stay one step ahead of your competitor sites at all times.
It’s Time for a Website Makeover
Your website is one of the most important aspects of your business, no matter what that business is. Considering this, you can’t let your website run on old design principals. If you haven’t had your website design shaken up in a long time, and are suffering from any of the issues above, it’s time for a website makeover.
If you’re ready to discuss a website makeover, contact a professional web design company like Caffeinated Marketing. We’ll help you bring your website into the 21st century.