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While there are some aspects to having a business that might be a ‘one and done’ element, your website is not one of them. Would you get tired of hearing the same commercial jingle for a product? Of course, you would! Conversely, if you never do anything to change the look and or functionality of your website you will likely fall behind your competitors in that space. But how do you know it is time for a website redesign?

Signs Your Website Needs Work

Your website is one of your best marketing tools, but if you have never given it a new look, or can’t recall the last time you did, then it’s a safe bet that now is the time to think about making a change. Here are some key elements to check if you are undecided as to the need for a website makeover.

1. It has been a while since you made website changes. A healthy company is always evolving.  Have any of these actions occurred?
   1. The introduction of new services or products
   2. Hiring of new staff, a new location
   3. Updated pictures of your location, staff, products, etc.
   4. Community events you were a part of
   5. Conferences you attended
   6. Awards received
   7. New items to add to your project portfolio.
   8. If you answer ‘yes’ to any of these activities, then now is the time to add new content, pages or media to your website.
2. Your branding does not connect with your vision or mission. It is not unusual for a company to change its focus or direction. In fact, many business advisors see this as a good thing as it helps to make your company more known to more people. Be sure your website reflects this new business approach. If you are uncertain as to whether your branding approach is not being reflected in your current site, then ask yourself the following questions:
   1. Am I seeing a bigger than usual bounce rate?
   2. Is there a low conversion rate?
   3. Is the blog unattractive or perhaps not being utilized?
   4. Am I making frequent social media posts that reflect the new brand?
3. The content is old. Content is still king. But it can’t stay the same. It may have been great 2 years ago but its effectiveness is lessened as time goes by. If you are still using media from 2 or more years ago, the content hasn’t been changed since its initial writing, and the keywords have never been updated to reflect your new purpose or target audience, change is needed.
4. Your SEO is no longer effective. Search engine optimization is what allows your website to rank high in search results. Without up to date SEO, search engines such as Bing, Google and others will overlook your site and organic leads will become minimal. As part of updating your website with fresh SEO practices, be sure to utilize your meta tags and descriptions that are keyword rich, so you are not missing out on web traffic and can rank high on web search results.
5. Your website is difficult to navigate. Perhaps, you have made the occasional content update or added a new page, but in doing so it has made your website difficult to navigate. As a business grows and you have new things to showcase it can mean that this new material is done haphazardly, thus making your website more challenging for people to find the information they are seeking. With a website update, you can make it easy for your site guests to find what they need by adding in Call to Action buttons, having a site map, setting up a simple menu structure with limited drop-down items or perhaps by ordering your pages from most popular to least.
6. Your website doesn’t work well on mobile devices. Consider these facts regarding how often people are online using a mobile device:
   1. Up to 70% of web traffic happens on a mobile device.
   2. 57% of all U.S. online traffic now comes from smartphones and tablets.
   3. 77% of smartphone shoppers are more likely to purchase from companies whose mobile sites or apps allow them to make purchases quickly.
   4. 51% of customers say that they use mobile devices to discover new brands and products.
   5. Your website must be mobile responsive in order to be effective and to reach more customers. If you have not yet taken the time to bring your website into the world of mobile devices, you are missing out on business! When you update your website to be mobile responsive, your site will –
      1. Be unified and easy to navigate
      2. Encourages a higher conversion rate and lower bounce rate
      3. Load faster
      4. Be easier to maintain
      5. Make social sharing easier
      6. Have a higher search engine ranking
7. Your website loads too slowly. Being responsive isn’t enough. If your website doesn’t load within 3 seconds the average site guest will leave. People want instant results and a sluggish website can cost your business. Factors that can cause a slow website are problems with the coding, a server that is trying to process too many requests, file sizes or an outdated website. If you think that these might be factors that are affecting your website’s speed, talk to one of the Page Progressive website specialists.
8. You are still running Adobe Flash. Back in the day, everybody thought that Flash was a Must Have for websites. After all, it made for a cool looking website and made media features possible. Today, however, Flash is not needed and can actually cause several issues, the least of which is slow loading time.
9. You have a high bounce rate. You have just a few seconds to capture and keep your site guest’s attention. If you don’t, they will leave (bounce) and you lose potential revenue. Of course, this is not the only factor that contributes to the bounce rate. Other causes are that perhaps your site wasn’t the one they were looking for, the website is out of date and so guests assume the information is not trustworthy, or that they can’t find the information they needed. An updated website that includes things like a Call to Action button, Chat, or is easy to use will go a long way towards minimizing your bounce rate.
10. Your site is not fully functional. No, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have the info correct or easy to find but rather that it needs more tools to make it a viable resource. Some elements that might need to be needed include:
    1. An updated eCommerce platform
    2. Appointment scheduling option
    3. Integration with marketing campaigns
    4. Chat boxes
11. It isn’t secure. You don’t want to make a purchase from a website that looks questionable, and neither do your site guests. Ecommerce websites, in particular, hold a great deal of personal information and guests want to know that every precaution has been taken to ensure their info is protected. Having a small padlock next to your web address or the https at the beginning of your web URL is a good way to let guests know your site can be trusted. Sadly, there is no such thing as a website that is 100% hack-proof. But by taking proper security measures you can minimize the risk of a hacking. Having an updated website is an important part of the process.
12. You spend too much time doing content updates. Having an updated website design isn’t just about the guest’s experience. It is also about the ease of updating content. If adding a blog post, updating elements of your design, or adding in new media is something that takes you an inordinate amount of time, then chances are that you need a better CMS (content management system) so that it is easier to organize and share content. There are several CMS choices available with some of the favorites being WordPress, Drupal, WooCommerce, Shopify, and Magento. Talk to our team to learn which CMS option will best suit your needs.
13. Your competition doesn’t see you as a rival. If the search engines aren’t finding you then your competition isn’t concerned about you. If you feel as though others in your industry are getting all the business, then take a few minutes to look at their websites and see what they are doing differently from you. Chances are, their websites are more modern, have frequent blog and social media posts, and they are utilizing the best SEO tools and practices.
14. Your customers feel neglected. No, that doesn’t mean that you are unfriendly or not interacting with them. Rather they feel like their business isn’t a priority because your website lacks updated checkout procedures or difficult to use billing tools. A site that makes the buying/paying difficult will seem unprofessional to prospects and will result in fewer conversions.
15. There is a disconnect between your marketing strategy and your website. If you have a marketing strategy to recruit 50% more revenue, but your site’s tools and interfacing can only handle a 20% increase, then new matter how effective your strategy you won’t be as successful as desired. Your website’s appearance, speed, and ease of use will all play important roles in achieving those marketing goals, so be sure your website is ready for the increase in traffic.
16. Your website does not have any videos. The majority of web users are image-oriented. So, if you do not have videos on your site showing what you have to offer then you are missing out. In fact, a survey by Renderforest found that-
    1. 78% of users got more traffic to their website after using videos.
    2. 69% of users generated more leads with the help of video content.
    3. 54% of users increased their sales.
    4. Having video on your website instantly gets your message to your target audience and does so in an interesting way. Better yet in making a video, you have the opportunity to share with site guests who you are because you can easily inject humor, show behind the scenes details, establish your brand personality and even boost SEO efforts. Not a pro with a video camera? No worries, there are many tools available to make creating a video easy, or just talk to one of the Page Progressive team members as we have the tools and skills necessary to create a great video for your audience.
17. You frequently think your website could use a new look. Do you find yourself thinking that an updated website would be a great idea? Maybe you send people to your website with the preface, “Don’t judge it”. If so, then an updated website needs to be on your MUST DO list -not just a To Do list.

Technology changes quickly and often. It is vital that your website reflects this so it does not become outdated. Taking time to adopt a new look and add new features can make your website perform better and encourages more guests and revenue. Don’t keep talking about a new look for your website. Take a look at your 2019 numbers for sales, website visits, and other metrics. If there seems to be a disconnect then now is the time for a new website design. Don’t wait another 2 or 3 years to think about it. Make 2020 the year you give your site a makeover. Talk to the Page Progressive team today!