9 reasons why you need a website redesign

9 reasons to consider a website redesign

 

In this blog we present the nine main reasons why you may need a website redesign. But first consider what it is you like about some of your favourite websites? This isn’t a question most people tend to ask themselves too often. A great website experience is something we feel at an instinctive level. We subconsciously appreciate the experience of browsing through a website that is pleasing on the eye, is easy to navigate and just feels intuitive to use.

If you are the owner or admin of a website a pertinent question to ask yourself is “Do I like my/our website?”. If your immediate answer is “No” then your instincts are probably correct. It may mean its time to redesign your website.

Below I examine 9 reasons why you may need a website redesign.

 

Reason # 1. Your Website is not Mobile-friendly

A mobile-friendly design is simply a must-have these days. For one thing – mobile gets over 51% of all internet traffic in Ireland – and it’s growing each year. For another- Google has been using mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal for a good few years now. So if your website isn’t responsive it’s going to be reflected in your rankings. In fact it goes further than that. Google uses a mobile-first policy now. This means they predominantly use the mobile version of your websites content for indexing and ranking.

 

Reason # 2. Your Website is slow to load

A websites load speed refers to the length of time it takes for the website to fully load and appear on a user’s screen.  Your websites visitors aren’t willing to hang around and wait for your website to load if it takes an age. There are some stark statistics out there that highlight the detrimental effect that each additional second of load time has on conversion rates. You can take a closer look at your own websites page speed on the Google PageSpeed Insights tool.

You can take some steps to improve your websites page speed. These include compressing images used on your website, minifying CSS and JavaScript code and avoiding redirects where possible. Where your websites hosting is physically located will also affect load speed. Taking these factors and others into consideration it may make more sense to completely redesign your website.

 

Reason # 3. You want to upgrade your website to an ecommerce site

You may be seriously thinking about adding ecommerce functionality to your existing website. Lots of traditional bricks-and-mortar stores have been doing so over the last few years (fuelled in large part by the impact lockdown has had on the high street). Online shopping is bigger than ever with 8 in 10 internet users in Ireland purchasing online in 2021. And while in-store shopping is unlikely to go away, omnichannel clearly appears to be the way forward.

Luckily it isn’t too difficult for a small standalone store to add ecommerce functionality using the Shopify ecommerce platform or the WooCommerce ecommerce plugin for WordPress.

 

Reason # 4. Your Website traffic, leads and conversions have been steadily declining

If you have noticed that your website is showing a drop off in the amount of traffic or you are getting less leads and conversions this is a pretty good indication that your website needs a redesign. Google Analytics (GA) and Search Console will provide you with some valuable insights. Look for data in GA on changes in the bounce rate over time as well as the users flow data on where visitors are getting stuck and deciding to leave. Search console can be used to measure keyword performance. If you are monitoring this over time you may notice decreases in your average position for those keywords.

The overall information gleaned may indicate that visitors to your website are not finding what they need, or you are being outperformed on search by your competitors. It may be time to do a complete website redesign incorporating detailed keyword research in the process while also enhancing its overall usability.

 

Frustrated businesswoman worried about declining leads and conversions may mean its time for a website redesign

Reason # 5. Your Website hasn’t been updated in a long time

The freshness of content on your website is a Google ranking factor. If your website hasn’t been updated with fresh content in a long time then it follows that visitors will drop off and you’ll see a fall off in your average position in search engine rankings.

There are probably two main reasons why websites don’t get updated. The first of these is down to it not receiving the priority it deserves. The second reason is that it’s just not easy to update the content- and this is a reason to seriously consider a redesign of your website. If you are not easily able to post a new blog, add or delete products and images it could be to do with your websites backend not being very user-friendly. A modern content management system (CMS) like WordPress makes publishing new content on your website a straightforward task and therefore less likely to be avoided.

 

Reason # 6. Your Website’s design looks outdated

A website is really no different to the clothes we wear or the paint we choose for our exterior walls. Like clothes and wall paint, a website is also subject to changing trends and fashions. If your website is more than 5-7 years old it is most likely that your visitors won’t find it visually appealing. If your website is outdated visitors will probably come away with the impression that your company isn’t very innovative.

Modern website builders have an array of design features and functionality that didn’t exist a half decade ago.

 

Reason # 7. The focus of your business has changed

It happens quite often. You started out focussing your efforts on selling product or service (a) to target group (x) but over time you have achieved much more success with a different product or service with a completely different target group.

When this happens you will probably want to do a website redesign. Your new target group will have a completely different set of needs and expectations. Your overall brand, website copy, content and images probably all need to be overhauled to reflect the typical buyer persona of your new target audience.

 

Reason # 8. Your business is rebranding

If you are planning to rebrand your business it makes sense that you should redesign your website as part of the rebranding process to ensure the websites design and feel is consistent with the new brand. There are many reasons why you may choose to rebrand. These could include increased competition, a drop-off in sales or customer research and insights that point to declining sentiment towards your current brand.

A rebrand will include a visual rebrand- things like your logo, fonts and colours, taglines and corporate imagery as signifiers of the brand may all be part of that and will mean it’s time to redesign your website.

 

Reason # 9. Your website users are not happy

Your customers are probably the most important source of feedback you can have so pay attention to what they are saying. If they are complaining about it being difficult to find answers to questions they have on the website this could be reason enough to take action. Other issues could be difficulties encountered with completing a particular task such as finding a particular product and other bugs and errors that are a source of frustration.

You may not always know that website visitors are unhappy with your website. Adding a short survey form to your website can be a great way to solicit this feedback. Monitoring social media mentions and interactions and product review sites will also offer up insights.

 

If you find yourself nodding along to some of the points raised in this blog and would like to discuss web design with us please get in touch with us at hello@forwardmarketing.ie. We’d only be too happy to talk.

 

About the Trading Online Voucher Scheme and Website Redesign

..And Finally! Some good news to finish up. Did you know that the Trading Online Voucher scheme is a financial incentive available to eligible small businesses in Ireland who are seeking to create an online presence or develop their ecommerce capability online.

The scheme is in place to encourage businesses to take advantage of the growing online spending trend. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment offer the scheme which is managed by Local Enterprise Offices throughout Ireland. The voucher is a financial incentive to small businesses to encourage them to trade online. Under the scheme, the lesser of a maximum sum of €2,500 or 50% of eligible spend is made available to qualifying companies.

 

Trading Online Voucher Scheme eligibility criteria

  • Limited or no Ecommerce presence
  • 10 or less employees
  • Turnover less than €2 million
  • An applicant business must be trading for more than 6 months
  • Businesses must be located in the geographical area of the Local Enterprise Office to whom they are making the application

 

What Trading Online Vouchers can be used for

Some of the things that the vouchers can be used for include:

  • IT Consultation
  • Development of an e-commerce website
  • Development of a brochure website
  • Implementing online payments or booking systems
  • Purchase of professional photography

This above is not an exhaustive list so please check with LEO for more details

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