Is your website informative, relevant, and fully-functional? If not, it may be time for a redesign. Here are a few things to consider to help you decide if it’s time to redesign your website.
Google Doesn’t Like You
Have you checked the status of your website’s search engine results lately? Are you using black hat SEO strategies like keyword stuffing, cheap link exchanges, or duplicate content? If so, Google doesn’t like your website and may be penalizing you with lower rankings. Perhaps Google has made changes that you haven’t been keeping up with. Google frequently changes its algorithm to make search results more concise. In April 2015, Google rolled out Mobilegeddon, an updated algorithm that gives preference to websites that are mobile-friendly. In 2014, Google update their algorithm called Pigeon to provide more relevant results based on location. For your website redesign, plan search engine optimization strategies in the early phases.
Your Customers Don’t Like You
If your website is not generating the sales you desire, you may want to consider your website’s usability. Is your website taking way too long to load? Does your navigation make sense? Are your pages using relevant keywords and page headers? Can customers easily find what they need or are you using too much industry jargon? Is your website too content heavy, with valuable information buried in pages of text? Website visitors will immediately leave and move on to your competition if they can’t easily find what they need.
Your Website is Not Responsive
Mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, televisions, and video gaming consoles are commonly used to access the Internet. Your website should be responsive and work seamlessly on any number of devices. Responsive Web Design means that your website will automatically change its appearance based on the screen size of the visitor’s device, using one set of code.
You Still Have a Brochure Website
A “brochure website” offers generic information about your organization, what you offer, and how to get in touch with you. Your website should serve as an around the clock sales agent for new and existing customers. If your website solely provides information and no interaction, then it’s a brochure site that needs to be redesigned.Customers should be able to research your products or services and find the information they need without having to pick up the phone and call you. Your content should address the majority, if not all, of the questions or concerns your customers may have. Your website should be able to collect customer data to add to your mailing list – hopefully that’s an mail list! Your website should be able to process sales, accept payments, and send automated e-mails with little effort on your part.
It Takes Too Long To Update Your Content
There is no excuse to have to contact your “webmaster” to add a new page, update content, or add new images. If you still need to make a call to get changes made to your website, you should move toward using a content management system (CMS) to save time and money. A CMS allows you to update your website content and add new pages easily yourself without the need to know HTML code.