To say a company’s pride depends on the quality of their website is an understatement. With internet technology evolving at rapid speeds, just having a website for namesake isn’t going to cut it.
Your competitor has updated his website and your visitors are asking questions already. Your website needs to have certain qualities to get accepted in this era. And this cannot be achieved in the first try itself.
To stay ahead of the game,small changes like product updates or logo changes may simply not be enough. A complete redesign may become necessary. Given the scope of redesign and the amount of stress it is going to put on the people involved, taking up such a project has to be given some serious thought.
In this article, let us take a look at some of the pointers that you should look out for and should consider before deciding to redesign your website.
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Your website has become slow:
Probably the most important factor today. The industry’s benchmark for a good website to load is 2 seconds. More than 50% of your visitors are sure to be disappointed if your site takes more than 3 seconds. This lowers your reputation and conversion rates. Try Google’s PageSpeed Insights to get a hang of your page speeds and recommendations to improve it. -
Has web responsiveness issues:
User experience is very important in content delivery. With more users going mobile, it is imperative to deliver the same experience on other devices as well. If you still have doubts, look at you website analytics to see the percentage of visitors from mobile devices.Making a website responsive requires serious layout re-alignments and content modifications. So a redesign is compulsory. WordPress Templates are available to make your job easier.
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Bad SEO:
Usually a reduction in website traffic, bounce rate and conversion rate is a sign of bad SEO. Google’s search algorithm gives high importance to high quality original content and keywords. If your website appears very late in the search results, it’s because you haven’t worked hard on the SEO front. Your sites SEO might have gotten buried in old flash files or images. SEO optimization might take a lot of time, content optimizing and strategizing. You may also use tools like “best SEO tool”. Hence, a SEO revamp requires a complete site rebuild.
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Security update:
New malwares and hacking techniques are found every day. Websites are especially vulnerable to hackers. Security loopholes keep adding in our websites without our knowledge. It is necessary to update to the best security status as often as possible. Security updates won’t often involve rebuilding. Just minor updates would suffice. But if your are considering moving to a more secure host or Content Management System like WordPress that offer excellent levels of security, I would say it’s worth the extra effort. -
Social media update:
Billions of websites use social media giants like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for advertising. If your business is not connected to social sites, you are losing out on a huge market advantage. Another thing to take note is the presentation of the links you are sharing. It should have a creative description and a beautiful thumbnail to attract this huge online community. Research shows that more than 31 per-cent of traffic comes from social sites. So if you are not able to tap into this potential, then it is time to seriously consider revamping your website. -
Issues loading content and features:
The next time you visit your website, check if all the content is loading and all the features are working without any glitches. If not, you might says simple update may suffice. But it may be the symptom of a larger problem hidden deep over layers of outdated scripts and updates. Your site may be running on software that is not supported on latest browsers or devices. A professional will recommend you to rebuild your website on the latest software platform.
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Outdated look:
A good design creates a sense of trust in people. Its psychology. A survey shows that 94% of people trust a site that gives a good first impression. Modern design perspective demands a clean design with prominent menu and easy navigation. A cluttered website is a thing of the past. With WordPress offering thousands of themes at your disposal, you are making a big mistake if you still have an outdated website.
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Riddled with dead points:
This is an issue where even a slight hint of procrastination on your part can damage the reputation of your website. A dead point is a non-functioning part like dead links, tabs and buttons. It can be identified by frequently checking your website. Make sure you fix these issues before your visitors take note to save your reputation. If your website has many dead points, then it’s time to do a complete overhaul.
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Website no longer represents your business:
- Your company’s target has shifted since you designed the site.
- Your services or products and the ambassadors has changed.
- The management, staff or the facilities have changed demanding a change of stock photos.
- Your company has out grown the scope of your website. You want to express your happiness and gratitude over the success of your company by including thank you notes, press releases etc.
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Just to stay ahead in the race:
We have reached that stage in time where people judge your company by first visiting your website. You wouldn’t want your competitor to have a better looking site and hence an edge over you. Design trends for every industry is unique and also constantly updating. The changes may be subtle but they give your audience the idea that you are on track and have a successful business. So the next time your competitor makes any changes to his website, suit up.
Wrap up
Redesigning a website is an arduous task to undertake. The above ten signs deserve at least a discussion on redesigning. But if are still confused, I suggest getting a professional opinion. Remember, evolution is a slow but necessary process.