How do you know if you need a new website?
Your website is the digital face of your business. Most customers will visit your website credibility before making a purchase, probably before even a first direct contact. Most of these initial visits are just to check out your credibility see if they like your vibe or following a link. Your website is your opportunity to make a great first impression and reassure people comfort that you’re a real professional business.
First impressions count and if you don’t give them a reason to stay they probably won’t be back so it’s vital that as well as having great content, it’s visually appealing, user-friendly, and easy to navigate.
The performance and functionality of your website makes it easier to find and provides a great user experience.
Given the extent to which we habitually Google before we buy how do you know if your website is still up for the job or if you’ve in need of a new website for a new era?
15 signs your business is in need of a new website
1. Your website is not responsive (doesn’t display correctly on your mobile)
As many as 80% of internet users own a smartphone so it’s not a huge leap to Most people access websites via their mobile phones. If your website still doesn’t adapt to accommodate your audience viewing your website on the go, they probably won’t stick around. By the time your potential customer gets back to their desktop they may well have found your competitors’ new website from their phone and maybe even made a purchase. Check for yourself how mobile-friendly your web page is.
2. You’re not getting found by Google /It hasn’t been optimised for Search Engines (SEO)
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the process of making changes to your website itself in order to help it rank higher (called on-site SEO). It can also involve activities such as link building (called off-site SEO) which are part of a package of elements that help you get found by prospective customers.
3. It’s complicated to update or add new content or you don’t have access to do it
The more dynamic your content is (regularly updated) the better this is all going to work for you. Most modern websites are “content managed” meaning you can easily log in to create news posts and add content, photos even new pages.
If your site was created quite a while ago you might be stuck having to contact your current web design agency to ask them to make changes, and this can get expensive.
4. It’s confusing to find your way around and the website is generally hard to navigate
A poor user experience (UX) is death to your online presence. Imagine entering a high street shop and finding yourself in the middle of a maze with no idea which way to go to find what you came into buy. Same thing with your website except online it’s a lot easier to find the EXIT.
5. You’ve still got auto-play, Flash or GIFS on your website
Ooops! Flash intros may have been cool once but that day has passed. Today they just scream old-fashioned. Unless you’re a musician or a radio station there’s no excuse for auto sound unless you’re intent on annoying visitors to your website. Plus audio autoplay is generally disabled for mobile and it negatively effects customers using screen reader. Generally speaking, anything pushed on users irritates them and makes them suspicious about your product or service. This doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t use sound, simply give your customers the option to turn on sound after they reach your page. As for GIFs today they just look ugly, outdated, and distract from your message – if anyone stays around that long.
6. You are experiencing a high “bounce rate”
Google’s official definition of a ‘bounce’ is ‘a single-page session on your site’. Basically, someone has arrived at a page on your website and then left without exploring further into your site giving you a low session duration
If you have a high bounce rate, it’s often an symptom of confusing design or poorly written content, upfront requests for too much personal info or an outdated design that doesn’t connect with your audience. These aren’t the only reasons for a high bounce rate but they’re some of the most common.
New websites can also experience a high bounce rate initially, however it’s hard and expensive to remedy an old site with multiple page and legacy issues.
To get clean design, good functionality, and the ability to post dynamic relevant content, it’s better to look at launching a new website you can optimise.
7. Your website takes forever to load
Fact: if your website takes more than a few seconds to load your customer will leave and go elsewhere.
8. Your site has bugs on some browsers or devices
Typical bugs involve contact forms not displaying or click throughs and shopping carts not functioning correctly and differences in performance and accessibility depending on whether a client is accessing via either an Apple or Android. If your customers or sales team start to complain about your website features not working – it’s time.
9. You still have the old Twitter (pre 2012) or old Instagram (pre 2016) icons on your website
Ok, even if you don’t see why, and however ahead of it’s time your website was back then, things move fast and if your Twitter icon still has a wee tuft on his head NEWSFLASH you need a new website.
10. You don’t have a clear digital strategy in place
Having a digital strategy isn’t an option anymore and ideally is the first step in taking your brand online; without one you’ll struggle to reach your target audience effectively and achieve the maximum impact. Let us know if you’d like some help to review or establish your digital strategy.
11. Your website doesn’t align with your current branding
Showcasing your brand to potential customers is probably the key role for your website. Your brand will most likely evolve over time and should always be aligned and perfectly reflected through your website. Your new website is your opportunity to have 100% control over your content and message. This enables you to use your message to set out who you are and what you stand for. Your website is your window to the world. What is it you want your audience to hear, understand, and remember you for?
12. Your website is allaboutyou.com
Welcome to the era of the story. Gone are the days when your message was all about you and why you’re the best. If your website is heavy on internal mission statements, company history, and all about how your business is great it’s time to get some help. Today’s most successful websites focus on your customer and their customer journey and addresses how can you solve their problems, help them, and make their lives easier?
13. Even you give up reading through the pages cos it’s sooo hard going
Content is one of the cornerstones of your website. Engaging content is called that because it needs to be – engaging! To produce engaging content, think about who your customers are, what type of information your customers are looking for and how to present it to them. Creating engaging content is hard to do and takes a lot of time which is why this crucial element is frustratingly often left until last or delegated to the “junior. If you are going to write your own copy build in time to do it right. For many potential customers it’s the only message they’ll ever see from you.
14. When you load it, you can’t help but cringe a little cos it just looks ‘old’.
Your website reflects your company. If your website looks outdated and unprofessional, potential clients will likely assume that you are as well. One of the tell-tale signs is if your website is loaded with entirely based on old school stock photos, potential customers can sniff them out in a moment. If you rely on stock too heavily your website will come over as impersonal. The underlying feel will be that if you didn’t put much love and care into individual design for your own website what does that say about your business? The other give-away are the fonts you use. Even if it’s subconscious visitors will spot excessive use of different or outdated fonts.
And the ultimate red flag…
15. You’re embarrassed to send customers to your website
Do you get a nagging feeling when someone asks for your website? Your website builds through the entire customer journey, helping you grow brand awareness, your customer base and to support existing customers. If you aren’t proud to send everyone there, ask yourself why.
Websites remain a key element of your digital strategy and your new website will continue to be relevant asset for years to come. Even in today’s social world there’s is no other medium that allows you as much control over your message as your website.
Building a new website is an exciting project that can affect your sales and marketing
To ensure you have a meaningful presence in the digital space, you need to have a website that is appealing, engaging, easy to navigate and optimised for search engines. By keeping your business website relevant and capable of doing the job you can ensure that your website is working 24/7 to deliver a great user experience.
For a free website audit…