It’s impolite to ask someone their age, but what about asking someone the age of their website? Yep, when it comes to websites, age does matter. And if your website is starting to show its age that could have a negative impact on your business! Read on for tips to help you decide if it’s time for a website redesign.
How Often Is a Website Redesign Necessary?
There is no hard-and-fast rule for this. Think of it like changing the oil in your car. Depending on how frequently you use your car and the conditions in which you are driving such as temperature, traffic levels, terrain, and distance, the length of time between oil changes will vary.
We will say this—your website is not a house. No matter how well built it is, it will not last a lifetime. If you’re in business for the long haul, at some point you will need a website redesign. In fact, you’ll probably need to do it more than once.
A good rule of thumb is to plan on doing a website redesign every two to three years. With forward-thinking planning (including avoiding gimmicks) and the help of a top-notch web design and web development team you may be able to make your website last longer. Remember though, holding onto a website that’s costing you business isn’t actually saving you money! The frequency of your needed updates – in fact the features and technologies you include in any website design – are greatly influenced by the industry in which you compete, the customers and audiences you’re trying to reach, and constantly evolving consumer expectations.
Answer These Questions to See If You Need a Website Redesign:
How old is your current website?
As mentioned above, while there is no hard-and-fast rule, you will most likely need a website redesign every few years.
That may sound like too short of a time frame, but think about how fast technology changes. With search engine algorithm updates, changing user expectations, and new technology emerging, three years might as well be a decade.
How does your website compare to your competitors’?
Pick your top three to five competitors, and do a little snooping. Be brutally honest with yourself … are their websites better than yours? Pay attention to:
- Design – do they look better than your website?
- User experience – are they easier to use than your website? For example, is it easier to navigate the website or easier purchase something?
- Functionality – do they offer cool features that your website does not?
- Speed – are they faster than your website?
- Mobile friendliness – does their website work better on mobile devices than yours?
If you answered yes to some or all of those questions, especially the speed and mobile friendliness points, it may be time to invest in a website redesign.
Why are speed and mobile friendliness so important? Those factors don’t just hurt you with potential (or even existing) customers … they can also negatively impact your organic performance on search engines, like Google.
Have you see a drop in website traffic, especially from search engines?
Search engines, like Google, want to return the most useful results so that people will keep using their search engine. That’s right, even Google wants repeat customers! To determine which websites should snag the coveted top spots in the search results, search engines look at a lot of factors. Two of those factors, especially on Google, are site speed (how fast your website loads) and mobile friendliness.
Some studies have shown consumers expect a website to load in 2 seconds or less! How fast is your site? What about over cell towers?
If you’ve seen a drop in site traffic, especially from organic sources (search engines), it could be because of your website.
Does your website support your business goals?
Where do you see your business in the next three months? How about six months from now or a year? Do you have major growth goals, or are you introducing a new product, service, or location?
Write out your answers and then evaluate your current website. Be as ruthless with your website as you were with your competitors’. Does your website support those goals or the direction you envision your business moving in the near future?
If not, you may need a website redesign even if your website passed muster on the previous questions. Again, we can’t say this enough, holding onto a website that is hurting your business will not save you money in the long run.
Still Not Sure If You Need a Website Redesign?
If you still aren’t sure you need a website redesign, we may be able to help. St. Gregory offers a comprehensive website audit that evaluates your website’s performance from a technical SEO (search engine optimization) standpoint. The website audit is a 30-plus page report that includes a:
- Year-over-year data analysis.
- Deep dive into your site’s speed on mobile and computer devices.
- Competitive analysis.
Plus, each audit includes a one-page checklist of recommendations. These recommendations also can be used to improve your current site, even if a website redesign is not an option right now. A website audit also can help you navigate a website redesign as you’ll know what pitfalls to avoid when speaking with your web design and web dev teams.
To request a website audit, contact us now. We can return this 30-plus page comprehensive report in as little as 10 days!
Ready to Get Started on Your Website Redesign?
If you know your website needs a little TLC, St. Gregory can help with both the design and development aspects. Our team has years of experience with project and budget management and working with web developers. We also have in-house design experts and copywriters who are skilled in the most up-to-date SEO best practices.
We’d love to help you create a refreshed website that really speaks to your brand and helps you achieve your business goals! Contact us today to schedule a consult.
In the meantime, think about the answers to these questions as they’ll help us have the most productive consultation with you:
- Who is your primary audience?
- What is their age, gender, and socio-economic status?
- What are their pain points?
- What are some of the common questions they ask?
- How do you measure a successful website visit? (In other words, what action can a visitor take on your website that means success to you?)
- What differentiates your product or service from your competition?
- Who is your competition?
- What does your current website do well? What do you like about it?
- What does your current website do poorly? What do you dislike about it?
- How regularly do you want to be able to update your website? For example, do you plan to have a blog? Do you sell products online and need to be able to control inventory?
Even if you can’t answer all of these questions, we can help you develop a persona (or personas) for your primary audience, evaluate your website objectively, and identify your competitors.
Don’t lose one more client or customer to a poorly designed website.