9 Signs It’s Time for a Website Redesign!

Like a storefront, websites don’t last forever and require consistent maintenance. As the Internet continues to change and grow, your website is vulnerable to virtual decay without proper upkeep. Take a look at the following list and see if it’s time for your website’s redesign.

1. Customers are welcomed to your site with an animated clip or splash page

This once trendy feature is now a thing of the past, and a nuisance for current or returning visitors (not to mention users with smartphones and tablets). A welcoming page can take too long to load, causing visitors to leave your site.

2. Your site is made with Flash

The anti-Flash movement has been growing for years now. This type of website is not search engine-friendly. Flash sites typically appear as a one-page website which will reduce your Google PageRank and minimize your reach. Loading pages are slow because the browser must load your entire website instead of a single page. If that’s not reason enough, also note that Flash is not currently compatible with iPads or iPhones.

3. Your site is not mobile-friendly

More than 46% of people use their smartphones to access the Internet. The last thing you want to do is make a bad impression on potential customers. If your website is incorrectly optimized for mobile usage, you are potentially losing business. 

4. Your content is outdated

If your website content is old you may be giving people the impression that your business is obsolete as well. Take the time to freshen up your content to meet the goals of your business. Be sure to change the copyright date every year and update blog posts. This is a simple and quick step to help engage your audience.

5. Your cousin, relative, or high school buddy built your site for you

Although it was probably nice to save that extra cash in the beginning stages of building your company site, it’s time to realize that your website sets the tone for your business. If your company expects profits in the millions, but paid slim to none for its website, something doesn’t make sense. Most customers will begin by looking you up online. Deciding not to set a budget for your website is like deciding not to have a telephone.

6. There is no call to action

What is your website for anyway? Likely it is to generate business and gather leads. If customers visit your site and are left with nothing to do, chances are they’re leaving. Sure you might have a “Contact Us” button, but that isn’t going to get 90% of people to pick up their phones. Give your customers other ways to engage.

7. You are lacking social media interaction, or don’t have any at all

Stop procrastinating! Social media is here to stay and isn’t leaving anytime soon. Be actively engaged in channels such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc, and it is certain that your business will grow.

8. You use more than 3 different fonts

It’s important to have a clean and comprehensive look to your company. Building a consistent brand is hard to accomplish, but doing so will develop recognition from your customers. Less is more!  If you’re using comic sans seek help!

9. Your site is mainly images

While it can be beautiful, a website that consists of mostly images is bad for your Search Engine Optimization. Search engines are unable to find text located in an image, which in turn decreases traffic to your website. To avoid this problem and increase traffic to your site, use strategic content that incorporates key terms and phrases for your business.

A website’s lifespan is only 3-5 years. If you haven’t made any effort to update or improve your site in that period of time, technology is likely to have left your business in the dust.