Is it time for a web site redesign for your business?
How do you know when it’s time for a redesign of your business web site? If your business web site gets targeted traffic, makes you money, or provides leads, does that mean you don’t need a redesign? Not exactly. Web technology changes almost daily. Even if your web site is only a few years young, there are things that you can do and add to it to make it even better. While there are no specific guidelines for knowing when the time is right for a redesign, you can ask yourself a few questions that will give you some help with the decision.
First, what is a web site redesign?
Let’s answer this question first before we go any further. A web site redesign is not adding a few new pages and changing your logo on the front page. Updating and maintaining content should be a mandatory task for any business web site. Web site redesign is about changing the functionality and overall essence of your business on the web.
Web site redesign will typically include a number of goals that have to be accomplished. Improving the usability and visitor engagement by overhauling the look, feel, and graphics of the web site is the most common thing that people think of when it comes to redesign. Redesign can also include implementing social media applications like a blog, or adding new features like a shopping cart or customer log-in section. Sometimes, it’s doing all of the above!
Has it been more than 3 years?
Things change fast on the internet. 3 years ago, an “ugly” web site could have been just as successful as any other. These days, your web site is considered the face of your business. It is usually the first point of contact for a customer to your business. Any web site designed 3 or more years ago probably doesn’t have the design styles or usability of one designed today. Current web sites are all about grabbing attention quickly and engaging the user.
The beauty of the internet is that it gives users a choice. With so many business web sites out there, your bland web site with pages of outdated text will stand no chance against one that’s been highly optimized to reach its target demographic. An old-looking web site can turn people away from your company in a flash, especially if your competitors can better grab their attention. Visitors want web site to be clean, classy, and appealing.
Has my traffic reached a plateau?
If your traffic has remained the same month to month over the past few years, then it could be time for a redesign. Usually traffic can be increased by adding new content, but if you’re going to go through the trouble then it might be wise to kill two birds with one stone: Optimize your site for search engines first, then add more content.
A web site that isn’t search engine friendly means adding new content can be a huge waste of time. With one of our clients, we quadrupled their traffic by optimizing every page of their site for search engines without adding any new content. Optimizing a web site for search is a redesign within itself, but it must be done if you want to expand on your existing web site.
Has the competition updated their web sites?
Most business owners know their competition. You keep a close eye on what the competition is doing in magazines, mailers, the phone book, and every other advertising medium available in your area. The web should be no different.
If you’ve noticed that many of your competitors have updated their web sites with new user-friendly features, catchy graphics, or revamped sales pages, then it might be a sign that you should too. Even if your web site has been successful for you, eventually the competition will start to attract more visitors and in the long run they will surpass you in search rankings if you don’t do anything about.
Have you received customer and internal feedback about your site?
If your customers and employees are telling you something, you should listen! One of the most important resources you have as a busy business owner is feedback from your own customers and employees. If they’re telling you your web site is hard to use, boring, or outdated, then it is definitely time for a web site redesign.
What if you have no immediate feedback from your customers or employees? One method of gathering feedback is through surveying. Ask some of your customers or employees how they feel about your current website, which new features they would like to see, and how your current web site affects how they buy or work. Offer a reward for their participation to improve response rates. You could be very surprised from what you’ll learn!
Conclusion
The businesses that succeed on the internet are the ones that stay on top of their game. They know their customers and give them exactly what they want. The attention span of today’s internet user is shorter than ever. There is just too much choice available for them to stay on a stinky, old web site.
If you want to move ahead of your competition, you have to evaluate where you are and where you want to be. Web site redesign is one of our favorite services that we provide. Get in touch with us to see how we can help your business develop a web site that impresses visitors every time.
Tags: business website, design, redesign, small business, web
