Recently updated on August 8th, 2022
Is your website working for – or against you? If your website is outdated, it may be turning customers off to your brand. So, how do you know if your website is a dud? Check out these telltale signs it’s time for a website redesign!
Why You Need a Website Redesign
It’s easy to fall victim to the idea that once your website is live, it’s a “set it and forget it” type of asset. But website design is one of the most important parts of a solid digital marketing strategy – and it needs to not just keep up with the Joneses, but squash the competition.
A good rule of thumb is to undergo a website redesign every 3 years.
Having an up-to-date website that is responsive, informative, speedy, and visually captivating will boost your brand’s engagement, conversions, and customer retention rate. If your website is outdated, takes too long to load, or delivers poor user experiences (UX), you might be turning customers off to your services.
How to Tell When It’s Time for a Website Redesign
Your website should help build existing relationships while providing positive experiences to new customers. Think your website cuts the mustard? Read through these signs to help you decide if and when it’s time for a custom website redesign.
Your website isn’t responsive.
A responsive website adjusts to fit the user’s device. And with nearly half of all web traffic in the US originating from mobile devices, having a responsive website is a big deal. If your website is not mobile-friendly, or responsive, this is the first sign that you need a custom website redesign!
Not sure if your website is responsive? Get your hands on a smartphone or tablet and pull up your URL. If your website does not automatically adjust to fit the display, your website is not responsive. If you cannot read the text and you find yourself having to pinch, squeeze, push or pull your display to navigate the site – your website is not responsive.
Your website delivers a poor User Experience.
Similar to the physical realm, your website has its own digital feng shui – and regardless of whether or not you sell goods or services on your website, your customers expect the best possible experience.
88% of online shoppers say they wouldn’t return to a website that had a bad user experience (UX).
Picture this: after a grueling work week, you wake up early Friday morning and decide to treat yourself to that extra-flaky pastry at the coffee shop you’ve been eyeing all week. You place your order, slowly shift through the line, and finally approach the checkout counter. You swipe your card with a dopey smile, but the register fails.
The cashier apologizes for the delay and fumbles to reboot the system. The reboot fails and the clock is ticking. Your deadline won’t wait for your pastry craving to be satisfied. As a flush of frustration washes over you, you step out of line and trudge into work.
This is an example of a poor customer experience, or user experience (UX). Things outside of the consumer’s control prohibited them from completing what they set out to accomplish.
- Check responsivity across multiple devices.
- Evaluate navigation and menu hierarchy.
- Test form submissions on your website.
- How long does it take to find what the business sells or offers?
- Does the layout make sense?
If you don’t trust your bias, ask a friend, employee, or colleague to give their honest feedback about the layout and user flow. Did they experience any confusion or difficulties?
Once you have feedback, you can determine whether or not it’s time for a custom website redesign.
Your website takes longer than 3 seconds to load.
Sound harsh? It is. But if your site takes longer than 3 seconds to load, it’s time for a website redesign.
As page load time goes from 1 – 5 seconds, the probability of bounce increases by 90%. Bounce rate represents the number of users who enter a site and leave rather than viewing other pages on the website. If your website takes too long to load, users will happily abandon the load screen and find what they’re looking for on a competitor’s site.
Not sure whether your website speed can keep up? Use one of these tools to test your website speed and determine whether or not it’s time for a website redesign:
- Google’s Test My Site tool
- Google’s PageSpeed Insights
- GTmetrix
- Pingdom
Your content is outdated.
Your website content helps search engines understand your website – and it’s why you get delivered to users in certain search results. If your website content is outdated or is not search engine optimized (SEO), it’s time for a website redesign.
Search engine crawlers are constantly combing the WWW – and they’ll eventually comb through your website. Crawlers evaluate website content, then store the content in its database. When a user types in a question or keyword, the search engine parses through its database and retrieves the information that is most likely to answer the user’s question.
The text on your website is vital to be found in relevant search results and should use keywords and phrases that are related to your business.
That’s why you need to keep fresh content churning on your site that relates to your business in order to rise to the top of relevant search engine results pages (SERPs). If your website content is outdated, uses irregular phrasing, or doesn’t clearly state what your brand is all about, then it’s time for a custom website redesign with fresh web copy!
Your bounce rate is high.
As mentioned before, bounce rate is the percentage of your traffic that visits a landing page and exits the site rather than continuing to more pages. A high bounce rate (56% or more) is an indicator that something is not quite right with your site. This requires a deeper analysis of load time, UX, web content, and competitor research.
Final Word: Website Redesign
There are other ways to evaluate the effectiveness of your website and whether it’s outdated. Things like back-end ease-of-use, consistently low traffic over time, a decreasing or stagnant conversion rate, and data-driven competitor analysis all play a significant role in deciding when it’s time for a custom website redesign. If you’re not sure if now’s the right time, contact Next Horizon Website Design Agency for a full website audit.
