A good and appealing website has been a necessity to Businesses today. As making a business website for your company as the digital face is not a new idea most people simply miss the obvious facts that the website is outdated. One of the main reasons for your declining online presence might be down to your website. So it is in the best interest of you and your business and in a way even your visitors to redesign and update your site to the modern standard.
There are no fixed rules in knowing after how many years of use a website is outdated. Some rapidly evolving markets need redesign every couple of years or so. There might be a few still rocking the retro look of several years today as well. One thing is absolutely clear here and that is engagements, time spent on your website, and the conversion rate of a visitor to a client or customer is directly related to the quality of your website. If you don’t want to compromise on any of those, redesigning your website is your best option. Here are 7 telling signs that you have to redesign your business website in 2021.
1. The site looks outdated, disorganized, and difficult to use
As the devices and technology from which your visitors consume your content and explore your website has rapidly changed and evolved, you can generally look and recognize an outdated website from the very first look of it. The images and texts don’t look sharp enough. Similarly, the format in which the website appears in a browser might be disorganized. Similarly, some of the buttons, sliders, or scroll might not be in the perfect places. These are the basic telling signs that your website looks visually outdated.
2. Your Site is not interactive and responsive- Remember it is not a newspaper
Most people fail to recognize the difference between simple websites and a properly responsive website. While a classic website focuses more on displaying content and jumping from one page to another, websites today have to be more than that. A responsive and interactive website is a reach towards a well-designed web-app with smaller and fundamental functionality. In this sense, when a user enters your site it is not simply only to read or observe the content but to interact and yield much value of their time.
Study shows that an interactive website is 81% more likely to grab the attention of the user. Similarly, almost similar percent of people agree they will revisit or remember the sites better with a responsive unique design. So, take a glance at your site, if it still resembles a lifeless newspaper, it is time to redesign the site.
3. The site is sluggish, the ‘Need for Speed’
The loading speed of your site directly influences the user experience and conversion. It is more important more now in 2021 than ever. Your website visitors will exit your site if it is not fast enough. A study even shows the time stamp of 7 seconds to be exact when an average user bounce off your site to the alternative. Additionally, the speed of the website might have positive or negative input in the Search Engine rankings. So if you want a faster website it is best to redesign to an optimized product.
4. It takes ages to put and manage your content
Now, let us jump from the visitors to your own experience while using your business website. When someone is used to certain things (here your website) arise no necessity for better changes. But, hear us out here. If you post a single piece of content every day and it takes around 30 minutes to do it with an old website, you can save much time. A five-minute faster time will result in over 32 hours of working time in a year which you can invest in other stuff. Similarly, website redesign integrates new ways of completing your tasks which is much efficient in general. The best part here is once you get the groove of a freshly redesigned website dashboard you will cherish the difference.
5. Your website is not Mobile Optimized
We can’t stretch the importance of Mobile Optimization enough in a website. Over 50% of the web traffic is from a mobile device in 2021. Without a proper mobile-ready site you are missing the possibilities. Check what your websites look like with different mobile devices or with different screens. It is one of the main reasons to redesign your website.
6. It is difficult to navigate and function as a visitor
Use your website as a visitor and try navigating the pages. If you have some problem yourself using some of the functionality or reading the content, it is time for a redesign. For this very purpose, you could even survey an accurate user experience analysis with your current visitors. Take the recommendation and feedbacks for a better website design when necessary. It could also provide the severity and the requirements of your new website.
7. Your Company is left behind with new websites of the Competitors
One of the easiest ways of deciding if you need a good redesign for your website is by comparing it with your major competitors. If your competitors are getting the major share of inquiries and calls, this is usually the result of the website performance. Look at the rankings, search results, and more here. A new and better website gives your business a push to keep up with your competitors and with a better strategy soon outperforms. So if your company is left behind with new websites of the competitors, it is time for a website redesign.
How can a poorly designed, slow, or old website hurt your business directly in 2021?
Well, the answers are clear if your Business depends much on the website. However, even for some broad companies, websites play a significant role in different sectors of their performance. Here are some ways that a poorly designed website can hurt you in 2021.
* Your business credibility is based on your website for a large proportion of first-time customers. You wouldn’t be able to make a good impact with an ugly business website.
* Consumers naturally expect a website to load fast. If you are slow you got to go from the perspective of the web traffic.
* Social media is an important part of your digital profile. The sharing and snapping features couldn’t be more useless if your website has poor design and engaging layouts.
* Old websites are more likely to feature old buttons and reserved sections which can be painful for some new generation users.
* SEO and marketing works could be a nightmare for a poorly designed website.
* In many ways website redesign is a natural and timely process. You will be missing out on tons of new features with your outdated business website.
* You could never get a hundred percent of results from your deserving contents, products, or services with a lazy website design.
What major changes to ask for in your new site?
Now when hiring a professional website designer for the redesign, you can ask for few major components. These will help you to avoid missing out and utilize the most of your new design. This sometimes will lead you to extra costs but it is wiser to be safe than sorry later. Most professionals who design and develop the business website will redesign a perfect website for you. However, here are some important changes you should remind them of just in case.
* Make the Redesign Fast and Responsive
Remember speed is the key. Your new website must be significantly faster than your old ones. Similarly, responsive is the way to go. If possible you can ask for specific features that will help the visitors to your website towards conversion.
* Security factors should be considered
It is not unusual to hear that old websites are being hacked now and then. So, in your newly designed website make sure the professionals handle the security components seriously. Adding SSL protection to your site is almost an unstated regulation and you can hint it to your developers as well.
* Upgrade your Hosting Service
Now one of the most overlooked segments after investing in a website redesign is hosting. Proper hosting service for your business website is equally important too. If possible take some recommendations from the web professionals on the hosting and select the most adequate package for you.
* Make sure your New Website represents your brand
Your website must represent your brand. Provide the logos, banners, contact information, as well as highlight those parts that matter most. Brand Building is important for long-term yields. Make sure to elaborate on the theme of your business on your next website redesign.
* Freshen the design and make use of different sharing buttons
When you have the opportunity to redesign the website from scratch, don’t hesitate to experiment few things. Give a fresher perspective and you can transfer your interests professionally to the business website this time.
At the end of the day, a proper redesign of your stagnant business website will make your life so much easier. As a positive change and well-required investment, you are bound to have a better presence and performance with the new website. For a professional business website, adapting to changes and new technology is significant. With your redesign and fresh look to the website aim for new heights in 2021.