With all the new websites going live at breakneck speed every day, existing ones are more like pressured to continually maintain a competent and fresh image that their current and target subscribers will love. It’s like consistently sporting an attitude that goes like, ‘There are many of my kind on the field, but here’s why I am better.’
While seen by other people solely as a marketing strategy, a website has already become the forefront of a business in itself. In this digital age, buyers go to online sources first to look at reviews and comments from users about a specific product. This behavior indicates that companies must devote time to spreading the news about their goods online. So website design or redesign cannot be deliberately ignored.
With market competition becoming tougher as we speak, some entrepreneurs might deem it necessary to up their game by redesigning their websites into something more trendy and fit to their audience’s profiles.
There’s nothing wrong with doing this if you believe the current one isn’t performing well. But before getting on with the actual redesigning process, be sure to ask yourself the following questions first:
Why do you want to change the site design?
The fact that you’re considering a redesign would mean that you already have an existing website, to begin with. Before jumping into any change you wish to implement, it will be best to take a closer look at the reason why you want it changed in the first place.
You’re still probably having second thoughts about whether you should redesign or not. But, seriously? It might have been five or ten years since you made your website and made significant changes to it!
Or maybe, your site is on the Internet for a couple of months or years, but, sadly, you can’t picture any success in it. Do you still need an extra push for you to redesign your website? Well, if you do, kindly read the following straightforward and plain reasons why you should do it as soon as you can, which means n-o-w!
Reasons why you need to redesign your website now
1) Your website is not giving you what you need.
First of all, you invested in a website to help you with your business and goals, in marketing or promoting your products, services, or the brand itself. Unfortunately, your site is more of a loss than an asset, and it’s not as effective as how you envisioned it to be.
You need to generate leads or potential clients and customers, but how will it happen if your visitors immediately leave your website because your site speed is slower than a turtle? Most visitors don’t have the luxury of time (or impatient) to wait for your site to load fully. Instead of waiting, your guests would probably leave your page and go to other sites.
Your website should be giving you numbers and results and not a headache.
2) Your website’s design is obsolete.
It’s 2021, and the trends have changed a lot of times already. Don’t tell me you’re still using the groovy and eye soring texts. Because if you do, I hate to break it, but your website will not do any good.
Think of it as your website is your leads and customers gateway to your business or to your office itself. Imagine how your visitors would react upon seeing your site, entrance, or facade. You should amaze your leads and customers by wowing them with fantastic web design and layout. You don’t want to hear them say “yuck” and turn their backs, right?
It would help if you also redesigned for the simple reason that even you are having a hard time navigating your website.
Adding more into that, you need to consider changing the photos and videos you are using. It should be of high quality or definition and should reflect what your business is all about. You should also check how it looks like on thumbnails or previews when your site is shared on social media. Entice them to click your page!
3) Your website is no longer up-to-date.
The products and services displayed on your site are not being offered and had already been phased out. If not, the names or branding you used were too old-fashioned, and your visitors are not so familiar with those. You got to make sure the content on your website is updated and accurate.
The crucial thing to check is the contact details on your site. If they try to call you thru the number displayed, will it ring? Will your visitor get a reply if he or she sends you a message via email?
Third-party tools or apps like shopping cart widgets are supposed to help your visitors, but if they are already outdated and not working, you get to take action. The functions and applications embedded on your website should be perfectly working. Sometimes old tools and apps make your site speed slower too.
You have to respond to the call of times and, come on, redesign now.
4) Your website is not responsive, not mobile-friendly.
Picturing your site as your office or business’ facade, your visitors should have a good look at what you have and can deliver, and make them want to come back. How is it related to your website? Most people are using other gadgets than computers or PCs such as smartphones and tablets. There has been a study that more than 80% of Internet users own and use their smartphones when browsing the Internet. If your site is not mobile-responsive or friendly, it would be such a significant loss of possible customers. According to Google, 61% of visitors will probably never go back to the page or website that doesn’t perform well on their mobile phones.
Your website should give your visitors a good experience by making your page easy to use and navigate. It would also be a lot better if your site is interactive and not just plainly staring at your leads or customers. It would be best to have your site responsive and well operating on different operating systems and interfaces.
Hopefully, the answer to whether you should redesign as soon as possible is getting clearer.
5) Your website’s security features are not updated.
Another thing you should greatly consider is cybersecurity. You probably heard on the news that some government websites, thinking how “protected” it is, have been hacked. So what more with your old-designed site? Yes, you are more exposed and susceptible to website hacking and viruses. You should have a well-secured and protected site, especially if your page offers online payments and probably stores customer data. You should invest in a good website as, according to a study, after an attack, 60% of small businesses are not able to survive and work well for more than six months.
If you experience a potential attack, the more you should redesign and reprogram your website to the best possible ways and quality it could be.
6) Your website is not search engine-friendly.
Most of the clicks and visits take place on the first page of search results. Now, if your site is nowhere to be found in the first, second, or even on the third page of search results, you should act quickly and update your site and have it optimized. You can always hire a reliable technology solutions group to help you redesign and make your page optimized for search engines.
Your motivation could greatly affect and dictate the style and appeal that the newer version would sport. Make sure you are specific about this.
Are you changing the product or service you’re offering?
Several companies decide to change their website’s design to align with the changes they are implementing on their products or services. Naturally, the appearance of a cosmetics site would be visually different from that of an automobile. While you may not be into a complete three hundred sixty degrees turn in your product line change, it’s still best to assess the amount of impact it can have towards the appropriate layout of the new website.
What specific elements would you like to include in the new one?
This part requires research on your competitors and even on other authority websites that might be a good resource in designing. Surely, you have a few favorite websites yourself – those that you like to read and have even subscribed to. Have a closer look at their website format again and see if there are functions you wish to include yourself.
Knowing how you want to website to appear and function is vital once you start working with web designers who will do the legwork on your behalf.
What do you plan to achieve in the redesigning procedure?
This part is where you assess your purpose and goals. There are certain pros and cons of redesigning a website. One advantage is you will have the opportunity to make it look better and enhance the platform’s overall user experience. The disadvantage may come from the fact that some avid users or subscribers may not like the redesign. If not planned out carefully, it might even lose its identity that you’ve been working to build for so long.
It is okay to change something on your site’s layout. But make sure it serves you well.
How much is your budget?
Unless you are a skilled web designer who can spend lots of time doing the actual process, it’s best to hire professionals. Even seasoned developers work in a team or group to finish a project. There is no reason why you should not do the same. Remember that your current subscribers are waiting for your new and fresh content.
You can’t provide this to them if your website is still under construction. Finishing the job as soon as possible with all the necessary changes intact requires the effort of more than just one person. Hiring a full staff will require money, and this is fully on you.
Be honest about your current budget. How much are you willing to spend on the redesign? Who are your potential picks who could do the job? How many people do you want to work on this?
All of these questions could dictate the amount of money you will be spending. Double-check your budget and see if it matches with the estimated cost of redesign.
Will the redesign significantly affect your branding?
Some owners may dismiss this matter as something simple and unimportant. However, it would be best to keep in mind that branding is a crucial part of driving traffic and sales to your company. A simple change in your website’s color combination and layout might affect your branding strategy, especially if the new web design is not well-targeted to your main market’s preference.
Again, it is all right to change something. However, it must not negatively affect your branding strategy.
What is the specific information you wish to include in the new design?
There is a huge possibility of changing several copies on your current website once you start running a newly designed one. The layout will be different, and certain areas may need visible call-to-action to help your readers navigate your site easier. Make a list of those data you want to publish on site.
Building a fully functional website requires time, and it’s never just an effort of one person. The bigger the company, the more data has to be inputted. This requires more people who need to work together to get the site running in a specified time.
Design or layout may be mere aesthetics, but they have the potential of breaking your product messaging when not chosen well. Refer to the question we have on this list before coming up with any decision. Visit other websites under the same industry as you do and check out those specific functions that make them stand out from the rest.
Create a knockout website that appeals well to your audience!
