9 Signs Your Website Needs a Redesign

According to a study by Blue Fountain Media, 81% of website visitors think less of a business if their website is outdated or visually unappealing. 39% would then think twice about choosing a company for a particular service or product if their website isn’t user-friendly or interesting. 

As your strongest marketing tool, your website needs to be responsive, up to date and easy to use. It’s also important that you’re aware of how technology and search engine algorithms are changing in a bid to adapt to the ever-changing industry. If you fail to do this, then you might see a drop in conversion rates or you’ll fail to see any improvement.

So does your website need a redesign? We’ll be outlining exactly what you need to do in order to make your site look as modern and as relevant to your company’s brand as possible, regardless of the industry you work in.

Your website isn’t optimised for mobile use

Pyxl identified that 46% of website users will reach for their mobile device as a primary research and shopping tool, with 67% of those people confirming that they’ll be far more likely to make a purchase on a mobile-friendly website if it’s quick, responsible and simple to navigate through.

In addition to that, Search Engine Watch confirmed that 50% of those who use a smartphone regularly would visit a local shop having researched it 24 hours beforehand. Within the same study, Search Engine Watch found that 18% of local searches actually lead to a purchase, whether it be a service or a product. 

Essentially, if your website isn’t optimised for mobile-users, then you could be losing out on a considerable number of leads and potential sales. So much so, 52% of worldwide internet traffic comes from a search using a mobile device, according to Ellipsis Digital. Not only will a mobile-friendly website look great and be user-friendly, but it’ll also fit to the screen of any device, including tablets and electronic notebooks.

If you aren’t sure of exactly how mobile-friendly your website is, then Google has a tool you can use which will highlight any issues you might have and where it could do with some improvements.

It still uses Flash

If your website still uses Flash, then you’ll need a redesign as soon as possible. In 2020, Google and Adobe discontinued its use and that’s because Flash can:

• Slow down your site speed
• Lead to low-quality SEO
• Make it difficult for your site to be optimised for mobile devices
• Make it hard to update your website when the time comes

Because of the aforementioned issues, it’s important that you update your website once every three to five years and this is simply to deal with rapid changes in technology, especially in a modern, digital age. That, together with some of the best SEO strategies, will help you to keep on top of things when it comes to keeping your website updated.

However, it’s not always possible to spend 95% of your time developing your own site and that’s why many professionals from several different industries pass that responsibility onto digital marketing agencies, such as Kumo Digital. Your website shouldn’t be a headache to manage and if it is, then it needs updating and managing as regularly as possible. 

Its search engine ranking is low

93% of online experiences will start with a search engine, according to the Search Engine Journal. SEO is exceptionally important when it comes to asserting your online, digital presence and that’s because it dictates where your website ranks should a potential customer search for the products or services you provide.

According to Business 2 Community, 75% of internet users will make a conscious effort not to scroll past the first page, meaning that your prospective leads are turning to your competitors instead of you because they currently rank higher than your website does. If you don’t make it onto the first page of the search results, chances are your site won’t be seen by many people at all.

By implementing the best possible SEO strategies, you’re giving your website the best possible chance of ranking as highly as possible, perhaps even above your competitors, eventually. SEO will also help when it comes to updating the content you have on your site already. 

You could have excellent copy on there already, but if it’s five years old, for example, then crawlers might not consider it to be relevant anymore, thus pushing you further down in the search results. Updated copy, together with a sterling redesign, will ensure that your website does as well as it can when it comes to search engine results.

Visitors are quick to leave your site

A high bounce rate will indicate that your website needs both a redesign and the use of updated SEO strategies. When a significant number of people are consistently exiting your site, it can have a negative impact on how well your website performs. Analyse your current site and ask yourself the following questions:

• Who is my target audience?
• What are my goals?
• What am I doing to draw them in?

If you aren’t sure how to answer the aforementioned questions, then you should take serious and definite action to update your website and also your brand message and awareness. This will help to ensure that you’re providing value to your target audience, thus keeping them on your website for longer.

Many professionals won’t know exactly how to redesign or develop their existing site or even create a new one as it’s a very meticulous and specialist service. Hence why many business owners will pass those tasks onto a dedicated digital marketing agency, such as Kumo Digital. 

We can optimise your website and any content to help keep your site fresh and updated which will then ensure visitors stay on and navigate their way around your website for far longer than they perhaps would have done originally.

The design is outdated or boring

People will have more trust in a website if it’s kept regularly updated and is visually appealing. It should also be relevant to the industry you’re working in as visitors will then be able to identify exactly what it is you do without delving too far into the website or scrolling too far down the page. Essentially, your customers’ perceptions are absolutely critical to your website’s health and overall performance.

Look at your own site and ask yourself whether you would make a purchase or commit to a service based on your first impression of the website’s design and aesthetics. Your branding should be the same across all pages and touchpoints, so if it isn’t, or if it’s non-existent, then you should seek a website redesign. 

A modern, strong website design will help to catapult your website into 2021, helping to bring in as many visitors, leads and customers as possible. Once your site has undergone a redesign, then share it across many different social media platforms as part of your SEO strategy. If you’d like an in-depth SEO service, then you should look to a digital marketing agency, such a Kumo Digital, to ensure your brand new site is seen by as many people as possible.

It takes a while for your website to load

If your website is slow to load, then people are more likely to abandon it. According to Neil Patel, a renowned SEO expert, 47% of website users expect a site to load in 2 seconds or less. If the site loads slowly, then it’ll result in a reduction of customer satisfaction and, subsequently, website performance.

Improving your site speed will increase the number of happy visitors you get which will then help when it comes to the number of leads you get and sales you make. You’ll be able to check your website speed with the PageSpeed Insights tool which is both free and easy to use. It will identify where your site speed needs improving, like the homepage or perhaps a photo gallery. 

Most of the time, slow site speed is quick and simple to rectify, but in some cases, it might take the expertise of a professional in the digital marketing industry, such as our in-house specialists here at Kumo Digital. Not only will we be able to improve site speed, but we’ll also stay on top of it all for you, giving you more time to focus on other aspects of your business.

Your brand message has changed

Your brand messaging will change as your company evolves, naturally. If your company has developed but you’ve failed to bring your website up to speed with those developments, then it could impact the way your customers view your business, which can have an effect on your reputation.

You want to make sure that your brand message is relevant to where your company is right now as this will ensure your target audience has a great first impression. You need your website to fit with the rest of your brand in a bid to build trust with your prospective customers. 

From colour schemes and logos to photographs and slogans, it’s important that everything is kept consistent throughout your company, whether it be online, on a poster or the décor throughout your premises.

There isn’t a content management system (CMS) in place

A CMS enables you to easily edit your site and all from a central interface. It’s important that your website can be altered as and when you feel like it and it should be as simple as possible to do, meaning that you won’t have to change any codes to get your website to where you need it to be.

Essentially, you’ll be able to modify, delete, assess and organise content with absolute ease if you choose to implement a CMS and all without any technical issues. Although, if you’d rather leave this down to someone else to on your behalf, then Kumo Digital will be willing to look after this side of things for you, so you can get back to running your business.

You’re embarrassed to give out your URL

If this is the case, then you’ll most definitely need to have your website redesigned. Think of your site as an extension of your business and your brand as a whole. A great website should be seen as an investment for your company, acting as a connection between you as the business owner, your brand, the products or services you offer and your customers.

Use your website as a tool to engage with your website visitors and build a rapport with them. In this digital age, it’s one of the most important factors for customers when choosing a company to go with and so it’s up to you to ensure it’s worth checking out.

Here at Kumo Digital, we’ll be proud to build your website into something that both you and your customers can admire. With bespoke website developing services together with content that’s been specifically written with your brand and tone of voice in mind, you’ll always be able to look to us to provide you with the marketing services you need to make your site stand out above all the rest. For more information, get in touch with a member of our expert team today – we’re always happy to hear from you.