Signs It’s Time For a Website Redesign
It takes someone less than one second (literally) to form an opinion on a website. Over the last decade, Internet users have developed a keen sense of right and wrong regarding site design, with color clashes, long load times and bad copy sticking out like a sore thumb. Glance over your company’s current website — is it hurting you more than helping you?
What is a Website Redesign?
A redesign is a complete overhaul of your current website’s content to improve user experience and increase conversions. This can be done by realigning and optimizing its design and technical foundation as well as moving your site onto a different CMS like WordPress — 39.5% of all websites just so happen to be housed on WordPress (and we Smirkers just so happen to love WordPress websites).
We like WordPress for its versatility and usability. With an endless amount of security, design and SEO options, it’s easy to create a website to fit businesses of any size and industry.
Emily Martinez
Senior Strategist
Website Redesign vs. Website Refresh
Having trouble figuring out how much work your site actually needs? A website refresh is less extensive of a process than a complete redesign — think minor tweaks, like copy or color changes, heading structure improvement and ongoing SEO maintenance. A refresh improves the look and functionality of your website, but generally serves to refine an already solid user experience.
If it’s been years since you last touched your site or you see other signs of falling behind, a refresh may not be enough to bring your website back from the depths. In some cases, certain CMS platforms are incapable of a quick refresh due to inherent limitations in design, such as Wix or a custom hard-coded site.
A website redesign takes the essentials of your site and rebuilds it into a better, more effortless experience for both users and site admins. This process can include more than design adjustments and might also look at platform migration and alignment with current SEO best practices. Still not sure what the best fit might be? Our team would love to take a look and offer some advice.
When is it Time for a Redesign?
Websites communicate with your audience when you can’t. If your website cannot talk to users and share your brand’s values or the quality of your services, there is a fair chance prospects will look elsewhere for something that speaks to them.
As a brand, it’s essential to identify when your website isn’t packing a punch anymore — especially when you know that the aesthetics of a website influence 75% of customers’ judgment of its credibility.
If any of these points resonate with you, it may be time for a redesign:
- It has been more than three years since you last updated your website
- Your website is not mobile-friendly or mobile-responsive
- Your conversion rate is low, and your bounce rate is high
- Your website isn’t easy to navigate
- Your website has a slow load time
- Your website isn’t ADA compliant
- Your website has outdated creative elements such as old logos, color schemes or images
- You don’t have a way to update your content easily
A Redesign is Worth Your Time
We could write a novel on what brands gain from redesigning their outdated sites (and why mobile-friendliness is king), but let’s take a minute to focus on what they can lose when they don’t. Your company’s website isn’t something you can take for granted. You can and will lose valuable revenue just because you don’t feel like messing with your site — it really is that simple.
A website is often the first impression many consumers are going to get from your business. Poor user experience, design or functionality will immediately deter a prospect from using your services. Maintaining and improving your brand’s website is vital to business growth on the internet.
Dawson Hirt
Graphic Designer
To gain the respect and loyalty of those in your target market, you need to maintain a well-functioning website. 89% of consumers choose to shop with a competitor after a bad user experience.
Make a Lasting Impression
Our creative and technical professionals have experience helping turn businesses from all industries into lead-generating machines. Think your website could use a tune-up? We’d love to help!
