The first impression of the company depends on its website as it fully represents the business. Well-designed and user-friendly websites drive traffic and bring expected outcomes. If your website is poorly designed, it may affect every aspect of your online success. In this case, you will need a website redesign.
It is said that it’s necessary to do redesign at least every 2-3 years to keep up with trends. Nothing lasts forever. Technologies that were popular earlier become irrelevant. When a site does not meet the demands of users and the requirements of search engines or is obsolete, it loses its effectiveness and leads to low conversions.
The GoodFirms team has conducted market research and identified six major factors indicating the need for a website redesign. Low conversion rate, high bounce rate, and bad UX design turned out to be the top three reasons.
So, when it's time to change? Let's take a closer look at the signs when your website needs to be redesigned.
1. Not Responsive
Smartphones and tablets are the predominant way of accessing the Internet. The number of mobile users accounts for a significant share of total traffic. Customers are browsing the site from a variety of devices. It should be convenient for them to use your site whatever gadget they have.
If the site is not responsive, you’re missing half of your potential audience. Unresponsive sites may lead to high bounce rates and low conversions.
In order to make sure that the mobile version works correctly, you need to check the site on the following points:
Cross-browser. Test your site on different devices and in different browsers. The mobile version should display correctly regardless of the device or browser.
Productivity. At each stage, all the functionality and display elements must work correctly, without failures and time lags.
2. Outdated Design
Let’s face the fact - most judge a book by its cover. That’s the case. A large percentage of first impressions is formed by design. An outdated design is a noticeable sign of an obsolete site. This suggests that the owners of the company are not interested and do not follow the latest trends in design.
The world does not stand still. Technologies are constantly evolving which means you have to periodically update your site and pay attention to new designs. To make the site look relevant and inspire confidence, it is better to prefer minimalism, calm colors, clear fonts. By the way, the corporate style of the brand helps to increase recognition.
Did you know that:
It will take just 50 milliseconds for visitors to form a first impression and decide whether they will stay on your website. This is only 0.05 seconds when users are able to make an opinion about your business.
First impressions are 94% design related. British scientists have analyzed how various design factors and information content affect trust. Research has clearly shown that the visual appeal of a website is the main driving force behind a first impression.
Read more about how to make a good UI/UX design in our article.
3. Brand Upgrades
Every business is constantly faced with changes that require a revision of the concept. If there has been a rebranding, your company’s mission, logo or corporate identity have changed, then, surely, you will have to reflect these changes on the website.
4. Bad UX Design
A high exit and/or bounce rate may indicate that your site is not easy-to-navigate and visitors сan’t find what they are searching for. This may have a negative impact on its performance. It is worth taking care of the competent information architecture of your product. Keep in mind, good navigation works intuitively. Try to simplify navigation as much as possible, make it loud and clear, remove unnecessary distracting elements.
It is very important to include UX design in the early stages of creating a website or application, since a well-designed UX will help create not only a logical website, but also significantly speed up its development.
You can objectively assess your resource using web analytics services such as Google Analytics. They visually display all the data and allow you to track the most problematic points.
5. Not SEO Optimized
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is the process of improving your website to rank higher in search results on search engines like Google or Bing. Efficient SEO makes it easy for search engines to index your website pages, so your content actually shows up in the top results on the first page.
Answer the question:Is your site optimized for search engines? If your website does not rank well on Google or other search engines and is difficult to find, this is a strong sign that your website needs a redesign. Search engine algorithms are constantly changing the way websites are ranked, so you should stay up-to-date and make changes on time.
6. Low Conversion Rate
Your website not only represents your business, but it can also be the biggest marketer of your brand. It should convert. If your website is getting traffic but conversions are low and falling over time, it needs a refresh. A low conversion rate directly indicates that something is wrong.
7. High Bounce Rate
The term "bounce rate" basically refers to the amount of time people spend on your website. Put simply, if a high percentage of visitors leave your website without taking an action further that’s the bounce rate. This may be a sign of poor UX or unclear content that is not keeping up with your target audience.
Google Analytics is a great tool to discover the bounce rate. A bounce rate between 40% to 50% is considered the norm for most sites. However, it depends on your industry. If you notice an extremely high bounce rate, it's time to think about redesign. A more engaging web design can reduce bounce rates and increase conversions.
8. Slow Response and Loading Time
Users expect web pages to load in a couple of seconds, and often close a tab if it loads too slowly. Visitors will not wait for the full page load, but will likely to navigate away from your site to competitors. Information congestion and outdated technologies dramatically slow down the download speed, thereby killing conversions and views and affecting your site’s search engine rankings. Websites that aren’t speedy need a redesign.
9. Vulnerable Security
A secure https protocol is a quality mark that builds a trusting relationship with your site. It allows you to reliably protect the data of not only your customers, but the site as a whole. In addition, it has a positive effect on organic search ranking, as well as increases the speed of site loading.
Google warns users about potentially dangerous http sites marking them as “not secure” in the browser. However, the decision to visit the site and whether to stay there is up to the user. But, obviously, warnings about potential risks undermine the credibility of the site.
10. Old Technology
It should be easy for you to manage the website's content: whether to add new pages or simply update the existing ones. If it is a headache for you, consider a new website built in Content Management System. CMS allows you to simplify the process of creating and maintaining a website content instead of understanding and writing HTML and code.
Is It Time to Redesign the Website?
A modern redesigned website can help your business achieve its biggest goals, but how much does it cost to redesign a website? The website redesign cost depends on the scope of work required to redesign: whether you need only cosmetic updates or a brand-new website.
A website redesign is not only about changing the visual appearance of your site, but also improving user experience and optimizing site performance. Find out website redesign checklist:
Your website isn’t optimized for mobile devices.
Your website has outdated design.
You’ve updated your brand.
Your website is difficult to navigate.
Your website lacks SEO.
You’re not getting the conversions.
Visitors spend less time on your website.
Your website is loading slowly.
Your website does not meet security standards.
You need to add new functionality.
If you run into any of the points listed above and your website doesn’t perform as it should, then it's time to revamp. But don’t hurry. There are many steps to take before you start planning a redesign. Evaluate the website’s downsides. What needs to be changed or just improved? What affects the user experience?
There are many tools that can help you assess the design, speed, and other required metrics. Checking your website's performance regularly is a good habit that will definitely strengthen your online presence. Although a website redesign is quite costly and time-consuming, it will pay off by taking your business to the next level.
Drop us a line if you have any questions and we'll gladly help you with any inquiry.
