13 Telltale Signs It’s Time To Redesign Your Website

It is hard to admit that your website is outdated or not performing, but chances are if you’re reading this blog article you’re thinking that it may be time for a website refresh.

The thought of starting the website design process over again can be daunting. Unfortunately, having a website that misses the mark with customers is not only a poor decision in regards to the look and feel of your site but it also puts a damper on lead generation opportunities and overall ROI. Well-designed, user-friendly websites drive traffic and keep visitors engaged, but a poor website can actually be detrimental to your business’ bottom line if it’s not living up to customer expectations.

A website redesign project should be viewed as an investment. Your website should be a key element of your sales and marketing strategy, which works to generate, qualify and convert leads for your business. 

When was the last time you redesigned or updated your website? If you can’t answer that question, it may be time to start thinking about it. It’s important to understand that websites are fluid things, just like your business, and they should always be evolving to meet the needs of your business and your audience.

So how do you know when it’s time to redesign your website? Newcastle marketing agency, Method+Marketing, is here to break down 13 telltale signs that it’s time to refresh your site.

#1 – You’re embarrassed to share your website URL or show potential customers your website

Your website is the face of your business online and you should be proud to show it off. If you find yourself constantly making excuses or giving out forewarnings about your website while handing out your business cards, it’s definitely time for a new one.

You should want to show your website off, not be ashamed of it!

#2 – Your website isn’t responsive 

We are living in a mobile-first world. In the first quarter of 2021, mobile devices (excluding tablets) generated 54.8% of global website traffic! It is crucial to give your customers an excellent mobile experience on your website.

#3 – Your website is visually outdated

When it comes to websites – first impressions really matter. Truth is, a visitor is not going to stay on your website to learn about your business if they find it to be visually unappealing. 

A visually outdated website can also imply to visitors that you are out of touch with current trends. More importantly, it shows that you don’t care or invest in bettering your business. It’s hard to position yourself as a leader or an expert in a specific field with a website that clearly looks otherwise.

#4 – Your site is text heavy

Having a text-heavy site falls under the umbrella of an outdated or visually unappealing site, but we felt it was important to specifically point it out. 

We live in a visual world. If your site has more words than images, icons or graphics, it’s definitely time for a website redesign. No one, and we mean no one, will scroll through a site that’s text-heavy, yet alone sit and read paragraphs and paragraphs of text. Not only is it uneasy on the eyes, but it’s overwhelming. It’s important to define your key messages and make them clear, bold and easy to understand so they don’t get lost or unread because of a poor design.

#5 – Your website is difficult to navigate 

All of the content on your website should be easy to find. For example, what your business does (About Us), what your business offers (Products or Services) and how  to contact your business (Contact Us or Support) – if this simple information is difficult to find, that’s a red flag that your website is in serious need of an update.

If your website is difficult to navigate, Google will also have difficulty crawling your site and indexing it for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Google relies on an easy-to-navigate structure to determine if your website is relevant to show up in search queries.

#6 – You can’t update content easily or add blog posts 

At Method+Marketing, when we design a website, we ensure our clients have the access, control and training needed to make updates to their website as they wish. You should always be able to update your contact details, add a blog post  or update your team page without being reliant on an external agency. 

#7 – It doesn’t match your brand

If your website doesn’t match your brand, this is a major sign that it needs an update. From the logo and header to the font, formatting and colours, every element on your website must reflect your business’s brand and be consistent across all of your marketing materials. 

Branding consistency makes your website look more professional and helps visitors build trust in and awareness of your brand. 

#8 – Your website doesn’t reflect your company’s purpose, key messages or business objectives 

Your website is the online extension of your business, so it needs to be aligned with your mission, your goals and your service offering.

Website visitors should be able to easily understand how you can solve their problems. You can’t do that if your services aren’t accurate. Make sure your prospects are aware of all the things you offer before they go somewhere else.

Investing in a good website copywriter who will take the time to understand your audience and brand strategy, write in your brand voice, optimise your web content for conversion, plus keep SEO front of mind is well worth the investment. 

#9 – Poor SEO, Low search engine rankings

When people are looking for a particular service or solution to their problem, they often turn to Google. As a business, you should strive to show up in the top results on the first page of the search engine results for the keywords that align with your service offering. Did you know 95% of web searches don’t scroll past the first page of Google results? 

If you’ve been in business for a while and you are not showing up in the search rankings, then it’s definitely time to start planning a website redesign. Google encourages meaningful content that is relevant to users’ search queries. Google also likes websites that load fast and are easy to navigate. 

#10 – Your competitors have new websites

Odds are, if your competitors have beautiful new websites and you don’t – they are generating leads online and growing their businesses – and you are missing out.

If you feel you aren’t putting your best foot forward when compared to your competition, it could mean losing visitors, leads and sales to your competitors every day. Additionally, in the long-term it can be detrimental to how your audience perceives your brand when compared to your competitors.

#11 – Your website loads slow 

A website that loads slowly is toxic for a great user experience. Slow websites kill conversions and views that could be great sales opportunities. Studies show that just a 1 second loading delay can decrease customer satisfaction by 16%! 

Google also penalises websites with low page speed scores, so that should be motivating enough to optimise your website accordingly. If you aren’t sure of your loading speed, you can check it through many different tools, including Google’s PageSpeed Insights. If your results aren’t good, it’s time for a cleaner, simpler design that’s built on a platform that takes speed into consideration.

#12 – You’re not getting leads from your website 

Websites, social media and a Google Business Listing are the phone books of the 21st century. So your website should be a key lead generator for your business. 

If you are not consistently getting new leads, phone calls and enquiries from your website, it’s time to start thinking about a redesign. 

#13 – Your business is ready to grow

Even if your website feels ‘fine’ or ‘satisfactory’, you may be wanting to take your business to the next level. Your website is a major portal for online growth when used and designed properly — you just have to start by getting a website that works as hard for your customers as you do.

If you think it’s time for a website redesign, get in touch with us for some expert website feedback and an obligation-free quote. To check out a sample of our work, check out this website redesign we recently did.

Still unsure? Try our website grader.