A successful digital marketing strategy is centered around an awesome website.
That’s because your website is where most of your customers form their first impressions about your business. A well-designed website strengthens your brand and elevates your business, while an outdated site inhibits your growth.
True, redesigning your website is a big investment, but when done right, it’s well worth it over the long haul. The additional business generated from a new, easy-to-use website should easily recoup your the money you spend on it.
So how can you tell when it’s time for a redesign? Here’s your checklist of four of the the most obvious signs your website is outdated and needs a refresh.
1. Not Mobile Friendly
Back in 2007, Apple released the iPhone and it changed the way websites are viewed and created. In 2017, 51% of web searches were performed on mobile devices. Yup, that’s right. Mobile search is officially more common than desktop search.
That means making your website “mobile friendly” is now non-negotiable. Search engines use mobile functionality as a factor in their ranking algorithm and ignoring mobile optimization will result in lower search rankings. That translates to fewer prospects and lower sales.
The good news is it’s not hard to convert your mobile unfriendly website a mobile friendly one. Whether your choose to have a custom designed site or buy a pre-made WordPress theme, all new sites come with mobile functionality baked into the design.
How to check if your site is mobile friendly: Does your website require you to “pinch and zoom” to view your site’s web page on a mobile phone? Do some of your pages have strange line breaks or pictures that appear out of position? If so, your site isn’t mobile friendly and needs a makeover.
2. Slow Site
Nothing’s more annoying than a slow website. It doesn’t matter how awesome your site looks – nobody’s going to wait around to wait for it if it takes forever to load.
Faster is better.
If your website takes longer than three seconds to load, you have a slow site. In fact, Google has found that 53% of mobile users will leave your page doesn’t load in three seconds. That means more than half of your site visitors will leave your site and click on your competitor’s website if your pages are slow.
Slow websites typically have a combination of bad coding, large file sizes, too many server requests and wimpy site hosting. Sure, you can speed up your site without doing a website makeover, but it’s a common sign of a neglected site that’s in need of an overall upgrade.
3. High Bounce Rate
Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who visit your website and click away instead of clicking to any other page on your site. Generally, a high bounce rate is considered a sign that your site is either not easy to use or doesn’t have good content.
A high bounce rate – above 50% – is a problem because they you’re losing half of your site traffic within seconds. They may be so uninterested in your site they’re not bothering to click around and are off clicking elsewhere on the web.
What’s the solution? A good first impression is crucial to increasing your user engagement and improving your bounce rate. Your site’s design and content need to captivate your audience long enough so they start to look around and genuinely consider you as a solution to their need.
4. Stale Design
Site visitors will rate your business within the first few seconds of landing on your site, so make sure yours doesn’t look like it’s from the 1990s.
Unless you’re wanting to attract people who are into that vibe. 
Here’s a quick test:
- Jot down with a few words you’d like people to associate with your company (clean, modern, engaging, easy-to-use).
- Now look at your website. Write down the words you think your prospects would use to describe your site (frumpy, cluttered).
- Next, ask yourself, does your site’s design look clean and easy-to-use or frumpy and cluttered?
That same test is what site visitors are doing within seconds of landing on your site.
All you need to do is ask yourself what you think the impact of your current design is, compared to what a new design might be?
Is it Time for a Website Redesign?
If you were nodding your head as you read these four signs, you know it’s time.
But fear not, you’re not alone. Many small business owners will admit their site needs a facelift – they’re just reluctant to commit to a makeover because of the cost. The good news is you likely don’t have to fear a redesign. Upgrading the style and speed of a website is much more easy and less expensive these days, especially if you’re on (or willing to switch to) an easy-to-use and popular platform like WordPress.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robbie Moore is the founder of Rushminute, a digital marketing agency in Lincoln, Nebraska. With 20+ years of experience in digital marketing, Robbie has worked with dozens of companies and organizations, large and small, around the globe. He also writes extensively about design, development, and business in general.
