When you use your website all of the time for your business, it can be hard to notice things that aren’t working as they should, or designs that have become outdated. Your website is often the very first place that customers will visit when discovering your business, so it’s crucial that it truly represents your brand and how great it is! So in this article we’ll discover the ideal time for a website refresh.
But, how do you know when you need to refresh your website? Here are our top 5 things to look out for that SCREAM “it’s time for change”.
- It’s been a while
How long has it been since you last updated your website design and gave it a sprucing up? 2 or 3 years? Or maybe even longer?
If it’s been longer than 3 years, it’s definitely time for a refresh.
Trends and styles change like the weather and if you don’t keep up with these, you could be left behind. Your website is the first impression of your business and brand for many, therefore it should be appealing, modern and with up-to-date, accurate information. For example, have you employed more staff members since your last website update, or added new products or services?
- Your website is hard to use on a mobile
In our last blog “5 Reasons to Make your Website Mobile-Friendly” we explain why it’s vital to make your website mobile friendly. From a better user experience, to ranking higher on Google search results, having a website that is designed to work on a mobile device as well as a desktop is absolutely essential in 2022!
Figures from Statista showed that mobile platforms accounted for almost 60% of overall web traffic worldwide in the second quarter of 2022. This figure has almost doubled since 2015, showing that mobile usage is on the rise with no plans to stop any time soon. So, don’t get left behind, make your website mobile friendly today!
- Your website is loading.. barely
Is your website sluggish, clunky or taking far too long to load? Then you’re probably losing sales without even realising!
It’s been proven that the longer that your website takes to load, the more likely visitors will leave and go to a competitor, which is exactly what you want to avoid. Infact, in a survey from Digital.com with 1,250 online shoppers, 1 in 2 visitors abandoned a website that took more than 6 seconds to load.
As we mentioned earlier, your website is the first impression of your business to many, and those first impressions mean a lot, particularly in eCommerce. In the same survey, 45% of those asked said they get a negative impression of a business if their website is taking too long to load.
Why is your website running slowly? Well, there’s a few possible reasons for this. Most of the time, it’s down to your web hosting provider not providing you with the superfast speeds. Alternatively, it could be that your website is image-heavy, with high-quality images of your products taking up so much room that it’s making your website work harder to load.
These are all problems that we can fix. In fact, we’re experts, with lightning speed web hosting packages and fresh web designs that will leave visitors with the very best first impression.
- Your customers are struggling to find what they’re looking for
If your bounce rate is high, it could be a sign that you aren’t delivering the user experience that you (and your customers) expect.
User experience (UX) is a huge part of website design. Afterall, your website is an online hub to showcase your services or products to bring in more sales. If your customers are struggling to find what they need with ease, they’re more likely to hit the ‘exit’ button and shop elsewhere.
Did you know that we offer a free website MOT and healthcheck that allows us to fully review your website then highlight any issues with UX and identify areas of improvement?
- You’re struggling to rank high on Google
Are you finding that no matter what you do, you’re still struggling to climb the ranks in search engine results? It might not be what you’re doing, but how you’re doing it. It doesn’t matter how easy your ordering process is, how good your products look or how amazing your product or service is – if nobody knows you’re there, they can’t buy from you.
Search engine algorithms change all the time, and what’s popular today might be different tomorrow. One of the biggest ways to bring more attention to your website and build your online presence is by implementing SEO. Also known as Search Engine Optimisation, SEO is essentially the process of getting traffic from free, organic, or natural search results in search engines and without it, you may struggle to see your business grow online. If your website content isn’t up to scratch with SEO and keywords in mind, it could be time for a refresh!
Do any of these sound familiar? If so, don’t hesitate! Get in touch today and let us help your business thrive online.
