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When is the right time to redesign your website? Everyone knows that an underperforming and unattractive website won’t ever do well. Not now. And definitely not in the long term. Websites are usually where the average person goes to verify the authenticity of a company, product, or service and high-performing websites are those that are easily found, heavily invested in seamless user/buyer journeys, and lead to a positive return on investment.
It's extremely important for businesses to have an attractive, easy-to-use responsive website. When people check your company's online presence, they are really vetting you and making both conscious and unconscious decisions as to whether your company, product, or service will fulfill their needs. They’ll also check out your competitors' websites before they contact you or fill out a "request a quote" form. In most cases, and especially in the digital world, people do judge a book by its cover. And the best ‘’cover’’ comes out winning.
So, when is it time to consider and price a redesign your website? What red flags do you need to look out for in order to be sure that now is the right time for your website’s makeover? Here, we’ll outline the top 5 signs you need to look out for.
According to Search Engine Journal, 81% of people think less of a business if its website is outdated. This means that most people, regardless of age, demographic details and taste, are able to differentiate modern and fresh from outdated and in need of a serious facelift. This means that even people with no experience in web design are able to tell when a website’s interface needs to be updated and improved. Most businesses choose to redesign their website simply because it looks old.
In the world of business, where website ‘’look and feel’’ and their navigation experience are most likely the key deciding factors for the consumer to ultimately make a purchase, businesses need to make sure that their experience is delightful all-round.
If your consumers are comparing your product or service with multiple other competitors, having a fresh, modern website will put up front and help you compete effectively online. Consumers will most likely choose a business that has an attractive, easy-to-use website simply because it provides the assurance that the company is growing, authentic and on top of the latest trends and technologies.
Nobody enjoyed getting lost. Not on the streets. Not at the mall. And definitely not online. Understanding user behavior and what your market is actually looking for is essential for creating websites that are easy to navigate through. One of the single, biggest mistakes people make when building their own websites is adding too much information - too many pages, too much text and an image overload. If you website is bombarding consumers with way too much content, it may be time to reduce the amount of noise its generating. Simplicity often paves the easiest way for people to arrive at the end goal, whether it be the checkout page for an eCommerce website or a ‘’Contact me’’ button on a landing page. Make your website easy, seamless and simple for your users to navigate through. That way, your users may become customers before you know it.
If you’re not sure how your website’s navigation should work, try taking a look at your competitor’s websites to get an idea of what they are doing.
Always do your research and see what people and competitors in your industry are doing on their websites. Look out for the new features they've added and consider what market leaders are doing. What you can take out of doing this kind of analysis is to implement some of these ideas and provide the very best experience to your users and convert them into customers.
According to Statista, the current number of smartphone users in the world today is 6.648 billion, meaning 83.32% of the world’s population owns a smartphone. This figure is up considerably from 2016, when there were only 3.668 billion users, 49.40% of that year’s global population. People, all around the world, are using multiple devices to browse the internet and find the information they are looking for.
Now, more than ever, websites need to be responsive and compatible with different devices. If your website only does the job on a web application, and not on mobile, some work needs to be done. Up until just a few years ago, it was so easy for companies to maintain their desktop-only sites when people didn't use their mobile devices to shop, order food, do research and connect with their friends. Now, people may come across your website on any device - desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphones and other mobile device variations. Every time someone uses a any of these devices to access your website, they expect a seamless experience free of bugs, latency and other navigation issues. Today, people shop online and expect to easily pick up where they left off. Others are sharing information from the smartphone to friends and family.
If your website isn’t responsive and fails to offer ease-of-use, you could end up losing returning visitors, potential leads and ultimate customers. It's time to talk to experts about how to redesign your website.
Related to your website being responsive and easy-to-use are how you have set up and are maintaining features, buttons and forms. One of the most common issues websites have aren’t only related to poor design, but also development. For example, when users click on a button that takes them nowhere, your website will be giving off a bad image and you risk the possibility of losing the user forever.
When assessing whether now is the time to redesign your website, run a few quality checks on how your features, buttons, forms and any other website elements are currently performing. If things could be better, it’s time to redesign!
Good content that’s heavily invested in user intent can set you apart from your competition and deliver the right message to your market. Good and effective content comes in many shapes and forms such as long-form blogs, articles, eBooks and guides as well as videos, tutorials, webinars and much more. Content marketing has become crucial to digital marketing and can help you get in front of your target audience. In fact, many people and research organizations agree that content marketing is the most effective form of marketing at the moment. So, being able to use a content management system, or CMS, integrated with your website is a must. Why? If you can’t easily update or edit your content on a frequent basis, it’s bound to end up outdated and irrelevant. Make sure that your website is also optimized for SEO, which will help with your digital content marketing efforts.
About Icalia Labs
Icalia Labs is a world-class nearshore software product firm enabling businesses to translate their digital strategies into tangible value. With a customer-centric design and an engineering culture, the firm guides its clients through an agile framework to acquire new digital capabilities and fortify their innovation-to-market mindset.
Icalia Labs delivers value through a frictionless software environment, assembling the right people, products, and processes into the mix. We have grown our team all across the Americas, leveraging economies of scale to achieve more in less time while providing better solutions.
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