When was your website last updated? Is it looking a bit tired, boring and ‘old fashioned’?

There will be multiple reasons why you might want to redesign your site. The key to a successful redesign is to filter out the old stuff that wasn’t working. Having a well thought out strategy for your new site will ensure you focus on your target audience and provide a good user experience.

Before looking for a web designer to revamp your site, it’s a good idea to first go through all your sites pages. Look at the content and question why you think you need a redesign. Perhaps some of the content is outdated and no longer applicable, photos look poor quality or maybe it’s simply that the style looks old fashioned and unprofessional compared to your competitors! Here are some of the valid reasons for a redesign we hear a lot:

It’s old

Just like that old sofa you’ve had for years, websites can and do date over time. In this super digitally connected world, website technology and trends are fast changing, and for the better. If your site has a flash video or scrolling marquees as an example, these elements are seen as old-fashioned and date back to the 90’s! Not only is an old looking site unappealing to your site visitors but Google will also hate it. Another reason for a site to become ‘old’ is outdated content. Seeing a most recent blog post from 3 years ago doesn’t give the impression you’re regularly adding new content keeping your audience engaged! Google and your site visitors want to see fresh, relevant content on your site that shows you’re giving it the TLC it deserves.

Not all (because responsive design has been around for some time now), but some older sites were not designed to be responsive and display perfectly across any screen size. That should be a critical concern for any business with an unresponsive site, especially as mobile users surpassed desktop users again this year. Not being able to view your content properly on a smartphone isn’t appealing and will lose you, visitors and potential customers.

Poor performance

Why do you need a website anyway? Is it to educate your audience, bring in more sales for your products or enquiries for your services? Whatever the reason, your website should have goals and be reaching those goals. If it’s not then it’s time to redefine your goals with a site refresh and marketing strategy.

Performance isn’t just a case of analysing data and Analytic stats to see where traffic is coming from. There should be clearly defined metrics which tells you the number of sales and CTR (click-through rates) to measure conversions. If your site doesn’t convert, then you need to consider why that is and take steps to rectify it.

A poor performing website can also be the result of a poorly designed website. One that isn’t technically and search engine optimised. If your site uses outdated, depreciated code or uncompressed images, this can slow down your sites speed. Users do not want to wait for a website to load and Google will throw out ranking penalties for any site deemed too slow. This is another reason for a website redesign to improve site performance across all browsers and devices.

Your business has evolved

Are you still using that logo you’ve had since your business incorporated? Does it look old fashioned and unprofessional? If so, maybe it’s time for a re-brand! Technology and design techniques have evolved over the last 20 years and so has probably your business. It’s important that your branding conveys how you want to be identified by your consumers. Consistency throughout all your media, marketing materials and the website is key to establishing your brand and being identifiable.

The re-branding process can be a complicated task depending on the size of your business. But it should always include a redesign of your website so you have the opportunity to filter out your weaknesses and focus on the strong points.

So what next?

OK, you’ve decided you can no longer live with that old site any longer – what’s your next step?

Firstly, you need to define the goals for your new website. Discuss with your web designer how it will work to convert and how you will track those conversions.

Then you need to work with your website designer to filter out any outdated and unwanted content. Don’t be afraid to ditch any content that is irrelevant or has performed poorly. Your web designer should come up with their own ideas to help you create new content for your new site. If they don’t, then it’s probably worth finding a web designer who can. At the end of the day you are paying for a service to have a website uniquely built for your business, so you shouldn’t have to build it yourself!

Your web designer should carry out a full site audit on your old site to track any content that performs well. You don’t want to lose any precious existing Google traffic built up over the years. Sometimes the content on your site is OK and it’s just the way aesthetically it’s presented can cause poor performance. Rearranging your content into a fabulous new design and presenting it better can vastly improve your conversions!

How We Can Help

Here at Design & Online Promotions, we have over 23 years of working with customers across a multitude of industries. Over the years we’ve redesigned some of our client’s sites to upgrade the technology and improve them. Each redesign serves the purpose to move the business forward. Along with our digital marketing campaigns, all our sites are created with SEO very much at the core strategy.

When you partner with us we work with you to help you understand the best ways to improve website performance and enhance your business.

So, if you’ve decided ‘you hate your website!’, talk to us and we’ll help you identify your goals and work with you to achieve them. And you’ll get a shiny new website that’ll you’ll love in the process! Not forgetting improved search engine rankings and more customers and enquiries.