Do you have the feeling that your website look outdated?
A website is the forefront of representing your business online and has a huge impact on how many leads you generate, interest in your brand and trust with your audience. Having a great website is key for being a reputable online brand and there are a lot of topics to cover. Read this guide on signs that your website needs updating and how you can address these issues to make the most out of your online branding.
Visual Design
Website designs are constantly evolving due to the ever changing digital landscape. A design that is eye catching, visually appealing and represents your brand is integral for having a strong online presence. If your website design does not look visually appealing then this is a straight forward way of identifying your website needs updating. It is key to make sure that your website design stays in line with other competitors in your industry. We recommend to use a consistent theme to make your website attractive and representative of your business. Technological advancements and keeping up with competition means that the way we design websites is changing direction every day. A standard website in 2021 features many complex layers with multimedia, static content and animations throughout. Our recommendations are to redesign your website if possible, using a combination of different content and media.
Poor User Experience
User experience refers to the overall experience of using your website, focusing on how easy it is to use and serve its purpose. To conduct a user experience analysis for your website you must focus on the customer journey. Try to carry out simple tasks relating to what the customer will require when entering your website. If this is difficult and you’re not directly addressing the customers’ needs, your website may be ready for an update. Our recommendations are to identify your customer requirements from the start. Make sure your website provides a smooth customer experience for all visitors.
Not mobile friendly
Smartphones are becoming an essential item for most people throughout the world. Usage of mobile phones on websites is rapidly overtaking computers, ensuring your website is optimised for mobile phones is key for having a successful brand online. The design on mobile phones should match the look of your desktop website and function exactly the same way. If your website doesn’t function correctly on the latest smartphones we recommend you focus on redesigning and restructuring. This way you have a potential to generate much more leads and keep your audience interested. If your website doesn’t work correctly and appropriately on mobile we are always ready to help. We will work with you from start to finish in creating a smooth customer experience on both platforms.
No CTA (Call to Action)
A call to action is a prompt to the user to address a specified action. Your website home page should immediately greet your visitor with the appropriate call to actions. If this isn’t present you are quickly going to lose the attention of the visitor. You need to specifically address their needs and take them to the right place to find further information. If you’re struggling to find call to actions in your website this is a clear sign your website needs updating. Try to integrate at least one per web page. Focus on your home page as the main target for your audience. To ensure that you are using call to actions in your website, conduct a full analysis on your website and brand. This will make sure you have the right CTA’s to capture your audience’s attention.
Competition
Conduct a competitor analysis to see how your website is compared to other businesses in your market. If your website does not stand anywhere near to your competitors in terms of appearance, navigation and performance then you may need an update. You should always work to stay ahead of your competitors; design and build a website which excels when compared to other key businesses in your industry.
Loading Times
A clear decider on whether your website needs updating is loading times. If your website takes a while to load standard web pages, this will quickly detract the attention of the consumer and make them look elsewhere. 57% of people leave a page that takes longer than three seconds to load, and the average load time of the top ranking websites in Google is under three seconds. There are many reasons in to why your website may be loading slow. Reasons include being built on old software, the coding of the website or plugins carrying too much data. The solution to this is to recode or build a brand new website.
Cannot update
You should be able to edit and add new content to your website freely. Creating content for your website is the main method of working your way up Google’s search engine ranking. If you are unable to re-edit or add new content, this is a major sign it needs updating. One of the main purposes of a business website is to promote your company, the most effective way to do this is to update content regularly. We build your websites and teach you to update freely including adding posts and editing pages to suit your requirements.
Doesn’t match brand
The key to having a successful website is to fully reflect your brand. Your website should reflect your values, personality and show what your company is about. There are many ways this is reflected through your website including colours used, the use of your logo, the way your content is written and the reflection of your workforce. The purpose of your website is to provide an accurate representation of your brand to your consumer. If this isn’t shown you are taking the risk of losing potential clients.
No social media
Social media is an integral part of the majority of businesses online presence in the current era. Most websites that are considered to be modern and up to date will at the minimum feature some sort of links to their social media. This can work as simply as featuring small icons or to the extent that users are able to publish tweets via their website. Integrating social media into your website is key to being a relevant, successful business online. Make sure you do this with simple hyperlinks throughout your website. The best place to position these is within your header and footer.
Minimal conversion
The main consequence of not having a fully up to date website is having a serious lack of conversions. This is the outcome of an outdated website and as long as your brand is performing this should not be an issue. Use the improvements listed in this guide to get your website back up to scratch and boost your conversions.
Need help?
If any of the following traits sound like you then this is not a problem. Our skilled team have the ability to turn your website around and work hard to make the most out of your brand. If you have any enquiries feel free to get in touch. We will work to get your website the best it can be.
