When To Redesign Your Website

First impressions can make or break a sale, interview or even potential relationship with a crush. The same goes for your digital empire.

A website is there when you’re not. Whether you focus on getting local clients or fully online, when you’re sleeping, on vacation, or relaxing with friends, your site is the face of your company.

If the lead is fresh (meaning they just heard about you and clicked on a link to find out more), then it’s even more important to make sure your site is leaving a good impression!

For example: two stores, selling the same exact thing, open next to each other. One invests a little more on the branded design – inside and out. The walls are painted, flowers placed outside, windows cleaned, and it’s well-lit.

The other store does nothing. The business simply moves in.

Which would you more than likely enter? Which do you trust? The one that invested in their brand or the one that looks like they’ll sell you something sketchy then disappear?

If your site is like the second store, it’s ok! You just need to freshen things up a bit.

Here’s a quick checklist to see if it’s time for an upgrade:

Your site doesn’t exist anymore.

It’s so embarrassing but years ago, I was hacked and didn’t know it. I didn’t regularly check my site and just kept working on freelance projects until someone mentioned that my site was… different. Thankfully, I had a backup.

Check the front end of your site every so often in case something’s broken! Even if you weren’t hacked, check plugins, links, forms, and po- ups to make sure it’s all in working order.

You’re getting people to your site but not converting!

This sometimes even happens with beautiful sites. It could be a few causes but from my experience it’s either the layout of the site or the audience you’re getting isn’t into your branding. Your designer should understand your sales funnel and lay out a well-branded user experience that supports your goals.

What’s a good tool to back this up? Google Analytics. Make sure it’s installed and you’re monitoring it in order to see the changes.

There’s too much going on!

This happens with DIY entrepreneurs building their own site. They do many things- and are totally awesome at each one – so they want to put it all on the site.

Simplicity on a website is essential to better conversion.

Check your site and see if it feels cluttered. If it feels like there’s 50 people in a shouting match for your attention, it’s time to simplify. A designer could also edit the layout and make it work.

I can’t properly see your site on my [insert mobile device].

Yup. As hard as it might be to believe, there’s still sites that aren’t even a tiny bit optimized for web.

According to research from places like Nielson Norman Group, Google, and a bunch more – mobile is better. Google even penalizes you if you’re not thinking about how what user experience is like on small screens! It’s just the way it is. So check your site on your phone, today.

Your site graphics were so trendy 5 years ago.

And now it’s time for a change. Like a hairstyle, fashion, or your fad-diet, a site needs to change up every 1 to 3 years. But don’t freak out!

The most painful updates are websites that have been around for 10 years. It often requires a complete overhaul. Others just need a few tweaks to colors, fonts, or photography.

After the initial update, get someone that will keep it updated. Depending on your business, this could be every month, 3 months, or 6 months.

Finally, if your business has taken a pivot, even slight, it might be time to redesign/refresh your website in order to meet your goals.