When Is It Time to Redesign My Website?
Digital design is a fast-paced industry, it is constantly evolving and changing, making it hard to keep up with trends. But there are some things that you really need to consider when evaluating your website design and functionality.
If you are having to question yourself as to whether you think your website needs redesigning, then you’ve already answered your own question.
Here are some key things to consider if you’re thinking about redesigning or refreshing your website.
Is Your Website On Brand?
Sometimes it’s easy to get carried away with swanky templates or current trends, but you’ve got to ask yourself, is your website on brand?
Creating a digital visual identity is just as important, if not more, then branding your print collateral. Your customers should immediately know when they land on your website that it’s yours; having a logo high up the page and key elements of your branding such as colours or imagery are important factors of letting customers know that they’ve found the right website.
Is Your Website Mobile Responsive?
If your website isn’t mobile responsive, then you really really need to make it responsive. In this digital era, most people tend to view websites on their mobiles and tablets, and if your website isn’t optimised for these devices, you are missing out on a huge pool of potential customers.
Most templated sites such as WordPress, Squarespace and Wix offer templates with responsive functionality already built-in, but if you’re not sure how to make your website responsive then it might be worth investing in a web developer to help advise you.
Is Your Website Easy To Navigate?
Sometimes swanky navigation can take over your website, but don’t forget, just because you think it looks good, doesn’t mean that it’s easy to navigate.
User experience and user journey are two key parts of the digital experience that often get overlooked by small businesses. People are impatient and easily frustrated when using websites, so it’s paramount to make it extremely clear what you want the user to do. Ask yourself, could a child easily navigate your site?
“88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience.”
Also, on the subject of navigation, you should regularly check that all of the links on your website are working, nothing is more frustrating for a user than clicking on a link that takes you to a 404 error page or a link that no longer exists.
Does Your Website Take Forever To Load?
Are all the images on your website web optimised? Are they saved out at the right size in the right format? Failure to comply with industry standards can result in long load times, which can cause your users to become impatient.
“40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.”
Is It Clear What You Actually Do?
Again sometimes, it’s easy to get caught up with the templates and jargon, but is it actually clear what services you offer on your website? You should have clear, concise call to actions across your website, giving the user a nod in the direction that you want them to go.
If you’re selling something, you want links to the shop, if you want someone to get in touch with you, there should be a phone number or contact details high up on the page.
Do You Have a Website?
In this modern world, if your business doesn’t have a website, or a digital foot print, then you’re simply going to get left behind.
Having a digital presence is so important, in the era of the Internet, customers like to do their research before purchasing products or services. Having a broken or badly designed website can do more damage than good, but having no website at all isn’t really an option in 2017.
There are loads of affordable website hosting sites out there such as Squarespace, WordPress and Wix, which offer customisable, mobile responsive templates.
