Is It Time For A Website Redesign? The 5 Questions To Ask Before Getting Started
Today, market trends are shifting in favor of online selling and services finding more than ever. The reality is, it is more necessary for a business to have a website than it is to have a physical storefront. Unfortunately, this new battlefront is already very competitive. A few years ago, simply having a website meant that you could scoop all the online business your competitors were missing out on. Today, almost every other business has a website. So for you to beat the competition, you have to take a second look at your website and evaluate if it is really giving you the edge that you need to succeed. And in order to do that, you have to ask yourself these five questions:
- Does my site load quickly and simple to navigate?
Thanks to the advancements in technology and fast internet connections, internet users are used to getting the information they need from the web instantly. As such, if your website is hosted by a slow server or has been designed using old techniques that make it slow to load, you will lose customers even before they have a chance to view your site. The moment your site takes a second too long to load, they will look to other sites that offer users a better experience. Likewise, if your website is overly confusing to navigate and the information is hard to find then that is yet another reason for the user to navigate away to one of your competitors.
- Does my website look high-end?
Web presentation is extremely important for today’s sophisticated user. Once users have opened your site, they want to see something that will please their eyes and invite them to see more. Remember that the typical person views tons of websites every day so if yours doesn’t pull them in, they might be tempted to find what they are looking for elsewhere. A good design outlook means having an attractive layout, good order, proper color coordination, appropriate fonts, attractive images/videos/animations that are clear, and above all – simplicity.
- Is my website responsive to mobile devices?
When websites first became a must-have resource for businesses, computers were the only avenue to view them. Fast forward to 2016 and more and more people are accessing the internet via their mobile phones than through computers. This is why it is important to have a website that is mobile responsive. It must be accessible through any device, be it a phone, a tablet or a computer. If your website is not responsive, the majority of people who are now using handheld devices to browse will not be able to access your site effectively forcing them to look elsewhere. This locks you out of a huge chunk of the market. In addition, search engines like Google have already set initiatives to optimize the user experience and favor sites that are truly mobile responsive. Businesses must adopt to this new standard in order to effectively market themselves on the web today.
- Does my site have the content my readers are looking for?
Content is also very important for your site. Other factors may bring people to your site but it’s the content that makes them stay. A great website should have content that explains your business/organization structure, your services, and provides informative and interesting content about your niche. Without these, your customers will be lost on your site. If this happens, other sites with better content will soon win them over.
- Is my site optimized for search rankings?
Last but certainly not least, there is the issue of search rankings. For your website to compete effectively with other sites, it needs to have a high rank on search engines such as Google. The higher it ranks, the more views it will get and the more clicks you receive. Now this doesn’t just happen automatically. It requires your site to be optimized in line with search engine algorithms. This is done by SEO (search engine optimization) specialists who research these algorithms, find keywords, create site content for you, lace your site content with the same keywords, create back links, and basically do everything to get your site seen on top of search results.
So all in all, your site needs every advantage to keep you ahead of the pack. That means being easy on the eyes, organized, quick to load, responsive, search optimized, and having relevant content. If yours is lacking any of these, a website redesign is highly needed.
