Rework Your Website to Grow Your Business

9 Reasons Your Web Design Needs a Makeover

Technology is moving rapidly - website platforms get upgraded regularly, search engine algorithms change unexpectedly, and your customers' preferences also progress and shift.  Likewise, to ensure your website is always working well, your company’s web design and development must also constantly evolve.

Updating your business website is about responding to your needs and those of your customers.  If it is falling short in this regard, then you should consider a revamp.  But website redesign is not only about aesthetics.  Sure, a beautiful new website is great, but that’s only a small part of the goal.  Advancements in web technology can bring important changes that offer better user experience, easier management, better functionality, etc.  In the end, you want a website that works to enhances your business goals.

When Does My Website Need a Redesign?

Basically, you should update your website as often as it needs to be updated.  Minor updates may be necessary every week or every month, while a full revamp is probably best done every two or three years.  If you feel like your business website no longer meets your business goals, these issues will help you decide if your web design needs some updates or a full makeover:

1. Website Is Old - When was the last time your business website was redesigned? Good web hygiene recommends redesigning your site every 2-3 years as important developments have happened in technology and design. If you cannot recall when the last redesign of your site was, it’s a good indicator it’s time to build a new one. 
   
   
2. Structure Does Not Meet Business Needs - Growth is a natural part of every business - so your website needs to change too or your online business will become stagnant. The problem emerges when the original website doesn’t support these developments. If you cannot easily add or change existing page navigation and categories and your site requires a major restructuring, you should take the leap and develop a new website rather than merely improve the old one. 
   
   
3. Products/Services Don’t Meet Reality - Company growth comes often with changing product/service range. You need to show the updates on your website if you add new products or your services have changed substantially.  A lack of fresh information will outdate your website. The worst scenario is if you cannot easily make the changes, you don’t have the access needed, or the technology is becoming difficult to update.
   
   
4. Competitor’s Website Is Prettier - When you can admit that a competitor’s website is more appealing than yours, it’s time for changes. Their site could be more functional, easier to use, better organized, modern, etc. Keep in mind that the majority of purchase decisions are greatly influenced by the first impressions of the business website. 
   
   
5. Functionality Is Outdated - Does your website include broken links like 404 errors and suffer from slow page loading? This could indicate a bigger problem:  your website is unorganized and poorly maintained. If your website has many broken links, slow loading pages, errors, missing images, and other elements that are not working properly, you should consider a redesign.
   
   
6. Target Consumers Interests Have Changed - If your website visits have dropped and visitors leave without any further page inspection, maybe your website is not adapting to consumer needs. Check web analytics to determine browsing patterns on the site. If the product/services pages have a high bounce rate, it’s a sign of weak digital marketing and/or a change in consumer needs and interests.
   
   
7. Lacks Social Integration - No one doubts social media’s importance in a marketing plan. If you don’t share your social channels on the website marketing platform, how can visitors find you in the social sphere? If the website is missing social buttons, be sure to add them as well as sharing buttons in each blog post.
   
   
8. Not User-Friendly for All Platforms & Devices - The increasing portable device trend will bring more mobile visitors to your website, but are they leaving the site before converting? The problem is that an older website probably doesn’t meet mobile and tablet user needs. If your site does not leverage responsive design, it’s not user-friendly. This will also significantly hurt the search engine results.
   
   
9. Website Is Not Visible In Search Results - Ranking on a search engine results page requires constant technical adjustment and content updates. Technical elements include tasks like choosing keywords and optimizing pages for relevant keywords. Search engines also consider fresh, relevant content updates an important ranking factor. To meet these conditions and stay on top of search results, a modern user-friendly content management system is indispensable.
   

Our Approach Goes Beyond Website Design

While you should never make the mistake of thinking that web design is only about a new appearance, you can be sure that your potential clients are looking for service providers with attractive, more user-friendly, and more trustworthy web designs.  Maybe you don’t have to start from square one and build a brand-new website.  But it is important to remove the errors and keep your site functioning at its best.  Sometimes a company’s requirements have changed so drastically it is more sensible to develop a new site.

RKF Media has what it takes to guide you step-by-step through the array of web development choices available to you.  We’ll work together to create an affordable custom website design that will provide your customers with the services and information they are looking for.  We’ll cut through the tech talk and discover exactly what you need and how to make it happen.  Put our knowledge to work for you - click to contact us online or call 215-716-3043 today!