by Ian Bertie – MBCS – updated – 23/11/21
If you are wondering whether it is time to update your website, then it probably is, but if you’re really not sure, check out the following article. If any of these apply to you or your website then it probably confirms your own suspicion and it is almost certainly time to take action.
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Let’s not mess around, if your website is 10 or more years old, it is by technology standards, a dinosaur, it probably does not reflect your business anymore and is almost certainly hindering your business more than it is helping it. In reality you should be looking at updating the content regularly and redesigning your website at least every 3 to 5 years.
Are you embarrassed to give out your website address? If you’re claiming to be a leading edge company and your website does not reflect that claim then…….. well you fill in the blanks!!
Have you noticed a significant drop in traffic and leads? If so, your visitors clearly are not finding what they need from your website and will be going elsewhere so it may be time to consider a website upgrade to bring them flocking back.
Of course, if your website is producing great results for your business then there is probably no reason to change a winning formula.
If someone lands on a page of your website, and then leaves again without visiting any other pages, in others words a single page visit, this is considered a bounce. Rather than exploring your website further your visitor clearly has not found what they are looking for, has not been engaged or has found your website to slow or confusing to use. Perhaps your website is missing the humble but effective call to action.
Statistics have demonstrated that the average stay on a website is 7 seconds. That means you have less than 7 seconds to engage your visitor and demonstrate you can answer their needs. Find out how you can reduce you bounce rate and increase conversions in our article “How do you get visitors to stay on your website?“
A well-thought-out redesigned website can help to solve these issues and convince visitors to stick around and explore further. If your bounce rate is above 70% your really should consider a new website.
If you have to rely upon your website developer to make small changes to your website such as updating prices or add a blog post, then it is likely costing you time and money.
Making small changes to your website should be easy for you or a member of your staff to accomplish. If making such a change requires coding skill or the use of FTP software then it is likely you need to update your website to one built using an easy to use content management system (CMS) such as WordPress.
WordPress is the most widely used CMS on the internet, it is free and completely portable, so if your fall out with your web host, you can easily move your website elsewhere. It is also one of the easier CMS’s to use.
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As your business grows, so will your brand, your messaging and your products and services. Has your website grown along with it? Will your website set the kind of first impression that creates a potential new customer or just another bounce statistic?
When a potential customer visits your website, they will have a particular problem they need to solve, your website needs to answer their initial questions within 7 seconds and create a lasting first impression. Make sure you are remembered for having a well-designed website that aligns with your message and brand and answers your customers question.
Figures from Statista in 2021 demonstrate that mobile website traffic around the world is now up near 60% and this is only likely to get higher. If your website is not responsive, that is to say it isn’t mobile friendly, then you will be missing out on most of that traffic.
The term mobile friendly has moved on a bit in the last few years too, it now not only encompasses your website adapting to screen size, but now also includes load time, text size, space between navigation items, order in which background files load, to name but a few considerations.
Google now even gauge their search results from a mobile standpoint, not from a desktop and if your website does not meet their strict mobile design standards, you will not be ranked very highly in their listings.
When determining a websites ranking, Google will prioritise load speed. If your site is unwieldy and slow, you will not rank as highly as you could! Why is this important? Google will be responsible for around 94% of organic traffic to your website.
If your website is more than 3 or 4 years old, the chances are it has not been streamlined to today’s standards. You will be seeing much higher bounce rates and ultimately a lower level of performance.
The KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid) is alive and well and tends to work best for most things in life, and the same applies to websites. At the end of the day you want your users to find the answers they are looking for when they visit your website, it needs to be well laid out, intuitive. If your website is difficult to navigate or doesn’t offer engaging content your visitors will leave.
I have seen it many times before, a website that has evolved with a business, had bits tagged on, lots of new products or services added or it was just poorly designed in the first place. What ends up happening is you have a menu system with 10 items which drop down over two lines and each one has more drop down choices below it. It is confusing and not a user friendly experience.
Be honest with yourself, take a look at your competitors websites, are they more modern? are they better? because one thing you can be sure of, if someone wants to buy whatever product or service it is that you sell, they will check out your website and probably your competitors too before they buy.
Firstly, congratulations and thank you for reading this far, I am guessing you are very serious about your business and are looking for an amazing website that will rank high in the search engines and convert visitors into leads or customers.
We at a38.com are able to help, contact us now but any of the means on this page and we will call you as soon as possible to find out your needs.
We offer a complete no obligation free quotation service.
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Email: ian@a38.com
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