The Many Reasons You Need A New Website
It is a fast paced world out there and even more so in the world of marketing your business. Trends and fashions moving and evolving faster and faster.
Take your smartphone for example. On day it is the latest, cutting edge gadget and within a year or so it starts to look slow and out of date compared with competitors.
The best selling products are getting upgrades all the time. They never sit still and are always looking for ways to keep fresh, on trend and in line with their customer’s expectations.
We see so many small and medium size businesses out there that made a website well over 3 years ago and left it at that. Yes it may have looked amazing then but to readers and potential customers, what looked great back then (and by back then we mean just a handful of years if that) looks tired and slow now.
There are many reasons your competitors are racing ahead of you in Google Search or conversions of visitors to sales and enquiries. But the most of it comes down to not refreshing your website.
Google and customers have moved on. Have you? Let us take a look at some reasons you really do need to look at getting a new website.
Website Speed
Website speed and performance has now to come to the front of search engine’s thinking. Google has a duty to give searchers fast and speedy answers.
Modern google searchers are not interested in fancy sliders, animations or quirky fonts. They want the page to load fast and they want to know if the site says or sells what they want.
Old themes and designs may please the eye but under the hood they are harming your prospects.
Google have stated that speed and performance is a factor that can have an affect on your rankings. If 2 sites answer the searchers query the same yet one site takes over 2 seconds to load and the other takes milliseconds to load, they will rank the latter above the former.
Speed and performance is not just about google rankings it is about the readers and customers. Have you ever hit a search result and if it is taking a long time to load you go back and try another site? 2 seconds is a long time for users in this fast, information led age.
And so all in all, even when they do get to your old, slow site and they see it is slow and clunky, you will soon gain a high bounce rate.
High Bounce Rate
Do you check your bounce rate in analytics? This is the percentage of people that come to your site and leave without taking any action or going to another page.
Most of these people either found the site badly designed, slow, or didn’t answer their question.
If your bounce rate is above 70% then you should really quickly be looking at a new website and design that will keep people on your site.
Your Site Looks Old
If you haven’t updated your website in the last 3 to 5 years the blunt truth is your website probably looks old and out of date.
When websites were designed for PC’s and desktops people went all out on creative fonts, animations, header sliders and flashing graphics.
Take a look at the websites in your niche that are doing best. Chances are they have clean, easy to use fonts, no distracting old fashioned gimmicks. Just what a smartphone user would want to see and potentially purchase.
Your Brand Doesn’t Stand Out
I can image that your brand is evolving all the time. Does your website leave a great first impression and a lasting impression? A very important part of web design.
Can people that come to your site understand what you are all about immediately and easily?
If the answer is no then you need to look at a fresh design.
Has Your Site Been Updated Within The Last 3 Years?
In the web and ecommerce word 3 years is a long long time.
It is not just design that has changed but also consumer and reader habits. In just the last 3 years
For example, security matters so much more to people. Do you have a SSL certificate now which is essential (the padlock that shows before your URL in the browser)?
Do you have an easy way to navigate your site on mobile? If your site was built over 3 years ago it was probably built for desktops but most people do their browsing on a mobile now.
All top performing websites get updated at least within every 3 years to keep up with the trends, needs, security and speed. In other words keeping up with customers.
Your Site Is Way Too Confusing
If you have an old site you have probably built it up bit by bit. Adding bits here and there.
In your mind it makes sense because you put everything where it is. But to people visiting your site it may be a big puzzle and difficult to find what they want.
You Are Not Converting Visitors To Customers
If you own a business website and you get lots of visitors to your site yet are not converting them into customers as they should be then it is really time for a website overhaul.
Income and the bottom line is important. You need to invest in the website, your shop window so to speak.
The Age Of Mobile Phones
I remember it well. Building a website on a desktop with its big screen and making it look great for people coming to the site on a big desktop screen.
The fact is that now most visitors will use their smaller mobile screens and that number will only grow.
If your site is nit built for mobile first then it is time for a new website.
We Can help
There so many reasons your website is out of date and slow. I could go on and on.
Times have indeed changed and we need to change fast to keep up with what our readers and potential customers need.
A new website or design is often overlooked but is what defines your online presence. If you had a bricks and mortar shop would you leave the shop window as it was 3 years ago?
We can help all sizes of business to get a new website up and running perfectly for today’s age.
Contact us for a quote.
