How often you should redesign your website
Having a website developed and then going for months or years without making any changes to it is a serious mistake. When your website is not updated, it has the potential of reflecting negatively on your business as it makes it look out-of-date and unprofessional. Today, we share a few tips on how often you should make changes to your website either in terms of content or it’s overall design and layout.
Imagine having a billboard erected in the center of town for a product you are trying to market and then have it in that position for the next ten years without making any changes to it. Of course this does not make any marketing sense and the same goes for any other marketing or brand awareness tools that you might be using like business cards, radio/t.v commercials, etc. At some point, you will have to make some changes to the message that you are trying to convey to your customers for various reasons. Start thinking of your website as an extension of your business or brand. The average number of years you could be thinking of redesigning your website it 2-3 years. Of course this varies with the industry in which your business is operating in as we have seen some websites perform well without any alterations for more than five years and others that have needed some redesigning within a period of two years.
How to know when to redesign your website
Here are a few questions that will help you know if your website needs redesigning. If 90% of the answers to these questions is a NO, then you need to have your website redesigned.
1. Is your content up to date? Look at the content that you have on your website especially the information that has to do with your contact details and working hours.
2. Is your website fast? If your web pages are taking ages to load, it might mean that there is a lot of old stuff that is clogging it up and preventing it from being as speedy as users want. Times have changed and this means the average person won’t wait for more than 4 seconds to wait for a web page to open. Another thing about the speed of a website is how it is now a factor in the search engines.
3. Is the website still working for you? The best way to get an answer to this question is to know your bounce rate. If your bounce rate has gotten significantly higher, it is usually an indicator that your users aren’t engaging with your website and mostly it’s because your website is out of date and needs an upgrade.
4. Does your website look up to date? There are always new trends that are coming up and more often than not, almost everyone uses them to improve the user experience of their websites. If your website doesn’t have these, then you could be in trouble. Lots of new stuff comes out all the time and if your website is several years old, it may look like it may be lacking features that your users are looking for.
5. Are your logo color schemes matching with the website? Your brand needs to be cohesive between your website, social media, online marketing, store front and all print materials. If your website doesn’t match colour themes, then it is time for an upgrade.
6. Is your website mobile friendly? The number of people using mobile devices to surf the internet is growing as compared to those using desktop computers. If a user lands on your website and it’s just a tiny version of your desktop site and not responsive, they’ll leave and go to another site that is. Google feels the same way too.
How do i have my website maintained if am too busy?
You will never have to worry about the state of your website once you subscribe to our website Maintenance Services. We are continuously adapting to the changes that come up and this means we will keep your website up to date with all the latest trends in features, functionality and in terms of search engines.
As mentioned earlier, the state of your website speaks volumes about your credibility. If someone visits your your website and they find a cheap out of date looking website, the impression they might get is that you are cheap and by neglecting your website, you could be neglecting other business related things. If your website needs a make-over, go ahead and do it so that you don’t let an old website prevent you from getting new leads, new clients, and creating a great first impression.