Five Signs It Is Time To Redesign Your Website
How often should a company refresh its website? Doing a quick Google search will yield many different results, all from reputable sources. Some places will say to update it every three years, others will say to wait five or more. Really though, there is no blueprint or guidebook that will tell you exactly when you need to update or redesign your website.
As with most things in business, these are decisions that need to be made by looking at your own company’s data, forecasts, and marketing strategy. There are so many factors that go into a decision like redesigning a website, so why let some article online tell you the schedule you’re supposed to follow?
With all that being said, here are some reasons you may want to consider a website redevelopment.
Your Website is Not Generating Leads
(Or it’s not developed with lead generation in mind)
“Brochure Sites,” as we call them, are websites that are not designed to collect a lead, build a list, or transact. In other words, digital brochures. These websites are strictly to list services or prove a company exists… not something that is driving business.
With more and more shoppers, consumers and business dealmakers alike, doing the majority of their pre-sale research online, why would you want to let potential customers slip through the cracks by not collecting a lead?
There are many ways that a website can be set up to be lead-generating. You can have contact forms, downloads (that the visit provides their email address in order to receive), or opt-ins to email lists to stay engaged. If your site isn’t able to accommodate changes in customer behavior and expectations, it’s probably time to consider a major upgrade.
It’s a Security Risk
If you’ve gone several years without updating your website’s code for security updates, it could be at risk of hacks due to unpatched security exploits. At the very least, we recommend you make that right right away. Update any plugins you’re using, change passwords, and upgrade any core software on your site to the latest version. If you’re unable to do this on your own we recommend talking to the developer that originally built your site to see if they can do it for you or provide the credentials you’ll need to do it yourself.
If your site is way out of date in terms of the software it’s using to run and look/feel/content, this could be a great time to redesign for your current business needs. When redesigning or redeveloping your site, make sure that you’re using the most up to date software and technology available as well as have a plan in place to keep your site up to date in the future.
You’re Embarrassed to Give Out Your Web Address
If you’re finding yourself in the position where you’re handing out a business card to someone, or going recommending someone visit your LinkedIn or Instagram or Facebook page instead of your website, you’re likely in need of a major update.
Your Site Isn’t Built to Support Content Marketing
Content marketing (or blogging) is a major factor for search optimization and for providing valuable, current, and educational information for your audience. If your site is unable to support content marketing, consider updating your website strategy to include content marketing as a focal point.
On top of having a blog, a website that is built to enable content marketing should also have functionality to allow you to capture leads and inquiries:
- Contact Forms
- Opt-In Funnels/Widgets
- Social Media Sharing
- Landing page builders
You’re Updating Your Positioning and Branding
A great time to reconsider all of your marketing and sales collateral is when your business strategy is changing. Perhaps you’ve just gone through a Brand Story and messaging process where you’ve gone through all of your offerings and distilled your brand essence down to a simple to describe and recite Brand Story that connects with your audience.
If your website is not aligned with what that Brand Story is, then you’ll potentially be missing a large portion of your audience that is not seeing your Brand Story and understanding your value proposition.
Consider a website redesign and content update to align with your Brand Story — your marketing message will be more clear, your website’s user path will be more defined, and you’ll collect more leads.
Need help with your positioning and Brand Story? We’re here for you.
How To Keep Your Website Up To Date
At The Zangardi Studio, we’re big believers in improving things over time. That goes for anything marketing related, and it’s especially true when it comes to website design. We’d never like to see one of our client’s websites get a big, fresh redesign and upgrade, just to launch to the world and start to collect digital dust.
Instead, we recommend to look at a website as an ever-evolving part of your marketing mix.
Much like social media, email marketing, and even trade show strategies where content changes and evolves over time, marketers should think of their site as something that continues to evolve and grow with them—rather than stay static. What does that mean? In short, it means that rather than leaving your website to collect digital dust for a few years after a redesign, marketers update things on a frequent basis, such as creating new page layouts and templates, updating user interface elements to improve the experience, redesign pages and even add entirely new sections of content based on your business needs and marketing plans.
Need Help Planning This Out?
We’re here for you. Contact us to discuss how to make your website a more cohesive part of your marketing and sales strategy and turn it into a revenue center for your business, not just another piece of collateral that collects dust.