Here's 10 ways of knowing for sure if you need a redesign.
From time to time every website needs to be redesigned in order to keep its content and appearance up to date. Does your website show any of the top 10 signs below?
Easy questions along the way to find out if it’s time to redesign.
1. You built it yourself…or your friend/relative/dog built it
DIY websites always look like DIY websites and they never perform when it comes to optimisation and search engine results which after all is what really matters. What I can do for you costs less in comparison to what it will cost you if you don’t see me and go ahead on your own.
Remember: If your website looks unprofessional - your company looks unprofessional.
Q. How much value is your website bringing to your business? How are you measuring that?
Q. How do your customers react to your website?
Q. Do you know how your customers react to your website or are you assuming they think it’s great. Q. If you had to score your website out of 10 what score would you give it?
2. You aren't getting the results you want
The first clue that you need a new web site is that you are not getting the results you want, but do you know the results you want? Have you defined your objectives from your website? Have you set targets and measured the results?.
People are coming to your site but not opting in. Your conversion rate is minimal between visitors to your site and sales or enquiries. Not a good sign of success. You may need a new design, stronger keywords, and new sales pages-- pretty much everything in order to get the results you deserve. A new web site lets you start again and get it right this time.
Q. Is your web site getting the conversion rate you want?
Q. Are you attracting the number of visitors to your site that you need to be successful?
Q. Do you know the number of visitors that visit your site?
Q. How have you successfully used your website to increase business?
3. Your site hasn't been updated since it was built
Just like your business evolves over time, so does what's expected from a company's website. Depending on the nature of their business, proactive companies will typically update the content on their website every few weeks and have a complete redesign every 2-3 years.
Old news is no news the worst websites are those with information that is out of date and this reflects so badly on a business. Your website should look fresh and appealing, and promote an image of success and stability in order to attract and retain visitors on a daily basis. Plus updating your website gives you a great opportunity to let your customers know that you have new information on it and ask them to have a look.
Q. How does updating your site regularly help your search engine rankings?
Q. Do you update your website regularly with news, events, new products?
Q. Can you update your website regularly and keep it fresh and appealing?
Q. What is the one thing you would change if you could?
4. Your website doesn't have a clear and consistent navigation structure
Your website's pages should be easy to move through from one to the next. You should have a menu in a consistent location across all of your pages. Remember, you look at your website all the time so are familiar with where things are, but a visitor to your website will give you 10 seconds (if you're lucky) to show them what they're looking for and if they don't see the link they need or the menu options they have - they'll be heading for the back button and on to your competitor's website.
Q. Why use tabbed navigation?
Q. Have you asked people to use your website and give you some honest feedback?
Q. Would you like a professional, honest critique on how you can make your website better?
Q. You have 10 seconds to make an impression – don’t waste a second of that time.
5. Your website only works in Internet Explorer
It's amazing how many web designers still don't take other web browsers into consideration when developing a website. There was a time when the vast majority of website users used Internet Explorer as their web browser, but those days have gone.
The most popular web browser is Mozilla Firefox, which has over 50% of the market share. (Source: W3Schools) This means that if your website doesn't work or display correctly in Firefox, the chances are that every other visitor to your website can't access it. The simple reasons why a website may not work in Firefox and other web browsers is poor or outdated coding, which may have been the accepted way of designing at the time but has no become outdated, non-compliant and doesn't meet 2009 standards. Learn more about
the importance of a standards compliant website on our links.If you'd like to check your website, you can
download Firefox and give it a try. It's free and most people don't go back! Alternatively contact us to check it for you.6. Your images look pixelated and take ages to load
Website visitors hate waiting for web pages to load, and one of the main elements which affect loading times are images. If the images on your website s-l-o-w-l-y scroll into view, the chances are people haven't waited for them and gone elsewhere before they've even looked at your other content.
Pixelated means that they have been resized badly and the images are not clear and sharp.
7. Your website uses frames
The use of frames was once common around the internet but these days the flaws they have regarding search engines, accessibility and usability have led to knowledgeable web developers avoiding them. We can check if you website uses frames and is restricting traffic and users to your website.
8. Poor choice of colour scheme, element & structure
Colour selection is an major step in the design process that is often overlooked – if not altogether ignored. Selecting colours based on personal preference or just out of habit is far from the desired approach. Every colour and colour combination has a distinct set of meanings. There is great power in the way colours are used and what colours are used alongside them.
Elements come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and styles. Trendy approaches to pure necessity, each one has a purpose. Rounded corners, Icons, Badges, Tags, Gradients – the trick is knowing when to use them and when to lose them to enhance a design. Functional or decorative all the elements of a design must be unified by an overall aesthetic.
Structure in web design is essential, by looking at an assortment of structures we are quickly reminded of our infinite options. Modules, Horizontal Scrolling, Zoom In, Three Buckets – methods that produce extraordinary websites that make sense and have a reason. Simple options that can make a big difference.
Q. Do you know colour’s potential impact on your website?
Q. What difference does it make between rounded or straight corners?
Q. Why use Horizonal Scrolling?
9. You have any of the following
If you have any of these on your website this tells people that you have not updated your website for years. The message this gives to people reflects on your business.
Intrusive flashing images,
Animations
Automatic pop-up windows
Visible hit counter telling your visitors they are the 43rd visitor since 1999
Background music
10. Checklist
1. Low traffic visiting the site/don’t know how many visitors my site has.
2. Poor results in sales/enquiries.
3. Can’t update with new content.
4. Navigation is unclear and difficult to use.
5. Doesn’t work in Firefox
6. Poor image quality
7. Uses frames
8. need advice about colour schemes, elements and structures.
9. Still using animations rather than flash.
10. You would like a critique.
Ring us today and get some free advice. What have you got to lose.
We make websites better. It’s what we do.
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