Knowing When It's Time For A Website Redesign

It can be difficult to tell when you need to redesign your website. A redesign can be costly and take some time to do. Much needed thought on the design elements, color scheme, and layout needs to be addressed. Buttons and other components need to be shaped as well. Here we address when it's time to redesign a website and help you decide if it's necessary or not. 

1. Have you changed your branding?

Don't think of branding as just a logo. Branding encompasses the entire scope of your packaging and imagery. It's what your customers see. Rebranding is an opportunity to take a look at the current website and think about how the customer experiences it. When rebranding, a common goal of consistency is used throughout the new website.

If you've changed your branding on the website and still getting poor results you could very well be in need of a redesign. Always make sure your website design matches up with your branding.

2. Have you changed content?

When you start changing the content on the website, such as adding a blog or new section, changing the messaging or added an image gallery be sure to look at the design. New content can bring new users to the site but don't assume the new content will just "fit in" with the rest of the website. Sometimes this requires a whole new design approach.

3. Is the bounce rate high and time on page low?

It's a good habit to check the website's analytics. Understanding which pages are getting traffic and how long users are staying on the pages is the first step in analyzing engagement. Bounces rates are a good statistic but they can throw you off. By paying attention to where users are going and how long they are staying will help identify which pages users engage with and which ones they don't.

So why are visitors leaving the pages of your website quickly?

• slow loading speed
• poor functionality
• too many options
• poor design
  

4. Is the website too complicated?

When a website gets structurally complicated, i.e. navigational issues, search engines won't be able to crawl the website efficiently. It may take more time for crawlers to pick up on pages. If there are too many mixed messages and other content that is not related to the root of the site, search engines will not rank the content the website has.

What makes a website too complicated?

• navigational issues
• redirects that are unexpected
• functionality that isn't necessary
  

5. The website doesn't have a responsive design

A responsive and mobile design is key to having a successful website. Ever gone to a website on a mobile device and the entire page fits in the web browser and you end up zooming in on everything because the text is so small? This is a great example of a website that has no responsiveness. The implementation of mobile responsiveness is quite easy and doesn't take much effort.

Why is a responsive design important?

• It's easier for users to navigate around the website
• Users don't have to zoom, pan or resize browser windows
• Developers don't need to develop mobile-only versions of the website
  

6. Calls-to-action don't stand out

When calls to action don't stand out it makes it hard for users to understand where to go and what to do. Calls to action (CTA's) need to be present as high as possible. Most designers will add heavy content at the top and add layers of less critical content below. There can be many CTA's on a webpage. The key is to keep CTA's relevant to the content and action to be taken.

Where should calls-to-action be placed?

• As high as possible (some CTA's are in the navigation)
• Should funnel down the page
• Anywhere users should be directed to take an action

7. When the website doesn't speak to the audience

How do you know when the audience is liking the content? If bounce rates are high and time on page stats are very low (00:00:02) is an indicator that there is something wrong or the user wasn't interested. The goal of web design is to capture and keep attention. If users are exiting pages at first glance then this means the page doesn't grab their attention.

Things that help with grabbing the users attention:

• A modern layout that is relevant to the industry
• A color scheme that the target audience can identify with
• Using animation and motion graphics such as video
• Creating high-quality content that keeps the user's attention
  

8. When the website has an old look and feel

A web designer can certainly tell when a website hasn't been updated.

Common characteristics of outdated website designs:

• The website is not responsive
• Plugins and maps appear to not work correctly
• The site uses tables as a layout grid

So when should a company dump money into a website redesign? Every year is probably a little too much and every 10 years is just too long. If you wait too long then it will hurt the bottom line. Keep in mind the decision to redesign should be consistent with the content and align with the business's goals. 

For small businesses, redesigning a website can be a big decision. We see many small businesses passing on a website redesign because of the cost. However, it's important to know that often that cost will be returned over time. If you're seeking website redesign or if your website has an outdated look and feel, we can help with that. We offer Web Design services to help your business get the attention you desire. For more information on our services, fill out our Free Consultation or call 815-491-0786.