The new year provides an outstanding opportunity to review your marketing goals, reflect on the process you’ve made over the past year, and revise your strategy as needed.
One particular area for reflection is your business website. If it’s been a while since you updated it, or if it’s not performing the way you might want it to, now might be the time to talk with your web design team about a revamp.
There are a number of common signs that your website is due for a revamp. Consider some of the most significant indicators.
8 Signs You’re Due for a Website Tune-up
1) Your site fares poorly on mobile devices.
The statistics are pretty clear: Well over 50 percent of online traffic comes via mobile devices. (Depending on which stats you look at, the number may be closer to 70 percent.) And yet, some websites still require their mobile users to do a lot of scrolling and squinting just to access the content they want. If your site still doesn’t prioritize mobile users, that’s evidence that you need an overhaul… desperately.
2) Your bounce rate is high.
When you access Google Analytics, you can view your site’s current bounce rate. This number reflects the number of visitors who hit your site and then “bounce” off it, leaving before they peruse your content further. A high bounce rate usually points to deep issues, whether that’s poor UX or simply unengaging content. Regardless, a website overhaul is necessary.
3) Your site has a sluggish performance.
Your website visitors don’t have the time or the patience to wait half a minute for your site to load. In fact, if it takes more than three or four seconds, you’re likely losing a lot of traffic. Check your site speed on multiple browsers and device types, and if it runs slow, reach out to your website team.
4) Your site is out of sync with the rest of your branding.
It’s normal for businesses to rethink their branding every so often. For example, you may be using a different logo, different color scheme, or different fonts than you did when you first launched. That’s all well and good, but it’s important to ensure your website is in step with your new aesthetics.
5) Your content is out of date.
From an SEO perspective, content is critical. Google rewards sites that regularly refresh their content, updating statistics or offering new perspectives. If your content is behind the times, or simply a little bit stale, it could be compromising your ranking potential. You may be able to inject new life into your website with a content audit or a more robust blogging strategy. But in some cases, it might make sense to seize the opportunity for a full site refresh.
6) Your website wasn’t designed with SEO in mind.
Speaking of SEO, there are a number of technical aspects that can affect your site’s Google visibility. These aspects range from metadata to site architecture. If your website isn’t generating the traffic or rankings you’d like, there may be some after-the-fact fixes available. More often, though, it’s best to start over with a site that’s designed, from the ground up, with SEO in mind.
7) You find it difficult keeping your site up to date.
Hopefully, you find it pretty easy to add a new company blog post, share an announcement on your home page, or update product listings as needed. But if the back end of your site is difficult to access or cumbersome to use, that’s reason enough to make an appointment with your website team. Ask about different back-end options that can provide you with more autonomy to update the site; you shouldn’t always need to contact the website design team just to make a simple update.
8) Your site is tough to navigate.
One of the surest ways to scare off potential visitors is to present them with a website that’s big, complicated, and hard to navigate. A good rule of thumb is that visitors should be able to find the information they need with no more than two or three clicks. If your navigation is too complicated, consider a website overhaul.
Schedule a Website Consultation Today
At the dawn of a new year, make sure you’re taking the time you need to reflect on your marketing and website assets. And if you’re due for an overhaul, get the ball rolling on it right now. Reach out to a website development team that can help you achieve your sales, marketing, and SEO goals.
At enCOMPASS Agency, we’d love to talk about your website needs. Feel free to contact our team whenever you’re ready to have that conversation.
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