If your website has been around for a while, chances are you may be considering some changes. Perhaps your business has moved on in the last few years and your site doesn’t reflect this, or it looks dated? If the site hasn’t had a technical update recently it may be sluggish on mobile – this could be causing you a problem as 40% of users abandon a site that takes longer than 3 seconds to load!
Commissioning a new website may seem like a daunting prospect and one you’re not ready to embrace. So how do you know when it’s really time to move on and focus your energy on a new build?
This is a question we’re often asked by our clients. Rather than offering an answer based on gut feeling, a quick website audit can help to make that call.
Here are the top 5 signs that it’s time to get a new website:
- Your sales leads or ‘conversions’ are dropping
Have you noticed that Google Analytics is displaying a steady decrease in users taking ‘action’ on your site? Perhaps the phone isn’t ringing as much, email enquiries are slowing down, or there’s a drop in online sales. If so, it’s likely that users are either becoming frustrated or your Google rankings in search are dropping because your site isn’t meeting the latest standards. Failure to keep on top of important technical updates will affect the bottom line. The overall ‘user experience’ is also something to consider; how easy is it to complete a transaction or get to where you need to go?
- Your bounce rate is increasing
Do people land on your website and immediately ‘bounce’ off without exploring any other pages? If the answer is ‘yes’, it could mean the content isn’t matching your users’ intent. Or the page is slow to react, and visitors are becoming irritated. Bounce rates, which can be monitored via your Google Analytics tracking, are a key indicator of user ‘satisfaction’.
- Your site doesn’t look good on mobile
People using mobile devices contribute to 59.4% of all website traffic globally*. Google ranks websites by their ability to deliver via mobile – this is referred to as ‘mobile-first indexing’. If your webpages suffer from any of the following issues users will mistrust the quality of the site and, by implication, the services you are offering:
- Pages takes ages to appear
- Content isn’t fully visible on screen
- Boxes ‘move’ unexpectedly so you click on the wrong link
- Navigation is confusing
- It’s unclear what to do next
- You’re starting to feel embarrassed to share your website
They’re easy to spot – websites that look like they’re stuck in the last decade. Unlike clothing, vintage isn’t an adjective you want associated with your online presence. If your web pages look busy, have lots of sliders, use standard text fonts and pastel colours then it is time for a refresh.
- It’s been over 3 years since you launched your site
It’s important to remember your website is an ongoing investment. If you haven’t touched your site in over three years, it’s highly likely you’ll need a new one as there have been several significant Google algorithm updates during that time that have changed the way sites are now developed. Remember, Google’s objective is to deliver the highest quality websites in search results.
Moving to open-source content management systems such as WordPress help to future-proof sites by being easy to maintain and update.
Still unsure if you’re ready to take the plunge? Why not contact our website development team – we have a range of off the shelf and bespoke price ranges to suit all budgets.
*Data from https://datareportal.com/
