It’s no secret people love things that are new.
Whether it’s something you need or just want, there’s a special feeling about having something new. But often our websites get left behind with all these changes. You’ve got a new office building, new brand and new customers, yet your website still looks like it did 5 years ago. It doesn’t function properly, doesn’t appeal to your customers and certainly doesn’t match the image you’ve spent so long creating.
If you’re nodding along as you’re reading this, that’s the first sign your website probably needs a redesign. After all, you and your company have grown, why shouldn’t your website? In this article we’ll cover some of the main signs to look out for when deciding if your website needs a redesign.
What do you mean it doesn’t work on mobile?
If this can be said about your website, go out and get it redesigned. Now. We’ll wait.
This is a key sign your website needs a redesign and a key sign that you’ve been missing out on a range of customers. In this day and age, the vast majority of internet users view and use websites on their mobile phones. If your website doesn’t work on mobile or is too difficult to use, that’s a surefire way to frustrate your existing customers and send new customers running. Now more than ever it’s imperative that not only does a website work on responsive devices like tablets and phones, it also provides users with an enjoyable experience while doing so.
Who was this website made for?
Making sure your brand and message appeals to your target audience is very important and your website should be no different. If you want to utilise your website as the great marketing tool it is you need to make sure that not only does it function well, it also captivates your target audience. It needs to relate to their interests and also to the reason they’ve come to your website in the first place. If you’re selling the latest in experimental technology yet your website looks like it was built before the first steam train, you’ll struggle to keep users on your site for long.
Well everyone else is doing it…
Just because everyone else is doing something, doesn’t make it right. But sometimes, it does.
Looking at your competitors websites to see what they are doing is a good way to see if your website needs improvement. If you can see a recurring “theme” across the different websites, you can be pretty sure that whatever they are doing is working and could work for you too. It could be a simple change of redesigning how your key services/products are displayed, or as complex as redesigning your entire website with a cleaner, crisper look to match that of your competitors. Keeping track of what your competitor’s websites are doing will ensure yours doesn’t get left behind.
How is this ok?
Sometimes a website just looks ugly. It’s outdated, it’s clunky, it doesn’t convey the message you’re trying to send and it’s an affront to the eyes.
It’s never a good feeling if this is the sign that your website needs a redesign, but sometimes the truth can hurt. These days we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to things that visually look incredible and a website should be no different. A website doesn’t need to be a boring landscape of information in times new roman font. With the right colours, the right structure and the right feel, your website can be a place people want to explore and keep coming back to. If everyone else’s websites are beautiful, don’t you want yours to be as well?
The Final Straw
By now, you’ve probably got a good idea if your website has some (hopefully not all) the warning signs that it needs a redesign. Maybe your website worked for you in it’s time, but now it’s not up to scratch. Maybe you’ve secretly known all along that your website was in dire need of a revamp.
Don’t let it get you in a panic. Even here at Digital Meal, we took a look at our old website one day and realised it had to go. It wasn’t sending the message we wanted to send and it certainly wasn’t growing alongside the rest of us. So we redesigned it, from top to bottom. It seems to have worked as well.
If you think your website could do with a redesign or a revamp, get in contact with Digital Meal today to see how we can help.
