7-website-problems-that-tell-you-its-time-for-a-redesignIn the global marketplace of the Internet, your website is your shop front. It will often be the first contact potential customers have with you so it is crucial that you get it right. Even if you have been happy with your website for years, things change so quickly online that you might get left behind if you don’t modernise.

So how can you tell when it’s time to redesign? Here are a few tell-tale signs your website isn’t doing its job anymore.

#1 It has a high bounce rate

If you take your website seriously you should already monitor its usage. Services like Google Analytics allow you to see important stats such as visitor numbers, conversion rates and, importantly, bounce rate. This tells you what percentage of visitors leave the site without looking at any other pages. If it’s high, that’s a clear sign that your website is not inviting customers in. This great blog post tells you more about bounce rate.

#2 It doesn’t work for the customer

So your bounce rate indicates it is time for a change – but what needs changing? The first thing you need to ensure is that your website is user-friendly. Look at it from a potential customer’s perspective – can you navigate around it smoothly? Are products or services easy to find? Do all the links work? If it’s an e-commerce site, can you checkout without any glitches? Unless it’s simple to use, potential customers will get frustrated and go elsewhere.

#3 It doesn’t work for you!

As well as your customers finding the website user-friendly, it needs to work for you too! A good web design agency should be be able to create a site that you can maintain and modify yourself. If you have to go back to your designer every time a change is needed, this will cause delays in keeping your website up to date, not to mention the expense. Talk to your web designer about creating a site you can maintain yourself.

#4 It isn’t mobile friendly

This is a crucial point – if your website is not optimised for mobile usage, you’re missing out. Last year Ofcom declared the UK a ‘smartphone society’ as 33% of internet users now rank their smartphone as the most important device for online browsing, up from 22% in 2014. Other research from last year showed that UK retailers could be missing out on £6.6bn a year because their websites are not mobile friendly. If your website is not suitable for mobile browsing yet, you need to change that – fast.

#5 It looks ‘old’

Maybe everything is working just fine on your website but you’re still experiencing a high bounce rate. So how is it looking? Compare it with other websites in your field, especially those which are currently outperforming yours – is your aesthetic still up to date? If not, now is a great time for a relaunch with a fresh new look to draw in customers. Remember, this is your shop front – would you walk into a shop with outdated signage and shabby décor?

#6 It uses outdated software

Chances are your website currently uses third party software – tools that help your website run more smoothly, such as secure checkout widgets or video applets. If it’s been a few years since your last major redesign, have you checked that this software is still the best on offer? Is it slowing your website down? Are there updates or alternative products that could work better? If you do find that any third party tools need replacing, it may be that your site needs structural change to accommodate the new software.

#7 Your strategy has changed

Finally, it might be that your website just doesn’t match up with the direction of your company right now. If your marketing strategy has had an overhaul your website should keep up with the new plan. For instance, if you have decided to invest more in content marketing, a restructure may be needed to make your company blog more prominent and accessible. If you have rebranded you need to make sure not only that all images and text are up to date but that the theme complements your new logos. Chris Littlewood from Decor Clad, A UK based decorative cladding ecommerce retailer, set-up online so he could service more clients from around the UK.

Redesigning your website is a great opportunity to give your business fresh impetus. If any of the above problems ring true for you, it’s time to create a new site for your customers to enjoy.