The website is the heart of a business, making it the most critical asset to your company. It is how customers find out about you, where they purchase your products, where they hire you for your services, where they leave feedback, and much more. Fortunately, website design has evolved over time, so there are many options to choose from when it comes to a new website design.
If your website hasn’t had any major updates for over five years (or more), then you might be hurting your website more than helping it by letting well-enough alone. While you don’t necessarily need to make sweeping updates year by year, smaller updates should be made in that time to keep your website and content fresh as well.
An outdated website can harm your business in several ways — but how old is too old? Let’s talk about what ages your website and what you can do about it.
5 Signs You Need a New Website Immediately
When you need to create a website, the needs of your customers must be your priority. So many companies overlook these signs, and their lack of oversight means they’re potentially leaving money on the table in terms of conversion rates and future opportunities.
1. Your Website Loads Slowly
One of the main issues with older sites is that their pages tend to load slowly. Unfortunately, most people won’t wait around for your pages to load since they’re accustomed to receiving what they want so quickly. If they stick around, they’re likely to grow irritated when your graphics finally load, and your text is rearranged.
When people quickly leave your website, you get what’s known as a “high bounce rate.” Websites with this are less likely to do well on Google because they prioritize websites with faster load speeds. You don’t want this to happen to you since you can get tons of traffic from this search engine.
2. Your Website Doesn’t Reflect Your Brand
Over time your band is likely to evolve, but your website might not have. You don’t want this to happen because your website is frequently your visitors’ first impression of your business. Instead, you want to take steps to ensure that people remember you for having a high-quality website that aligns with your brand and speaks to your customers’ pain points.
Brands that claim they’re on the leading edge but have an outdated website can create a significant disconnect with their customers. When you notice that this is happening, it’s time to create a new website.
3. Your Website Looks Outdated
Anyone who hasn’t updated their business’ website in the last decade needs to create one immediately. By making your site more current, you’re giving visitors the impression that your company is up-to-date with all of the latest technology.
If someone visits your website and decides that they don’t want to work with you based on its aesthetics or content, then it’s not doing its job.
Even if your website isn’t full of varying fonts and colors, it may still fall short of today’s standards and trends. The best way to know if you’re falling victim to this is to take some time to look at your competitors’ websites. Honestly, think about how your website compares to theirs. If it falls short in any significant way, it’s time for a makeover.
4. Your Website’s Navigation is Confusing
Many websites have lots of menu options in their navigation bar. There are equally as many that have such a complex architecture they’re difficult to understand. Typically this happens because the website owner wants to provide their visitors with as many options as possible. Unfortunately, this doesn’t help your visitors. It only confuses them.
When visitors arrive at a well-designed website, they’ll intuitively understand where they should click. They’ll know where to find information about your products and services. This knowledge will help them quickly arrive at the information they want. In other words, this is a case of simple is best.
5. Your Information is Outdated
You should think of your website as an extension of your business. Anyone who arrives at it is searching for more information about it. Not providing visitors with accurate information may lead them to assume that you offer poor customer service or are lazy.
Some of the information you’ll want to double-check includes the following:
- Address and phone number
- Names of people who hold key positions within your company
- Products or services you offer are all listed there, and you don’t list anything you no longer offer
- Forms you use are up-to-date
Having outdated information in a technology-driven world is unacceptable. Your users expect to be able to access accurate information quickly.
The Best Website Design Portland Has To Offer
Your website is the best tool in your marketing kit. It will allow you to convert qualified leads into sales. In turn, you are getting more motivated clicks and creating a relationship with your visitors. If you aren’t a web design guru, don’t worry — you don’t have to build it yourself.
At Stoute Web Solutions, we specialize in creating custom website care plans, managed WordPress hosting, SEO, and web design services. Based in Portland, Oregon, we are ready to help your business grow and specialize in working with small and medium-sized businesses with affordable SEO services and web design.
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