Hopefully your website does a good job of bringing you business. But, if you’re like many business owners, maybe your site is underperforming. Maybe you don’t even have a website for your business. After all, you’ve been doing OK with word of mouth, right?
The truth is, no matter the niche your business resides in, you need a well designed professional website. Potential customers and potential partners will most definitely be searching online for your business before they ever consider stepping through the door.
This is only one of the many great reasons why you should consider redesigning your website. Let’s take a closer look at why an overhaul of your website may be in your best interest as a business owner in 2022 and beyond.
Questions to Consider Before Redesigning Your Website
There are several questions you’ll want to ask yourself when considering redesigning your website. Taking the time to be honest with your answers will lead you to the right decision here.
Does Your Website Represent Your Business Well?
You should feel confident in sharing your website with prospective clients. Don’t put this off until you “have enough time for it.” Doing so will potentially hurt your business more than if you didn’t have a website at all. Remember, first impressions are everything, and many people’s first encounter with your business is through your website.
While you may secretly be hoping that your customers won’t notice the flaws and choose to see your business for the positives, the truth is they’ll notice right away if your website isn’t performing well. With this in mind, you want to ensure that your website isn’t utilizing outdated technology (e.g., flash, outdated plugins, locally hosted video) or taking eons to load a single page. Providing a positive user experience makes a positive first impression.
Does Your Website No Longer Accurately Reflect Your Brand?
You need to be seen as a professional, credible business. For this to happen, you need your website to portray a strong brand image. This image needs to not only accurately represent your company, but it must also capture your brand identity in a way that is memorable and identifiable with your audience. When you have a strong brand image, you can stand out from your competition.
When your brand expands and starts offering more products or services, it’s essential to include them on your website. If you haven’t included these items on your website, you’re losing out because customers will get these products or services elsewhere.
Does Your Website Look Great on Any Device?
Design trends change frequently. Today’s websites aren’t only easy to navigate, but they’re also mobile responsive, meaning that they’ll easily fit the screen size of any mobile or desktop device.
A responsive design ensures a consistently great user experience, which is why Google tells its searcher whether your site is mobile friendly. Ultimately this will affect how much traffic you receive, and affect how you show up in the rankings, as Google favors mobile ready sites with mobile first indexing.
Does Your Website Convert?
When you notice that your website is receiving a lot of traffic, but you aren’t making many sales, it’s time to go back to the drawing board. As you do so, you’ll be able to improve your calls to action, better organize your site to give a logical flow to its pages and menus, and hone in on creating a streamlined pathway to purchase (or contact).
Does Your Website Offer the Security Your Customers Need?
People are concerned about their security online now more than ever. They’ve seen the damage that has occurred due to cyber attacks. Unfortunately, this damage doesn’t only happen to big businesses. Small businesses are even more likely to face attacks by hackers than larger ones.
Older websites that haven’t been updated are at a greater risk. If your website security is out of date, you expose yourself and your customers to data breaches that could not only harm your business, but your clientele as well. Make sure your site is using HTTPS instead of HTTP, as this signals to both Google and your customers that your website is meeting the minimum security requirements to be recommended to those searching for your business, goods, or services online.
You Don’t Have to Be A Website Designer. We Can Help.
At Stoute Web Solutions, we do not sell marketing. We promote growth. Most agencies prioritize foosball tables and downtown views over results and action.
We are not that agency.
Sure, we like to have fun. And we do! But we never put our Ping-Pong skills ahead of the people who keep us in business: our clients.
Our decisions impact thousands of businesses around the world. More importantly, there are real people counting on us to grow their business. We’ve been providing a wide range of services to clients from different sectors, which include Website Design & Development, Website Hosting, AdWords Management, SEO, and PPC Campaign Management right here in Portland.
It is a responsibility and a privilege we take seriously.
Find out how we can be an advocate for your business.