To our returning readers (who may have noticed) and our new visitors… Welcome to our new website!! We recently performed a website upgrade and redesign to highlight some new services and features, and most importantly create a better experience for you guys when you visit! Having recently redesigned our website, we decided to write this article as a follow up to our previous article “Top Seven Things to Consider When Doing a Website Redesign”
How often should you consider a website upgrade?
A website upgrade / redesign happens based on 2 factors. The customer’s needs or your needs. Considering a website redesign can arise from many different things like, lack of website options, faulty controls, or maybe you’re looking for something more modern and fresh. Whatever your reasons you might want to make sure the redesign is worth it. In order to help you decide if not is the right time to give your website a face lift, consider some of the following.
Should you do a complete website redesign or just update it?
This should be the first thing you ask yourself. Just because you can redesign a website does not mean it is totally necessary or you should. Just by updating your site and performing maintenance you can improve the look and performance. When your site does require an update or a new service that is affecting its overall functionality, you should be all means take the steps needed to update it.
Content and your website
Content is something that needs constant updating in order to stay current. Producing fresh content and revising old content will have a positive impact on your SEO efforts. Updating content usually does not have to involve a website redesign. Checking out trends in your industry, and looking at what your competitors are up to will help you determine if your design is having a negative impact on your site’s success, or if it’s simply a lack of up to date content.
When was your website published?
If you can’t answer that question, you most likely require a website redesign. The web is constantly updating and evolving itself with newer and better technology. Browser updates and the increasing number of devices that sport internet browsers, means that your website needs to be able to adapt too many different standards. All this could mean that your website which performed like a Ferrari when it was designed back in 2000 is probably clunking along like a 1971 pinto at this point.
Can I go from A to B to C than back to A without losing my mind?
Users visiting your site or any site in general have very little patience (no offense). If a user can’t easily find what they need on your site, or the design is a turn-off, they might hit the dreadful “Back” button and move on to the next site. So what factors can you address to keep your visitors from bouncing out of your site faster than a bacon greased chicken from a fox den?
- Is your website visually boring or confusing
- Is your content or products outdated
- Is it hard to navigate through the site
Are you mobile friendly?
If you answered “no” this should really light a fire under you to consider a website redesign. The amount of internet users who visits sites and actively use their mobile devices to research things is increasing enormously. The accessibility of mobile devices is largely responsible for the growth of mobile users. Most studies indicate that the amount of people who access the internet from mobile devices will overtake traditional desktop users by 2014. Clearly this is where your audience is so this is where you need to be. There are two effective ways you can make your site mobile friendly. The first is, you can create a mobile website that is specifically designed for mobile users based on the look of your current site. The second and arguably best way to make your site mobile friendly is through a responsive design. A responsive website has the ability to adapt to most if not all screen resolutions. Elements resize and reflow ensuring the best display, navigation, and performance for your visitors.
What I hope you take away from reading this.
In order for you to stay competitive, fresh, and relevant your website should be updated as frequently as possibly. When I say updated I’m referring to your websites content, fixing issues, and adding or deleting features. As for a complete website redesign I would recommend visiting that idea every two years, give or take. Newer technology is constantly being introduced, so it’s best to keep up to date with this to create a better website and user experience.
