When is it Time to Redesign Your Website?

Let me guess: You woke up today, grabbed a cup of coffee and started to browse the web (I did the same, except I spilled my coffee). You looked at your website, and just weren't impressed. Maybe it was the layout, content or a gut feeling that your website isn't performing up to its potential.

Today, having a strong website is crucial to getting your voice heard. Technology is constantly evolving and likewise so should your website. Yet, many problems a website faces are underlying aspects besides its design (think the caramel center inside of a Rolo). Here are some things to consider when thinking about whether or not you should redesign your website.

You're Not Achieving Your Business Goals

If you're not achieving your business goals, its time for a website change. If people are looking at your site and don't like your layout, find the technology outdated, or simply are not engaged by the website and its content your business will suffer. Think of these as the ingredients of a pizza: your cheese, sauce and toppings, and your website as the finished pie

• Your goal is to have a nice, delicious pizza, but if your ingredients are wrong, then that destroys the whole pizza and you won't be eating anything delicious.
• Having realistic goals based on size and performance are key for your business, and if you are not reaching these goals, take a look at your website, you might need to make some changes.

You're Not Reaching Your Target Audience

Your website is the channel by which you communicate your company's goals, values and voice to your target audience. However, if you're not reaching the demographic that your business is focused on, or there's room to improve, look first to your website. If you're audience isn't being reached or sticking around, change your brand positioning and messaging. Doing so will help you

• Reach your targeted audience more efficiently
• Secure customer loyalty
• Generate more visitors and thus more leads

If Facebook never reached its target audience of college students in 2004, it would never have grown and been successful.

User Experience

A major part of how you retain customers is not just what you say, but how you engage your audience. If a website is not user-friendly, it is more likely to have less views. Some tips to keep in mind are

• Include creative imagery and innovative calls-to-action that draw your visitors attention
• Have all information easily navigable for the user, especially your contact information
• Embrace white space so that the amount of content is not too long and daunting
• Make sure font is not too small or too big
• Choose a good color scheme and catchy design

If you're website looks anything like Tolstoy's War and Peace in length, or is as bland as a Crown Vic (the minimalist cop car), users will have a bad experience and are not likely to come back

Compelling Content

Above all, content must be compelling. While a website must be user-friendly, it’s not enough to just have a cool layout. Include things like

• Customer testimonials
• Current industry trends
• Informative blogs

These will catch peoples’ attention like a new Terio dance move (sorry just watched that video about a dozen times). These will also help expand your visitors knowledge, make you an authority in your field, build trust and make visitors more likely to return to your site.

You’re Not Getting Enough Traffic or Leads

If you’re not getting as much page views or leads as you expect, your site and its content are probably not SEO optimized. I know SEO sounds complicated and extensive but in reality its not any more complicated than figuring out the new coffee machine at work.

• Optimize your website for search engines in order to rank higher on the results page
• Optimizing your website in these search engines generate more exposure and achieve higher numbers of visitors.
• Use keywords in your website's title tag, headings and images so that your site ranks higher in the search results

Incorporating these SEO tactics will make it easier for viewers to find your website and service, as well as generate more traffic and leads.

Technology Isn't Up to Date

Technology is constantly changing in today's world and thus adapting and adopting to new technology trends are imperative. The idea that you never stop learning rings true in the marketing industry.

• How old is the technology you use?
• Is there a newer version available to use?
• Does it run smoothly on a mobile device, tablet and a computer?
• Look for better systems that would improve the functionality of your website such as HTML5 or CSS3

Whether you like it or not, you must dedicate time to keeping up with technology trends and applications that will keep you ahead of the game.

Features and Functions

Like many sports fans, I often find myself playing coach with my favorite sports teams, weighing the value of every players contribution to the success of the team. Similarly, website owners should weigh the value of each feature/function on the website.

• Determine its usefulness
• Conclude whether or not you can improve them (if not get rid of them)
• Every bit of space should be used effectively for visitor awareness
• Any feature/function that is under-performing is taking away from the site's potential value.

Is it Obvious How Valuable the Website is to Your Marketing Efforts?

Today, computers give everyone the ability to have any information they desire all at their fingertips. Business-wise, web marketing is absolutely essential to business development and success. Moreover, having compelling content, new technology, and interactive features for your audience will create immense value and most importantly, more customers.

Update your website regularly so its search-engine optimized and you'll see increased traffic, exposure and leads for your business! Remember, websites have an expiration date. They last longer than a gallon of milk in the fridge, so don't forget to show them some love!

When did you decide to redesign your website? Let us know in the comments below.