If you aren’t sure if you should actually invest in a new website design, this post may help you decide. Are you hesitant to send people to your site because you tried to DIY your site and didn’t have time to finish it? Or maybe it was finished, but you know it could look better, or that the information could be presented in a clearer way. Maybe it’s simply a bit of a mess if you’re being honest. Website shame is real, and it sucks.
I’ve seen my fair share and can say that website shame doesn’t only suck, but it also doesn’t have to exist.
HERE ARE MY TOP 4 SIGNS IT’S TIME TO INVEST IN A NEW WEBSITE:
- It looks outdated.
- Your current site isn’t responsive.
- You aren’t attracting the right clients.
- There are lots of errors & bugs.
There can be a lot of great reasons for investing in a new site (and some terrible ones, too.) These are my top four main reasons I would suggest that someone should invest in a new website if they’re serious about their business.
It looks outdated.
Design trends come and go. If your last design was based on a trend that is no longer “in,” you should rethink how to update the look. Your website’s look and feel needs to be true to who you are and who you want to attract. If it’s not doing this, or if you have website shame, you need a rebrand.
There’s no reason you should look like you haven’t been in business for the last 15 years.
There’s a big difference between retro designs and visitors to your site wondering, “is this place still in business, or did they forget to take down their website?”
Your current site isn’t responsive.
Your website should render properly so it looks great on all devices. Even if most of your customers are visiting your site on a laptop or computer, do you really want to irritate the ones trying to visit your site on their phone?
Your site should flow freely and look beautiful across all screen resolutions and sizes. Have you ever visited a website where the text was too small to read, or you have to awkwardly scroll side to side to read anything?
Or maybe popups appeared that you couldn’t close no matter how many times you pounded the screen?
Whatever it was that annoyed you probably didn’t make you want to deal with them again.
Don’t take that risk with your business.
You aren’t attracting the right clients.
If it feels like your competitors are snagging all of your dream clients there is obviously something missing on your website to hook and convert your visitors. Your website must be designed and built with your customer in mind. While there is a case to be made that a site should represent you, this should not (usually) be you personally, but should align with your business and what your clients are looking for in a business.
A lot of research and time should be spent to make sure that there is proper alignment with how you’re presenting your business and attracting your ideal clients. It may not be the only thing causing a lack of conversions, but if people are visiting and clicking away, there is likely a disconnect happening somewhere.
There are a lot of errors & bugs.
If you have any of the following issues, you need to fix your site ASAP:
Non-loading pages.
Broken links.
Missing images.
These are the kinds of errors and bugs that will make people repeatedly smash or click the back button because they will not trust your site. Nothing vibes “probably infected with malware and viruses” harder than a barely functioning website.
Hopefully you now have a clearer idea of whether you need a new website or just need to make a few changes. While deciding on whether you need a new site or not can be a more complex problem than I’ve outlined here, these are the top issues I’ve found that are the most important in determining whether a new site is needed or not.
A good first step to take is to obtain a website audit. A website audit can show you where you may have issues with your branding and messaging, as well as find any problems with the functioning of your site (broken links you’ve lost track of, large images slowing down your site, etc.)
If you’d like me to perform a site audit, don’t hesitate to contact me and ask for one! I’ll take a look to find out not only if everything on your site is functioning properly, but I’ll also check if your branding and messaging are connecting you to your audience. You’ll get a full written report at the end, as well as time to talk over the findings and ask questions.