Is your website losing your customers? Here are some facts that might act as a wake-up call: 81% of internet users hold a less favorable view of websites that aren’t updated. And 39% of internet users wouldn’t want to use a product or service if the website doesn’t look “fresh,” user friendly, or current.
Below are 15 sure signs that your website needs a serious upgrade.
1. You Lack a Custom Home Page
Your home page is usually the first impression of your website that visitors have. A poorly designed home page will reduce your crawl rate. It can also reduce the average amount of pages that your visitors see. Therefore you’ll want to choose a business theme with an appropriate design for your home page, such as Maywood or Barnsbury, to properly engage your audience.
2. You’re Reluctant to Share your URL
If you aren’t happy with your URL, then that’s a sign that you should have a new website. Your URL is important because it’s the face of your company. It should be something that you’re proud of.
3. Your Site Isn’t Secure
If your website doesn’t have HTTPs protocol, then you’re shooting yourself in the foot when it comes to SEO.
4. You Don’t Have a Branded Website Design
Ask yourself if your design reflects your brand. Things to consider are images, colors, logos, and typography. These all convey a brand’s values and create a lasting impression on people. You may want to choose a highly customizable WordPress theme for your website.
5. Is Your Website Outdated?
Or does it merely look outdated? Looks matter quite a bit sometimes. While website function is indeed essential, looking new and modern is also important – not like it’s a website from the early 2000s.
6. How Old is Your Website?
More than 5 years old is stretching it quite a bit. If it’s that old, then it’s very likely time for an overhaul of some kind. Websites have undergone many changes in the past 5 years. Technology, new rules from Google, and newly defined best practices have all had a major impact.
7. Is Your Website Mobile-Friendly?
Your website must be both mobile-friendly and responsive on all kinds of devices. 52% of all traffic online comes from mobile devices, according to Statistica. Furthermore, Google is even basing its rankings on mobile versions of websites rather than the desktop versions. Take an honest look at your current website. Would it be better to retrofit it with mobile-first techniques, or would it be better to build a new site from the ground up using mobile-first principles?
8. Your Website is Underperforming in terms of Traffic, Leads, and Conversions.
Results matter more than age here – if your website is getting results for your business, then there might not be any need for a massive overhaul. However, suppose you’ve seen a clear drop in traffic and leads. In that case, that’s a pretty good indicator that your visitors don’t see what they expected to find. In this case, you may consider doing an upgrade or overhaul of your website to get them to come back.
9. Your SEO is Lacking
There are hundreds of different ways that Google and other search engines rank websites. Categories such as user-friendliness, design, and website content encompass these factors. One factor that falls under “website content” is keywords. If you aren’t ranking for the most important keywords in your niche, then it’s probably time to make some changes. There’s a WordPress.com plugin specifically made to help with SEO that can help, and of course, there is Salt Manage, who can help as well.
10. Your Bounce Rate is Too High
The Daily Egg reports that most websites have a bounce rate between 26-70 percent. A bounce rate greater than 40% could mean that the website has navigational issues, poor content, or long page loading times. WordPress has website analytics that can help you find issues. Of course, having other humans look at your website to discover problems is also an excellent idea.
11. Your Competitors are Running Updated and Modern Websites
While it’s always good to do what makes your business unique and separates you from the crowd, there does come the point where you have to draw the line somewhere. That line is drawn at looks and functionality. If their website looks and works better than yours, then you’ll be at a significant disadvantage. So if your website needs updates, then get that done and watch your performance metrics improve.
12. Your Site is Lacking in UX
UX means user experience. If your website is to be successful, then you must please your users. If your website is hard to navigate and doesn’t offer interesting and engaging content, then your visitors won’t likely stay. Small tweaks might improve the visitor experience on your current site. Still, a website designed from scratch with UX at the forefront will probably come out ahead.
13. Does Your Website Load Too Slowly?
According to the Daily Egg, every 1-second delay in loading time can lower customer satisfaction by 16%. You can do a website speed test by using a free tool such as PageSpeedInsights. This tool will also show the underlying issues that are causing the slow website speed.
14. Making New Additions or Changes to Your Website has Become Exceedingly Difficult
Changes or updates such as posting blog posts, changing product descriptions, or posting updates for events should be simple enough for anyone to do. But suppose your site was created on a platform that’s now more difficult to use or that needs a third party to do even the most straightforward updates. In that case, you should strongly consider building a new website on a simple to use CMS (content management system).
15. Your Website Needs More Functionality
Are you missing some vital website functions? There’s eCommerce checkout, custom web forms, online appointment scheduling, etc. These are essential features for many people. A website redesign is a chance for you to add new features that are compatible with popular plugins on WordPress.com.
