How do you know when it’s time to redesign your web site?

These are the most common reasons from new prospects who call us for help:

“The site doesn’t reflect the current brand of our company.”
“Traffic to our site has dropped off over time.”
“We need a way to update our content in house.”

These are all pretty obvious reasons for a redesign. Many businesses though are not paying that close attention to their websites and how they are helping, or hurting, their businesses. So, if you haven’t been checking your statistics, or updating your site frequently, how do you know when it’s time for a change?

The first thing you can do, is to think about the very same things we think about when we plan for a successful redesign:

Is the site messaging clear and apparent?

Visitors should know immediately what your business does, and just an important, what makes you different from the competitors that they may also be looking at.

Does the design and imagery support your product and services and does it connect with your customers emotionally?

When your prospects look at your site, even before they start reading anything, they should feel like they “belong” there. This is accomplished by presenting design and images that support your company’s brand, and reflect who your customers are.

Are there Lead Generation opportunities?

For those site visitors that are not ready to contact us or purchase, are there opportunities for them to share their information with you so that you can add them to your lead nurturing campaigns?

Is it easy to contact you?

Does the site have clear contact information? A prominent phone number or a form that customers can easily access?

Content

This is a broad area, however the biggest error I see on websites, especially for service based businesses, is TMI….Too Much Information. The right amount of content is a bit of a balancing act though. Search engines need content to index in order to rank your site. Customers need enough information to understand what you do, who you do it for, and what makes you special. But, giving customers every bit of possible information, can overwhelm your audience and mask the important key messages that you want them to read.

So what is the correct amount of content?

If you close your sales after speaking to and/or meeting prospects, the goal is to get them to call you, or request that you call them for more information. For some businesses, prospects may require detailed information before calling. For them, you can include this information as they navigate deeper into the site.

You can offer lots of helpful content that may not be directly about what you sell in the form of blogs, articles, white papers, etc. If done properly, this content helps with your SEO efforts, and allows prospects to see you as a valuable resource and an authority in your field. This content marketing approach is beneficial and not to be confused with “selling content.”

Is the Site Mobile Friendly?

Mobile accessible sites are becoming the norm, rather than the exception. More and more people are using tablets and cell phones to research products and services. If your site is not mobile friendly, then a redesign is definitly in order. Mobile friendly sites can be either responsive designs, or separate mobile sites. Either way, you want mobile users to have a positive experience and to be able to find you online.

For more help with your website, you can always request a free consultation from one of our experts. Just CLICK HERE or call us at 914-762-0900.

photo credit: billsoPHOTO via photopin cc