10 Signs it's Time for a Website Facelift

They say a diamond is forever, but unfortunately, the same can’t be said about a website. Back in the ‘90s and early 2000s, you were ahead of the game as a company if you simply had a website.

Today, your company doesn’t just need a website...it needs a well-designed, easily navigable, engaging website that meets the needs of your customers and your business alike.

According to Stanford University, 75% of people judge the credibility of a company based on the design of its website. And have I mentioned that website technology is evolving at record speeds?

Here are 10 reasons it may be time to update your corporate website.

1) It Doesn’t Work Well on Mobile

According to Smart Insights, over 20% of Google searches are performed on a mobile device, and when it comes to local searches, more than half are performed on mobile devices. In the United States, a whopping 25% of internet users only access the internet on a mobile device. If these stats tell you anything, it’s that the world has gone mobile, and if your website isn’t optimized, it’s officially time for a responsive re-design.

I wrote all about the 5 reasons why you need to make your website responsive in 2014 on the Pyxl blog, but the key is this: user experience on your site can make or break your business, and you don’t want to lose market share to the competition simply because you were slow to adapt to mobile browsing trends.

On the plus side, according to Econsultancy, 62% of companies that designed a website with mobile in mind saw increased sales, so going responsive is a win-win!

2) It’s in Flash

If your site’s still in Flash, I hate to tell you, but it’s been outdated for the past 5+ years. Not only do iPhone and iPad not support Flash, but search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo can’t read it, which means it’s terrible for search engine optimization. In addition, users have to install a plugin (and make sure they have the latest version) to see it, which really detracts from user experience. Flash is difficult to use, difficult to create and difficult to maintain.

Luckily, those who love the look of animations now have HTML5 at their disposal. Developers no longer have to rely on Flash to create interactive, animated features, and the best part is that HTML5 is compatible with all browsers and smartphones.

According to a CEI Survey, 86% of buyers will pay more for a better customer experience, which means having a strong user experience on your site could actually mean more revenue for you!

3) Your Search Engine Rankings Are Low

Search engine algorithms have changed quite a bit over the years, so if your organic search engine rankings are low, it could mean it’s time for an update. At one time, the key to SEO was to plug your content with as many keywords as possible. Thanks to Google’s recent Hummingbird update, today, it’s all about having original, high-quality content on your site, which is why sites with blogs perform so well.

If the content on your site wasn’t written with current SEO trends in mind, or it’s buried within Flash elements or images, it may be time for an update.

According to Search Engine Journal, 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine. Creating your site with SEO in mind will ensure that potential customers can find you online.

4) Your Visitors Aren’t Sticking Around and/or Aren’t Converting

If your web analytics show a high bounce rate, low time on site and low average pages per visit, that’s a pretty strong indicator that your visitors don’t find your current site useful for one reason or another.

Likewise, if you’re trying to see ROI from your site, and you’re not seeing conversions – either because conversion opportunities aren’t set up to begin with or your visitors just simply aren’t converting – it’s likely time to re-evaluate your approach to web and re-design your website with both your target audience and your goals in mind.

By having both your audience personas and your goals in mind before your re-design and working with your design and development team to map your site design to those, you’ll undoubtedly see an increase in qualified traffic and leads!

5) It Just Looks Outdated

Let’s face it: web design trends are changing rapidly, and if your website is a few years old, it may just look outdated. Maybe it’s an obvious thing like your copyright info still saying 2009, or you have a musical intro when a visitor lands on your site, or maybe it’s the whole site that’s the problem.

Websites have evolved quite a bit over the years. Today, it’s all about clean design and easy navigation. If your site is a cluttered mess that looks outdated, it’s time for a re-design.

According to a study by ResearchGate, 94% of people say that websites with good designs are more trustworthy. It’s important that your customers and potential customers trust you, and a strong re-design can help make that happen.

6) It’s Slow

According to KISSmetrics, 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less, and 40% of people will abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load!

If your old corporate website is slow, you not only risk annoying your customers (and causing them to give up and leave), but you also hurt your search engine ranking. There are lots of ways for a developer to speed up a website, so if yours is slow, it may be time for a re-design.

Having a fast-loading website will not only ensure that your customers stick around, but also that they’ll have a great experience on your site!

7) You’ve Outgrown It

Businesses evolve and grow over the years, which means a website that worked well in 2010 may not work so well in 2014. If your navigation is too long, you don’t have room for calls to action, or visitors have trouble finding the pages and content that’s relevant to them, chances are you’ve outgrown your current website.

The nice thing is, a new website could be just what you need to grow your business into the future!

8) You’ve Changed Your Brand Positioning or Messaging

Similar to the point above, if you’ve changed your brand positioning or messaging, it’s likely time for a re-design.

Your website is one of your most important business assets. It’s the hub of your online activity and in many cases the first impression a potential customer will have of your brand. If the look and feel of the site doesn’t line up with your current target audience and your current messaging, it’s time to update it so it does.

9) You Can’t Easily Make Content Updates

Content management systems (CMS) have come a long way over the years, so today, there’s no excuse for not using one to easily manage your website content without the use of code. For a variety of reasons, it’s important to keep your content relevant, which means you need to be able to edit it without having to bug a web developer to edit the code. If you can’t easily make content updates to your site, it’s time for a new one.

The good news is: when you have a site on a CMS, you’re in control. If you need to make a content update to support a campaign, it’s easy! Re-developing your website in a CMS is a great move that really empowers your marketing team.

10) You’re Embarrassed to Give Out Your URL

For any of the reasons mentioned above, or maybe for some reason I didn’t mention, if you’re embarrassed to give your URL out, it’s definitely time for a website update!

Your website is an investment in the future success of your business, and it’s important to view it that way. Having a strong online presence is no longer optional. In addition, your website can be the vehicle that helps you achieve your goals of better awareness, more leads and ultimately more happy customers.