Do You Really Need a New Website?

Have you ever visited a store that was dirty, messy, cluttered or looked like it was built in the 70s? Chances are you didn’t shop there. In a day and age of technology, your website is your shop front. Your website is where potential clients and customers will form their first opinion of your brand and make the initial decision of whether this wish to do business with you or not. Here are the 6 signs you need a new website:

Your Site Is 3 Years Old

Three years doesn’t sound like a long time, in web development, it’s almost an eternity. Every year new best practices and new web design concepts come to the surface. Over the past three years, mobile usage has increased 15% and desktop usage has decreased 12%. Internet consumption is now primarily from mobile devices. So your website that was built three years ago is most likely optimised for desktop as that was the main source of traffic. Now most of your traffic will likely come from mobile and you will need to ensure your website is very mobile friendly.

Not Mobile Responsive

Having a website that isn’t responsive or mobile friendly is a cardinal sin in the web design world. We have transitioned to a world where mobile devices are the primary device used to access the internet for people. However, people still judge a website based on its desktop appearance and functionality and not its mobile version. We can’t forget that Google has already started testing mobile-first indexing on sites as part of its search algorithm. It Isn’t Search Optimised This isn’t necessarily a reason to redevelop your whole website, depending on how much content you need re-written it may be worth getting the copywriting included within the site build. Another reason you would redevelop your website along with this reason is if your site met one of the other five criteria we have listed for you. Being visible in your industry or niche is critical for people discovering you. If you can’t be found on Google your website just becomes a digital paperweight.

No Links To Your Social Accounts

Let’s take a step back first; then you need to. So now that you are set up on social media, you need to have it linked to your social profile(s). Just make sure it’s your businesses page and not your personal page where you share pictures of you vacationing on weekends and what you had with your sourdough bread for breakfast. Three out of four customers will investigate a businesses social media profiles before purchasing from them, so having your social media profiles intact is important.

Auto Plays Music

Let me paint a picture for you. Jenny has gotten into the office and grabbed her morning coffee, and she is looking for a new company to redevelop her website. She visits Will’s Wonderful Websites and all of a sudden her morning has been rudely intruded by some 90’s techno playing in the background. This music is now blaring out of the speakers. Jenny panics and closes her whole browser as she is unsure where this horrific sound is coming from. Guess what? Jenny isn’t coming back from round 2 of an ear blasting. Music that auto plays on a website is intrusive, to say the least. Just like a door to door salesman, it’s something no one appreciates.

You Like Your Competitors Site More Than Yours

If this is happening you really, REALLY need to consider rebuilding your website. The website you have made for your business should be your pride and joy; you should be willing to place in the office on an A3 print for all to see. On a serious note, if you like your competitor’s website more it probably means your customers are more engaged by it and more likely to do business with them over you.