5 Signs Your Exeter Business Needs a Website Redesign
Every serious business in the world needs a website. That’s as true in Egypt and Estonia as it is right here in Exeter. If you want to successfully promote your business online, and take advantage of the vast possibilities of digital marketing, then a website is the foundation of everything you need to do. It’s the keystone to any wider digital strategy that may take in social media, mailouts, promotional campaigns and more. And it remains the primary way most customers will engage with the business.
So, in short, if your business does not have a website you really need to get one. Without one, you may be missing out on the huge potential of digital marketing and sales. However, in terms of business errors, not having a website is followed closely by having one that urgently needs a redesign. If your site is old, stale, glitchy or just boring, it may be turning customers off to what you offer.
An out-of-date site does nothing to engage customers or convert interest into sales. But the key question may be: how do you know when your website is past its best? As experts in web development in Exeter, we have compiled this handy guide to the five main ways you can tell it’s time for an upgrade.
1. You’re no longer standing out from the crowd
Around the world, a new website is launched every three seconds. That’s around 250,000 new websites every day. With that scale of numbers, how is it possible to make your website stand out from the crowd? The answer is that it is harder than ever. But, while not every website can have a global impact, it’s still vital you employ the fundamentals of engaging website design to engage the customers you do have.
That means making your website more memorable and instantly recognisable. It must align with your brand and stand out from competitors with modern design and functionality touches. That means keeping abreast of design trends within web design to appear professional and trustworthy. If you look like yesterday’s news, customers will go elsewhere. You don’t want to come across as a business that does not take its digital presence seriously.
2. Slow load times
There are few things more annoying than when you’re browsing and find a site you want to look at only…..for…..it…..to…..take…..ages….to…..load. Google reports that most people will leave your site if it takes more than three seconds to load. That’s not a long time. You could put it down to a lack of patience in the modern world. And that’s partially true, but only because we are so used to having things work immediately. If they take too long, it’s easy just to go elsewhere. So, if your website is suffering from slow load times it will only be a fraction as effective as it could be. Try clicking on your own site, and, if it takes longer than a couple of seconds to fully load, it’s time for a refresh. And remember that your website needs to load quickly across all platforms and devices. With more and more people accessing sites on their phones, fast loading times should be a priority.
3. Branding is not consistent
A business's brand is usually in a state of flux, changing and evolving to keep up with the market around them and what their customers expect. Even legacy brands like Levi’s or Coca-Cola are making constant subtle adjustments. As your branding evolves, is the website being brought in line with this new strategy? If not, there’s a big chance it no longer accurately reflects who you are as a business. And this can be very off-putting.
Ideally, your brand should be consistent across everything you do and be memorable, too. From the moment a customer lands on your site it should be obvious to them what you do and what you can offer. That means keeping every aspect of the site up-to-date, including the blog, any new staffing additions, new services, projects and more.
4. It’s not SEO optimised
Search engine optimisation is a crucial part of online success, helping drive traffic and make your site more visible to search engines. Yet you would be amazed how many Exeter businesses have let their good SEO practices slide. As it generally does not work as well on older websites, it could even mean any SEO efforts you are making won’t be having the desired impact. That is another strong argument for keeping your site refreshed and SEO working at its most effective.
5. You don’t seem to be attracting the right customers
Ultimately, any website aims to bring the right people to your business and get them to buy your goods or services. The proof is in the pudding, and if you are not generating leads and sales through your website, it’s not doing its job. If you look at the analytics and find that people are leaving your site quickly or bouncing from certain pages it’s probably time to do something about it.
These five signs are universal and apply to websites all over the world. But if you are in the Exeter area, what can you do to remedy the problem? The answer is to get in touch with our team of website redesign Exeter specialists. We can help you assess why your current site is not working and then develop a design strategy to bring it bang up-to-date. To find out more about how we can help get your site working harder for your business, driving revenue and boosting branding, just contact it’seeze Exeter.
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