Is it time for a website refresh?
A website refresh need to happen every 2-3 years at the most in order to keep up with current design trends and user experience. So when is the right time for a website refresh? This is probably one of the top questions that we get asked as a website design firm. There are several items to look at when thinking about a website refresh and we’ve listed the top 5 things to consider.
Your website isn’t mobile-friendly
This is by far the MOST important factor is deciding on a website refresh. Mobile is now the preferred way for most users to access websites and if your website isn’t responsive, you are missing out on valuable website traffic. In fact, “mobile first” rather than “mobile friendly” design is now the new buzzword in website design. Take a look at your current site on your mobile phone or iPad. Does the experience feel the same as a user would get on a desktop? If your site is unusable in mobile, it’s time for a website refresh.
Your website doesn’t have stunning images
2016 is the age of the visual website. Users today want a clean, sophisticated design with lots of images that pop and tell a story. In this mobile-first era, gone are the days of lots of text and small images. Images grab the reader’s attention and entice them to stay on your site. Let’s face it – attention spans are getting shorter and you have less time for your website to make an impact. Therefore, if your site is too wordy, it’s time for a website refresh.
Your website is cramped “above the fold”
Old website design dictated that all important content had to be “above the fold,” meaning the space that a user initially sees before they have to scroll. As a result, a website can feel very cramped and outdated. Modern website design is “long form,” meaning that while your above-the-fold content still has to make a good first impression, users are used to scrolling through a website. Does your website feel very cramped? If so, it’s time for a website refresh.
Your website is hard to manage
Another top reason that clients come to us for website refreshes is that their site is hard to manage. Old WordPress sites in particular were not designed for today’s website admin, and most businesses relied on their “web guy or gal” to update their site because they weren’t able to add images or content on their own. As a result, websites didn’t get updated very often which leads to outdated content and a bad user experience. We design websites that are easy to update and manage on your own. If your website is hard to manage, it’s time for a website refresh
Your website isn’t optimized for SEO
Are you not feeling the Google love? One reason may be that your website isn’t able to be fully optimized for search engines. Old websites often have trouble ranking highly for keywords because only the homepage may be optimized for SEO or not at all. Modern websites are designed with SEO as a top priority out of the box. In addition, many plugins can help optimize the content on each page so they can be indexed by search engines. If your site hasn’t been optimized for SEO, you need a website refresh.
There are many other reasons to update your website and it’s a good idea to have a consultation with us in order to determine your individual business needs. If you are looking for a website refresh, please contact us and let us help bring you into 2016.
