Your website is your company’s lifeblood. In today’s service economy, customers want…no…DEMAND instant access to goods, services, and information, and if you are going to be successful, you had better be able to deliver.
But how do you know when your website is not everything that it should be?
Every so often, every company – including yours – needs to shake things up a little to attract new customers and to keep existing customers informed and engaged. No matter how wonderful your product or message is, it’s no longer enough to stand pat and hope for the best.
To help you make the most informed decision about your digital presence and how it affects your company’s bottom line, here are 6 Signs That It’s Time to Redesign Your Website…and maybe fire your website management company.
#1 Lower Ranking on Google and Other Search Engines
The algorithms used by search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo! promote websites that are relevant, up-to-date, and that deliver an excellent customer experience. On the other hand, outdated, poorly-maintained sites that are full of broken links and inaccurate information are penalized and rank much lower in the query results.
Rankings REALLY matter:
- Nearly 1 out of every 3 people performing a Google search click on the first result.
- Over 90% of click-throughs are made on companies that rank on the first results page.
- Less than 5% of click-throughs happen on the second page.
- By the fourth page, the click-through rate barely exists – 0.4%.
In other words, if your website isn’t up to par, nobody will even know you’re there.
Need to know about SEO? The experts at ClikIT can answer your questions.
#2 Compatibility Issues
If you have an older website, it may not be compatible with newer browsers and mobile devices. Viewing and functionality may be compromised on phones and tablets.
At the same time, you can’t favor one type of user over the other:
- In 2023, there was over 300% more mobile traffic than there was desktop traffic.
- There is approximately two-and-a-half times as much mobile traffic right now than there was in 2020, while desktop traffic has stayed roughly the same.
- Mobile users account for 233% more unique visits than desktop users.
BUT…
- Desktop users check out twice as many pages per visit than mobile users.
- On average, a desktop visit is 38% longer than a mobile visit.
- The bounce rate among mobile users is much higher than that of desktop users, 60% versus 50%.
The right website management company will prioritize both types of users.
#3 Poor User Experience
A good website makes it easier to move on to the next step – buying – not harder. Outdated content that’s no longer relevant to buyers, broken links, and confusing navigation are all extremely frustrating to both potential AND existing customers, so much so that many will abandon their efforts and look elsewhere – maybe someplace where it’s easier to buy.
Every single aspect of your website should be designed with the customer in mind.
Do your customers complain that your website is too hard to use? ClikIT can help!
#4 Lack of Credibility
Customers come to your website because you are supposed to be the experts who can answer their questions. If the content on your website is outdated, inaccurate, poorly explained, or perhaps worst of all, just a rehash of what your competitors are saying, it undermines your position as a trusted authority.
In other words, why should customers buy from you if they can’t trust what you are saying?
- Three out of every four customers prefer learning about a company through the content on their site instead of through Internet ads.
- 70% of consumers believe that companies whose websites provide accurate, relevant, and high-quality content actually care about building good customer relationships.
- Content marketing generates three times as many leads as traditional Internet ads.
When the content on your website establishes you as a reliable authority, you build the trust that is integral to the sale. Even better, customers will keep coming back, because they know that their questions will be answered.
#5 More Bounces and Fewer Conversions
Quick – do you even know what your website’s bounce and conversion rates are?
In fact, when is the last time that your IT management company had a conversation with you about those two very important numbers?
It boils down to this – if potential customers do not like your website, they will quickly leave and “bounce” to another site that is more attractive, informative, and easier to navigate.
Obviously, if they leave, they aren’t going to buy.
Your website is the tool that is supposed to turn prospects into customers. Every aspect of the site must be purposely designed with that specific purpose in mind:
- Layout
- Images
- Color Scheme
- Font
- Navigation
- Pages (About Us, FAQs, Services/Products, etc.)
- Content, Blogs, and Newsletter Subscriptions
- Contact Form
But the final step in converting a mildly-interested prospect into a paying customer is the all-important “Call to Action. The CTA should be highly-visible without being obtrusive, asked multiple times in multiple ways, compelling, and a logical progression that fully satisfies the prospect’s original intent.
But here’s the thing – you cannot ask for someone’s business if they do not like what they see, if they are frustrated with your website, if you have not established trust, or if you make it too hard to buy.
Does your website’s CTA blandly ask prospects to give you their contact information, or does it assume the next step because YOUR products and YOUR services are the best solution to their problems?
#6 Security Breaches
If your website has not been updated or redesigned in a while, the chances are very likely that the security measures are just as out of date. Nothing loses customers’ trust quite as quickly or leaves a bad impression that lasts quite as long as a security breach that compromises their private information.
Top website and design management companies should routinely reassess, and if necessary, revamp security protocols on a regular basis to protect both you and your customers.
Not Just Another Expense
Keeping your company’s website fresh, relevant, and optimized isn’t really an option anymore – it is an absolute necessity. It’s not yet another painful expense, but rather, a smart investment that if done correctly, brings in potential leads that become prospects, and then converts those prospects into customers.
The key phrase in the above paragraph is “done correctly”.
Take a moment, go to your company website right now. Try to look at it with fresh eyes, as if you are a first-time visitor. Now ask yourself a few questions:
- Do you like what you see?
- Is the site easy to navigate?
- Can you find answers to your questions?
- Would YOU buy from YOU?
This is a conversation that your current website administrator should have already had with you. If your measurable performance benchmarks aren’t being met, there’s a reason why. And if you cannot remember the last time your IT manager suggested positive changes, then maybe it’s time that YOU make a change.
