Do you remember when the earlier Iphone generation models were rolling out? At the time, the devices looked futuristic, sleek, and just plain out sexy. But then the next year came around, and Apple dropped the next best thing, unequivocally drawing all the “oohs” and “ahhs” and everyone seems to suddenly forget about the previous model. Unsurprisingly, this pattern repeats itself year after year after year.

With technological advancements and innovations in place every year, some of the coolest phones, computers, and softwares seem to suddenly become obsolete. Today we want to focus on website designs. There is no question that at one point, your website may have been the latest and greatest, but as technology and design continue to evolve, it’s vital to keep your site looking new and fresh.

If you’ve been following our blog in the past, you would have heard us say that first impressions matter numerous times – and we’ll say it again. Business success is all about first impressions and your website, more often than not, is the first thing people encounter about your brand. Some people believe that simply just having a website is good enough, but we can not stress enough that investing in a website redesign will be beneficial in the long run. Here’s 6 reasons why you should strongly consider a website redesign this year:

1. Your Website Design Is Outdated.

This may come as no surprise. According to Forbes, a study was conducted to determine which factors influenced web surfers' trust of one site compared to another. Results showed that of all the factors mentioned for rejecting or distrusting a website, “94% were directly related to the web design elements, while only 6% were related to content.” Not only do websites with poor design elements come off as unprofessional, but their bounce rates are substantially higher.

We commonly hear people say that even though their site might be a little outdated, they have been doing business with certain clientele for years, and they know their brand and that’s good enough for them. But what they do not account for is that having a subpar website design actually increases the bounce rate and lowers conversion rates, ultimately, being detrimental to new business generation. More importantly, having a website that adheres to modern day security protocol, functionality, and responsive plugins actually increases the consumers trust in the brand opposed to an obsolete site.

Now it’s also important to understand that what may be attractive to you, may not be attractive to someone else. A lot of business owners who may have an emotional attachment to their site that was developed years ago, may not want to make any site innovations or upgrades although the data says otherwise. It’s important to keep in mind that as time evolves, so does technology, and so does the demand to see the technology being implemented into businesses.

2. Shows Willingness to Invest in Yourself and Your Business.

A brand who’s willing to adapt is a brand who’s willing to survive and thrive. We all experienced the global pandemic and the havoc it brought on the economy and our businesses. However, the businesses who decided to pivot quickly and innovate their businesses operating playbooks and marketing channels were those who were able to overcome the adversities the pandemic presented.

Think of it this way: if you are not willing to invest in your own company and brand, why should others want to invest in your products or services? Continual improvement in your business and brand illustrates that you care and that you are making an effort to stay up-to-date in modern day trends.

3. Your Current Website Is Not Mobile Responsive.

We cannot stress enough how important this one is. If your website is not mobile responsive, you might as well be living with Fred Flinstone.

Google and other search engines require websites to respond to a mobile first index. In other words, if your site is not following the modern day security and search engine optimization (SEO) protocols, then your website won’t even populate on the front pages of Google.

Honestly, in this day and age, having a mobile website should be a no brainer. Not only does just about everyone and their grandma have a cell phone, but a lot of the branding is integrated across different platforms and channels like social media, website, email, and more. Check out these stats, on why a website and SEO plan matters.

4. Your Branding Is Outdated.

This is a goodie. More often than not, a company's brand image evolves as their market position evolves. A lot of the time a brand may lose its consistency and will have to modernize their tactics. More specifically, if your company has gone through a rebrand, you’ll want to upgrade your website to reflect those changes. Check out these 4 tips to developing your brand image.

5. Your Competitor's Website Is Superior to Yours.

In business, it’s all about gaining market share and having a competitive advantage. Think of it this way, when Amazon started capitalizing on the wholesale of ecommerce, Walmart failed to transition into the ecommerce market (early on) until it was almost too late. If they were proactive, they could have been the main powerhouse here- who knows?

Here’s another way of looking at it: Look at your website, now look at your competitors. Now put yourself in your target audience's shoes and unbiasedly, ask yourself which site do you trust more or would you want to do business with? If you think your competitors’ site has the upperhand then a website redesign is long overdue.

6. Your Website Just Doesn’t Work.

There’s no need to complicate this one. If your website doesn’t work, you will not get any web traffic, therefore, it will be nearly impossible to get any business. I’m not just talking about websites that get a 404 error but I am talking about websites that take forever to load, navigational links and buttons that do not work, offers are outdated, and sites whose layout may not be optimized for modern day browsers. These issues, my friends, are no bueno. Neglecting this for too long will substantially prove to be detrimental to your brand and lead generation efforts.

According to Hubspot, over 63% of marketers were planning to invest in a website upgrade in the last year. If you think now is the time for your business to invest in a website redesign, we’d like to offer a helping hand and expert council. Get in touch with one of our web design experts today and we will customize a site that’s perfect for your business and its needs– all the way from the content on the site like text, images, videos, and design layout elements to the backend elements like SEO, responsiveness, and functionality plugins. Be sure to take advantage of our 10% off website redesign if you schedule a consultation before 2/28/21.