7 Signs It’s Time to Update Your Website
A good website is an invaluable resource, both to you as a small business owner and to your clients. First and foremost, your site helps get your name out there to attract new customers. Secondly, it’s an easy way to relay imperative information—like your address and phone number. And thirdly, it allows you to interact with current and prospective customers to build a loyal client base. But an old or outdated site can be as much hindrance as help! Is your site out of date?
Is Your Website Out of Date? How to Know It’s time to Refresh
Your website’s design can significantly impact its ability to properly market your business. Poor design can lead to poor user experience. Pages that load too slowly, confusing menus, or features inaccessible to certain users can all turn visitors away from your site—which ultimately means losing a lead.
Is your out-of-date site costing you clients? Here are some surefire signs it’s time for an update.
Your pages load slowly
How long does it take to load a page on your site? If your user has to sit and wait for your site to load before they’re able to use it, they might not bother to stick around. In fact, according to the Daily Egg, every one-second wait can reduce user satisfaction by 16%!
Not sure if your page is loading slowly? Try using a tool like PageSpeedInsights, Web.dev, or GTmetrix to see how your site stacks up—and where there might be room for improvement.
Your site isn’t mobile responsive
Did you know that over half of internet traffic comes from mobile devices? That’s right—so if your site doesn’t work (or work well) on a phone or tablet, you could be missing out on a LOT of potential clients!
What does it mean for a site to be mobile responsive? In short, mobile responsive web design allows your site to reformat itself as the width of a screen changes. In responsive web design, text and images might automatically resize or columns might stack. Nothing should overflow off the edge of the screen or require the user to scroll sideways to view information.
If your site doesn’t function well or is hard to read on a phone, it’s definitely time for an update!
Your pages are out of date
When was the last time you updated your site’s main pages? If it’s been a few years, chances are, it’s probably time to make some updates. Updating your site regularly ensures that your information is up to date—and your clients are getting the most recent data. Keeping your content relevant and timely is a good way to ensure accurate communication and build your reputation as a reliable source for information.
Regularly updating your site’s content is also a good way to build your SEO. If search engines like Google notice that your website hasn’t been updated since 2015, they’ll likely rate more recent content as more relevant than yours on search results pages.
Your bounce rates are high
Are users clicking on your site… and then leaving without visiting any other pages? This high “bounce rate” could be because your site is confusing or out of date.
According to a study by RocketFuel, most sites see bounce rates between 25% and 70%. A rate between 26% and 40% is great. Rates from 40% – 55% are pretty average. Anything above might be worth a closer look—is your navigation confusing? Is your content out of date? Do your pages take too long to load? All of these things could be causing users to “bounce” away from your site.
Your SEO is weak
SEO—that is, Search Engine Optimization—is a big part of having a website. Unless you use your site solely to communicate with existing clients, you want your information to be visible to users out on the internet that you might not already know—or that might not know you. To do this, you need to work on your SEO.
If your site isn’t ranking for search phrases related to your business or content, it’s probably time to take a look at why that might be. It could be that your content is out of date, or maybe you haven’t been using the right keywords in the right places.
Your conversion rates are low
Your website should give clients and would-be clients a variety of ways to connect with you. This might include filling out a contact form, downloading online resources, or subscribing to emails. All these are ways to convert visitors into leads.
However, if you’re seeing a lot of visitors but not a lot of leads, it could be a sign that something needs work. A fix could be as simple as strengthening your calls to action… or might require something a little more in-depth.
You lack functionality
Is there a feature or functionality you’d like to have on your site? Maybe you want users to be able to book appointments or buy products. Maybe you want to collect data through online web forms. Maybe you want to start a blog. Whatever it is, if your site lacks that functionality, it’s definitely time to consider a refresh!
Need Help with a Website Update?
Ready to bring your website into the modern era but not sure how to get started? We can help! At Corridor Consulting, websites are a big part of what we do each and every day. We can help you get your site running smoothly—from fixing CTAs and improving SEO to updating your design to improving your overall functionality. Give us a call today and let’s talk about what we can do for you and your business.