So, how long until you think about refreshing your website? What?.. You don’t plan on doing that anytime in the near future? That could be a bad idea and we have reasons why.
The online world is always changing. Some trends live for a few months or a few years, but eventually become outdated. Having a flash website use to be all the rage. Now hardly anyone has one, and flash itself as a web technology is being slowly killed off.
Let’s go a little more in-depth as to why it is a good idea to refresh (i.e., redesign) your website.
#1 New Designs Look More Professional
One simple question: would you meet with a client dressed like you belong in the 1970s? Certainly not! You would leave the impression that you’re stuck living in the past.
So why would you invite people to browse a website with an outdated look, old cheesy stock graphics, and that isn’t mobile friendly? It’s going to make prospects take a step back and think ‘Are these guys still in business?’, ‘Are these guys not doing too well?’, ‘I wonder if their products/services are as out of date.’
#2 Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly
When your site was first developed, changes are people only used their phones to text and make phone calls. No one thought that having your website be mobile-friendly was very important.
Nowadays, website traffic from mobile devices is exceeding traffic from normal computers. People read the news, connect on the social media, do research on companies, and make purchases, all from their smartphones. If your website is not responsive, you’re losing out on valuable traffic. Redesigning your website will prevent you from losing out on those prospects/sales.
#3 People Expect Changes and Improvements
Your customers loved your website because it looked innovative and professional. Time is passing, and what used to be innovative is now the norm.
After a while, your clients will expect to see a change or another iteration of/on your website. They want to see a new look and fresh content every once in a while.
#4 Old Websites Are Not Usually SEO Friendly
On-site SEO is extremely important so that your website is found and indexed correctly by Google. However, older websites don’t always have search engine best practices built in (well, not even all new websites do — but ours always will).
Only so much can be done for the SEO of your old website; you’ll reach a point where your old website is doing more harm than good.
#5 Your Call to Action Is No Longer Working; If You Even Had One
The notion of having a ‘Call To Action’ (CTA, for short) on each page of your website didn’t always get done. Nowadays you can’t simply have an informational website and expect someone to navigate over to your contact page.
On each page of your website you need Calls to Action to help push your visitors to that next step; whether it’s requesting a quote, giving you a call, downloading your white paper, subscribing to your newsletter, etc.
Have any other reasons why a business may want to refresh their website? Share your ideas below!
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