Website redesign is often attributed to businesses who have become out of touch or outdated in the eyes of their
stakeholders. However, redesigns often go much deeper than that and can be done for numerous reasons.
Whether you are a web designer, an SEO specialist or a business owner who frequently commissions web content
creators for website maintenance purposes, a redesign can be a more than welcome step to take.
According to Top Tal, 62% of users who experienced poor UX likely won’t come back to your website again while
75% of stakeholders continue to judge websites based on visuals alone. This is why a redesign might be a welcome
change for your business whether the site performs well at the moment or not. That being said, let’s take a look at
some of the most prominent and telling signs why your site needs to be redesigned in order to generate leads and
revenue going forward.
1. It doesn’t communicate your brand values
The most obvious sign that something is wrong with your website is if it doesn’t communicate your brand values
adequately. Every brand has goals, business culture and company values which are associated with it and
differentiate it from other brands in the industry. It is pivotal then for your website to showcase your brand values,
visual standards and other recognisable elements for your benefit.
Michael Branch, Head of UX at Supreme Dissertations spoke on the matter recently: “Your website should be
distinctly yours even if you take away the logo from the navigation bar. Visual elements which correspond with
your product or service portfolio, such as colours, fonts, and graphic content, should find their way into your website
redesign to ensure its recognition at first glance.”
2. It takes too long to load
Website load times are also among the most pivotal elements when it comes to telling signs of an upcoming
redesign. If your website takes too long to load, users are likely to back out and find a different business to work
with altogether. According to Finance Online, only 30% of users will stick around and wait for 6 to 10 seconds for a
site to load while websites that load in 5 seconds or shorter have a 25% increased viewability on average.
Depending on the CMS you use and the type of products or services you feature on your website, you can do
several things to amend for long load times. Multimedia optimisation should be a top priority for eCommerce
websites and those that rely on a plethora of visuals, for example. Plugins should also be reviewed in order to
eliminate unnecessary bottlenecks and speed up client-side load times even further.
Platforms such as Evernote and Trust My Paper can also be utilised in terms of written content optimisation,
categorisation, and editing post-publishing. While a total redesign might not be necessary in this case, long load
times will require you to review your site both back-end and front to make sure everything works as intended.
3. It doesn’t stack up with the competition
Every industry has unwritten rules in terms of what works and doesn’t work in website design. Amazon and Etsy
are sites that dominate the eCommerce market and set website and UX standards for others to follow, for
example. Brands such as Coca-Cola and McDonalds do the same with their visual standards and recognisable brand
marketing.
The same can be said about the viability of your current website design solution in terms of the competition you
are stacked up against. Make sure to review your competition’s websites in terms of visual hierarchy, content,
navigation, load times and other elements which may factor into UX. Note the areas in which your website doesn’t
stack up and make those elements the focus of your upcoming redesign process in order to achieve more tangible
and concrete results.
4. It ranks poorly on search engines
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an important element of a website’s performance on search engines such as
Google, Yahoo, and Bing. In fact, even websites with less-than-stellar visuals or style guide can find success through
SEO and adequate content optimisation.
That being said, it is important to utilise tools such as Google AdWords and SEM Rush during and after your
website’s design process to allow for higher SERP ranking going forward. Coupled with writing platforms such as
Grammarly and Grab My Essay, SEO will allow you to create a UX capable of attracting new leads and revenue.
Ongoing SEO maintenance and revisions to your UI and navigation’s textual content will ensure that you always
perform meaningful website redesign activities without losing time or resources.
5. It makes user conversion difficult
Whether you sell products, online services or offer other forms of customer’s journey to your leads, the most
important aspect of that process is the conversion itself. However, if your website makes it difficult for users to
convert (aka give you personal information or money), then something is wrong with your UX.
Ideally, the conversion process should take no longer than 3-5 clicks from your landing page to the checkout or
subscription page, less if you run a minimalist website. Anything longer than that will make the users wonder
about why it takes so long to simply buy an item or subscribe to an email newsletter, prompting them to abandon
their initial conversion plans. If your engagement rates are low and abandonment rates high, it’s time for a website
redesign in terms of streamlining the conversion process to allow for much faster lead generation going forward.
6. It isn’t mobile-friendly
Lastly, responsive web design solutions are quickly becoming industry standard, making them essential for
businesses of all calibers. This trend is on the uptick due to an increase in popularity and accessibility of
smartphone devices and tablets with varying screen sizes and OS versions. In order to ensure that your website is
clearly visible and functional on a plethora of devices (including traditional PC), you should opt for a mobile
optimisation process with your redesign initiative.
Enabling mobile users to experience your website means that you should reevaluate your UI, navigation, CTA and
button placement, as well as your popup and ad strategy going forward. Most importantly, smartphone users
cannot read or experience long-form content like their big-screen counterparts, making writing and editing
platforms such as Best Essay Education and Hemingway a must. Find a creative and intuitive way to make the
most out of your website even with mobile optimisation looming on the horizon and your redesign process should
bear tangible fruit as a result.
To Be or Not to Be (Conclusion)
If you are not a web developer or designer by profession, it can be difficult to make the final decision to redesign
your website. Even then, the process may take longer than you think or require you to reevaluate elemental parts
of your website which may not perform as intended anymore.
However, growth without pain or difficulty never got anyone over the proverbial finish line. If you recognise your
website in one or several of the reasons we’ve discussed previously, consider website redesign as a means to solve
lead generation and brand awareness problems. It’s not just as a necessary evil or a popular trend – you may be
pleasantly surprised with the results of your initiative.
Author Bio
Angela Baker is a self-driven specialist who is currently working as a freelance writer at TrustMyPaper writing services and is trying to improve herself and her blogging career. She is always seeking to discover new ways for personal and professional growth and is convinced that it’s always important to broaden horizons. That's why Angela develops and improves her skills throughout the writing process to help to inspire people. Also, she writes for LiveInspiredMagazine, rounding out her professional writing career.