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Signs that You Need a New Business Website

4 Jun 2020 Digital Marketing

One of the questions we are asked by business owners is, “When should I redo my website?”. In order to properly answer this question, we often have to examine the current website to see where it excels and where it falls short.

As web design and development experts, the team from FirstPage Marketing understands how important it is to have a website that performs well for your business’ goals. That is why they have put together a list of 7 typical signs that you need a new business website.

1. The Website is Stagnant

While the process you undertook to build your current website produced a great result, you may have found that your business’ website has not aged well over time. In comparison to newer websites, your current website might look lacklustre and feel old. That is because new websites are built to be lightweight and fast loading, as well as to take advantage of new coding techniques that offer better experiences for viewers.

New websites are also optimized for Google and designed to convert viewers into customers. What was once only available to companies with huge budgets is now available to those with smaller budgets.

Find out if your website is optimized for conversions.

2. The Website Does Not Function Properly

If you have an older website, chances are that it was built as an online brochure for your business. While the website may have served its purpose well for a time, it might also cause issues when it comes to updating your current website, as newer technology may not be compatible with it.

Modern websites can have online stores with encrypted connections, allowing products to be safely sold directly to the user. Other functionalities can be added to a modern website like chat bots for interacting with viewers, content management systems for editing website content, and analytics for understanding viewer habits. If your current site cannot easily integrate these features, it is time to upgrade.

3. Viewers Do Not Interact with the Website

If you have started to notice that more and more users are leaving the website without taking any action, it may be time to get a new website. Viewers may choose to leave the website due to a number of different factors, including outdated content, lack of usability on mobile devices or tablets, or because the website still uses outdated technology like Adobe Flash, which newer browsers no longer support. No matter the reason, when the bounce rate continues to climb, it is time to redo the company website.

4. The Website is Not Generating Enough Leads

When the current website for your business first launched, there is a good chance that employees, friends, and family members were impressed, and that people began to slowly find the website online. Over the years, things may have changed to the point that the website is no longer being found through organic search results and throwing more money into digital marketing is not working.

New websites are designed to drive the viewer to action, resulting in an increase in leads; however, they also require on-going optimization to keep them performing well against your competitors. If your current website has not generated the amount of leads it once did, it is time to get a new website.

Learn how to boost your website’s local search rankings.

5. The Website is Not Mobile Friendly

If your current business website does not display well on mobile devices, such as tablets or phones, odds are that you will lose a lot of potential customers. Since the majority of users today view websites from a mobile device, getting a new website that displays well on mobile devices will create a better user experience and increase the odds of users converting into actual customers.

6. Website Edits are Too Expensive

If the information on the website has become outdated and you have found that hiring a website company to update the content is too expensive, getting a brand-new website might be the ideal solution. Newer websites are available with content management systems (CMS) that make it easy for anyone to edit the content on the website. This means that upgrading to a new website will allow you to be in complete control over the website content, so that it can be kept up to date at all times.

Find out if WordPress is the right CMS for your new website.

7. The Company has Changed

In the event that your company pivots, the current website may not be suited to your new operations and adjusting the code might be more expensive than starting from scratch. If this is the position you find yourself in, make sure to talk to a professional web design company to find out if keeping the current website is a feasible option for the business or if you would be better offer getting a brand-new site.

If three or more of the items on this list apply to you, it is probably time to find a web design company like FirstPage Marketing to help you determine if getting a brand-new website is the best solution for your business. To learn more about the different signs that you need a new business website, get in touch with the web design and development experts from FirstPage Marketing today.