Website design is a key component to online marketing. It’s the place potential customers will visit first and is a huge factor in whether they decide to do business with you or not. That applies whether you are offering a service such as legal advice or insurance or you’re selling a product.
Appearance means a lot online. Here’s what happens when you get it wrong:
Customers Have High Expectations
We’re used to technology providing exactly what we need nowadays. If your website is difficult to navigate or doesn’t deliver what the customer needs, then they’ll be quick to head elsewhere. Static, dull looking websites are a thing of the past. Customers want to get the information they need fast and they don’t want to be held up because you’ve got your pages in the wrong place or you’re making it difficult for them to pay.
The Competition is Doing it Better
There’s always someone doing something better than you. Check around your nearest competition and you’ll no doubt see a couple of things you could be doing to make things work more efficiently. They might have updated their web design to something more modern and attractive looking. They may give potential customers all the opportunity they need to press the buy button or contact the company by phone. That means they’re likely to get those customers ahead of you.
You’re Not Mobile Friendly
Most businesses should have got the message now that you have to look good on mobile. If you have old website coding that doesn’t transfer onto the latest smartphone, you’re going to be missing out. Many consumers nowadays do their web searching on their iPhone or android rather than a traditional desktop or laptop. You need to ensure that your website has great usability on a range of different devices.
You Just Look Old
It’s like going to a sales convention wearing an old suit. You’re always going to lose out to the slickly dressed rep who’s taken time over their appearance. If you’re website looks like it was created in the mid-noughties, then it’s high time you had an update. Not only that, if you have old coding on your website it can raise serious security concerns, particularly if you sell a product and want to take payments online.
Slow Loading
Outdated coding and design can mean that your website takes too long to download and that can have a big impact for users. They are more likely to press the back button and search elsewhere when your site takes more than a few seconds to appear.
Is It Time to Update Your Site?
The rule of thumb is that you should look at updating your website at least every three to four years. Refreshing the design of your most valuable marketing asset is key for those businesses that want to continue to grow and thrive in today’s competitive marketplace. Updating content on a regular basis is also important for those who want to maintain their rankings on search engines such as Google.
The good news is that updating your website is no longer the expensive proposition that it used to be. The costs have come down in recent years because of greater competition and easy to use web development solutions that allow you to tailor a design to your particular needs. The damage that a poor performing website can do to your business far outweighs the cost of updating and creating a whole new design.
If your site hasn’t been updated for a while, now’s the time to take a serious look at how a redesign could benefit your business.