The phrase “put your best foot forward” dates back to a 1613 English poem, but it’s just as relevant today for your website. For this reason you need to be absolutely certain that your presence on the Internet is the best that it can possibly be.
If any of these five can’t-miss signs that your website needs a redesign apply to you, get with it post haste.
1. Page views are down.
Hopefully you’re using Google Analytics and not a funky little counter at the bottom of your pages to keep track of visits. (By the way, if you have one of those counters, that in itself is a sign that you need a redesign ASAP!) If you’ve noticed that visits to your site are starting to tank, you need a redesign. Look over your SEO content and general design. The overall number of Internet users isn’t going down; it has to be something about your site. Updating your design and reworking your SEO content will help you to get back to a favorable search engine ranking.
2. Only Thomas the Tank Engine has more bells and whistles.
If your site is replete with auto-play music, flashing banners, and stars that float across the screen, it’s time to clean up your act. There’s a good chance that either you did the original design yourself or you were working with a web designer who didn’t know how to tell you to knock it off. Get a website redesign that’s clean, efficient, and in keeping with current design standards and aesthetics.
3. Conversions are down.
If visitors are getting to your homepage but not responding as you would like them to, it’s time to figure out what’s going wrong. As a corollary to this problem, try to get a feel for the kind of conversion rates others in your business are getting. If your site seems to be lagging, you need a redesign. Are you making it too difficult for visitors to know what you’re all about and what you would like them to do? Are key pages buried? Is the copy on your homepage crisp and compelling? Use Google Analytics to follow visitor flow. It might lead you directly to the problem.
4. Your site looks retro and it’s not supposed to.
The renaissance style of art lasted from about 1400 to the early 1500′s, spanning well over 100 years. Design aesthetics on the Internet often don’t make it past 100 days. The look and feel of the Internet is constantly evolving. If your site is one or more years old, it’s almost a lock that you need a redesign. Survey competitors’ sites that you admire, and take note of their updates. Find a local web designer with a track record and whose work impresses you for your website redesign.
5. Escaping from San Quentin is easier than refreshing your site.You need to keep site content fresh, especially if you want repeat visitors—and who in their right mind doesn’t want repeat visitors? This is why products like WordPress sites have become so popular; it doesn’t take much—or any—technical knowledge to keep them fresh. If you have a site that is a hassle to update, there’s a good chance you’re letting it slip. You might want to rebuild your site from the ground up to make it easier to work with.
These are basic functions and attributes you need to judge within your site. If you’ve been personally involved with the design of your website, you might want to pull in some unbiased friends or coworkers to review your pages. If your site isn’t meeting your expectations today, nothing is going to change tomorrow unless you start to make things happen right now.
Haha a counter. That is so 1999! I remember a couple years ago a client wanted a counter. I was like really! But, I put it on…lol.
If your not using a CMS or have to ask what a CMS is then you probably need a redesign. I hate when I ask someone how did they design their site and they tell me coffee cup…LOL LOL!
Garen recently posted…Browser Usage – How They Stack Up?
I install the Jet Pack plugin on my clients sites. I like it because of the Site Stats option. It is a simple way for clients to see their traffic. Most of my clients are the non-tech type, so this is much easier for them than Google Analytics.
Larry James recently posted…5 Can’t-Miss Signs That Your Website Needs a Redesign
Yeah I use it too. Easy for them to login and check on their stats.
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Garen recently posted…Browser Usage – How They Stack Up?
Hahaha, Larry. I totally loved the way this article was written. Definitely comical but never missed a point. Thomas, the Tank, funky little counter … genius!
And speaking of redesign, I’m pretty positive my blog needs one, and I don’t even know where to start.
Maricel recently posted…Despite the Loss, Manny Still Rules!
A few additional items that need mentioning: Splash pages, JavaScript content sliders and flash. We had a client recently that wanted us to put a splash page up because he thought it was “cool”. Luckily we were able to talk him out of it in the end!
Derek Dirks recently posted…How to Brand Your Photography Business
I have had clients insist on having Flash on the site, and when I tried to talk them out of it they suggest it was because I did not know how to do it. Thanks for coming back to visit Derek, and thank you for commenting.
Larry James recently posted…Seven Questions To Help You Find The Perfect Web Designer
That’s funny. Just last week we had something similar happen. A lady who is a designer friend of a co-worker told us she was getting too much work for her to keep up with and asked if we could help out. Then she asked us if she would have access to the flash files when we were finished…
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Derek Dirks recently posted…How to Brand Your Photography Business
Hi
Number 2 about to many bells and whistles I couldn’t agree more. I don’t know if it is me or not. But people seem to be trying to cram everything on one page now and trying to find what you have actually come to the site for just disappears and you end up just clicking back off these sites. Glad you said that as I have tried to keep my site more to the point and not to fancy. Just hope that doesn’t mean it looks dated.
Great advice thanks lee