Does your business website excite you?
If you have to pause and think about it then stop reading and give us a call. Start building a website that you will proudly share and invite prospective clients to browse through. Create a site that will promote your business, and help you make more sales. Otherwise, what’s the point of this modern marketing tool, of the time and effort you’ve poured into it if it isn’t growing your business?
Simply owning a website is no longer sufficient. Users are savvy to the ways of the web and are more attentive to detail. There are so many brands and businesses competing for attention that slapping information on a web page is seen as lazy. It’s imperative that you maintain your website. Keeping it looking fresh, modern, and relevant to users and search engine algorithms (SEO).
Unsure if your current website needs an update? Check out the following 7 reasons your website needs an update in 2020. Also, be sure to give us a call for free pricing and consultation on website design for business.
1. Not memorable
A fresh look for your website creates a lasting impression. Nothing shouts “successful relevant business” more than a well-polished site with new content. Stay ahead of your competition this year while giving the client’s a reason to talk about you. A new site is a great way to bring new eyes that could convert to ongoing clients for 2021.
2. Doesn’t reflect your brand
Are you getting inquiries from the types of customers/clients you want to work with? If not, you aren’t positioning yourself in the market correctly. Be sure to curate your work. Do you no longer offer a service (or no longer want to?), then remove it from your website. Select your best, fresh images of the type of projects/clients you want more of) and put them in the main slider of your home page. Immediately, this will filter the eyeballs on your site that are and aren’t a good fit for your business. Make sure ALL of your content is consistent, including colors, fonts, icons, etc.
Be sure your message is clear. Do you know how to represent your brand? Can you and your employees explain it in one sentence? If you can’t then you need to clarify your brand message! We offer a brand guide, a document that coaches you step-by-step to clearly talk about your business, what you do and how you help your customers. Lingo will entice new customers and keep them coming back year after year.
3. Nobody knows how to use it
“Old school is cool” no longer applies. If you have trouble finding things on your website, you can be sure that your customers NEVER will. If that one cool “flash” animation no longer runs, the code is probably outdated and will slow loading speeds. It may not even be compatible with some of the newest browser updates.
The bottom line here, if it’s been more than 5 years since you built your site, start looking for website design inspiration and a fresh template.
4. There’s too much! Or too little.
If your website feels a little empty, only taking up a small portion of your browsing screen. It’s time to update! The opposite is true too. If there are too many pictures or text, or if you look at your website and then have to look again, there’s too much content. We know there are a lot of good things you can say about your business and many technical things that customers “just don’t get.” So, you feel the need to explain it in detail. That’s fine, make a separate web page that does just that. Simplify your website to make your message stand out.
5. Mobile Friendly
If you don’t have a mobile-friendly website, update NOW! Even if you do have a responsive or adaptive design, you still need to keep up with the newest trends for your business.
60% of website traffic is now mobile. For sure, users will be looking at your site on their phones. This is even more likely if you have any sort of social media presence for your business.
6. Security Issues
Did you know google requires all websites to have SSL as of 2019? Otherwise, your site won’t be shown properly. New or old, any website can be hacked. This is a stressful experience especially when you lose information. However, older websites rely on old technology. This increases the chance of a security breach.
7. SEO Updates
Think of SEO as the engine that powers your website through all of the online traffic. The more power your engine has, the better chance it has of reaching your potential audience first.
Search engines (think Google) love fresh content. Do you have a blog? Every time you update your website, Google and other search engines recalculate your site’s ranking. If you keep your content updated, with consistent high-quality your chances of getting noticed increase. This is probably one of the most important reasons to update your website.
How we can help
The point of this article isn’t to convince you to update your business website, just cause. A website redesign is an important and demanding process, which requires time and effort. Your website exists to promote your business, help customers discover who you are as a brand, let them get a taste of your brand’s personality, and finally get them excited to buy from you!
We build sites unique to each business with up-to-date tools and plugins worthy of your vision. We want your business to succeed! And we’re here to help through the entire process. Call us today to book a free consultation and we’ll help you get the most out of your website and branding.
