Back in the day, you were ahead of the curve if your company had a website. Unfortunately, those days are long gone. Your website is an investment in any future achievements your business may get, and having a solid online presence is not an option – it’s a must. Your website is the method by which you will achieve your business goals, whether that is generating more leads or making customers happy. With that in mind, it’s time for a website refurb.

So how can you tell if your site needs an overhaul?

These days your business doesn’t just need a website, it needs a website that is designed well, easy to navigate and engaging. It has to meet the needs of your business and your customers.

10 reasons it may be time for your business to get a website refurb

Mobile ready

A growing proportion of users now predominantly access websites on their mobile devices. That means that it is vital to optimise your website for mobile usage, which has very different requirements to desktop browsing. If your website isn’t optimised for mobiles, it’s time to re-design.

User experience can make or break a business, and if you don’t want to lose your share of the market, you need to adapt and optimise to the latest trends in mobile browsing. Here at Castle, we offer a full range of website design services that will get your site optimised for mobile usage.

You’re still using Flash!

If your site still uses Flash, it’s a guarantee you are out of step. Flash is finished and has been for over 5 years. Both iPhone and iPad no longer support it, and Google, Bing and Yahoo can’t even read it, making it a poor choice when it comes to search engine optimisation. On top of that, users have to install a plugin (the latest version) to see it, which is a pain. Flash is difficult to use, build and sustain.

Low search engine rankings

Algorithms used by leading search engine providers have transformed over the years, and if your rankings are low on any given search engine, it’s a sure sign that you need to update. Previously, it was vital for SEO purposes to pad out your content with as many keywords as you could think of. Now, following Google’s Hummingbird update, it’s more about the novel, high-quality content on your site.

If your site content wasn’t created with current SEO developments in mind, or it’s hidden inside Flash elements or images, you guessed it, it’s time for an update. If you’re concerned about SEO issues on your website, whether related to Flash or not, our specialist SEO team can help you. Get in touch today to see exactly what we can offer.

Visitors not hanging around or not converting

There are some really good web analytics indicators to let you know if your current site is not performing as it should, such as a high bounce rate, low time spent on site, and low average pages per visit.

Similarly, if you want a good ROI from your website refurb but you’re not getting conversions, it’s probably time to reconsider your website design. However, you need to take your target audience and objectives into consideration. By specifying your audience and your objectives before you design and while working with your chosen development team, you will almost certainly see an upsurge in both leads and traffic.

It looks outdated

Web design developments are continuous and wide-ranging, and if your site is even a few years old, it might have started to look out of date. These days, it’s all clean design and straightforward navigation. If your website is a chaotic mess, it’s time for a new design.

It’s central to the business that consumers and prospective customers trust you, and a high-quality re-design can make this happen.

Slothful sites

Having a site that loads quickly not only ensures your customers stay but that they also have a good site experience. KISSmetrics recently stated that 47% of consumers have expectations that a web page will load in 2 seconds or less, and a whopping 40% of will ditch a site that takes more than three.

You are jeopardising any customers or potential ROI, if your site is sluggish, meaning they will give up and leave, plus you will also damage your search engine ranking. There are so many ways a developer can up your speed, and yes, it may be time to redesign.

Outgrowing Your Site

Your business will change and develop over time. Meaning a site that did its job in 2009 may not in 2018. If you don’t have calls to action, your navigation is too long. Or site visitors have difficulty finding pages or relevant content. The odds are you’ve got too big for your site. Which is a good thing, but time to design a new website refurb and grow yours some more!

Brand Positioning or Messaging Has Changed

If you’ve changed your brand’s position or message, then that might not be reflected by your current site and as your site is one of your most significant assets, it’s important to get it right. First impressions count and the first view a potential client will have of your brand. If the look or ‘feel’ of your website doesn’t align with your target audience and current message, redesign, so it does.

Content Updates Are Hard

Content management systems (CMS) have developed constantly over the years. And today, with the use of code there just isn’t an excuse. For not using one to manage your site content. For many reasons, it’s key to keep your content pertinent. Meaning you have to be able to edit it or pay a web developer to edit the code. When you have a site using a CMS, you’re the governor. If you can’t do this easily it’s time for a new site.

Renovating your website in a CMS is a sound move that will really empower your marketing line-up.

URL Embarrassment

For any of the things mentioned or even some that weren’t, if you’re ashamed to give your out URL, it’s unquestionably time to update that site! Our web development team here at Castle will be able to completely revitalise your site, including fixing those unfortunate URLs!

We can help your website refurb

So if you are looking to re-ignite your website with a new lease of life, our web design team can talk you through the process, and provide a no-obligation quote. Get in touch with Castle today and find out how we can help you.