30 March 2023 Luke Keil Last Updated: 09 February 2024 6 signs you need a new website For a long time, a website has been an essential tool for businesses to enhance their online presence, reach out to a broader audience, and drive sales. However, merely launching a website and hoping for the best does not guarantee its success in the long run. To stay competitive in a constantly evolving online landscape, it is crucial to keep your website updated and optimised for both users and search engines. This involves regularly assessing your website’s performance and making necessary adjustments to ensure that it remains relevant, engaging, and user-friendly. While search engine optimisation (SEO) can help improve nearly all website’s visibility and ranking, there are instances where a complete overhaul may be necessary to meet your business goals and adapt to changing market trends. In this article, we will highlight the top six signs that indicate it’s time for a new website for your business, enabling you to make informed decisions that drive growth and success. Changed branding or message As businesses evolve and grow, it is common for their branding or messaging to undergo changes to better align with their vision, mission, and target audience. However, it is crucial to ensure that these changes are reflected consistently across all touchpoints, including your website. An outdated website that does not reflect your updated brand identity or messaging can be detrimental to your business’s image and credibility. A website that resonates with your audience and effectively communicates your message can significantly enhance your brand awareness and customer engagement. Therefore, it is essential to consider a website redesign to align your online presence with your evolving brand strategy. A new website not only signals your relevance and modernity but also provides an opportunity to incorporate the latest design trends and functionalities to create a more engaging and immersive user experience. Not mobile friendly In today’s digital landscape, mobile devices have become the preferred mode of accessing the internet, with over 50% of users relying on their smartphones or tablets to browse websites. You guessed it: this means it’s crucial for businesses to ensure that their website is mobile-friendly, i.e., optimised for any screen size and orientation. An unresponsive website that fails to adapt to different screens can lead to a poor user experience and drive potential customers away. This is particularly true for businesses that offer e-commerce or other online services, where a smooth and hassle-free mobile experience is essential to drive sales and retain customers. For example, if your website is not mobile-friendly, users may have difficulty navigating through your site, zooming in and out to read content, or accessing your contact or checkout pages, leading to frustration and abandoned purchases. It’s important…no…imperative to assess your website’s mobile-friendliness and consider a redesign to improve your user experience, maximise your online reach, and boost sales. No calls and enquires As a business owner, your primary objective is to generate leads and enquiries that translate into revenue. However, if your website is not delivering the desired results, it’s essential to investigate the root cause and take corrective measures. Several factors can contribute to low enquiry rates, including a website that fails to engage visitors, a confusing user interface, or insufficient information. For example, if your website lacks clear calls to action, critical information is buried deep in your site, or your contact details are difficult to find, visitors may quickly lose interest and seek alternatives. It could even be down to indexing issues within Google – a whole problem in and of itself! Additionally, if your website’s content, design, or functionality does not resonate with your target audience, it can lead to a low conversion rate and missed business opportunities. Therefore, it’s crucial to evaluate your website’s performance regularly and consider a redesign if necessary to optimise its potential to generate leads and enquiries. A new website can be tailored to meet your specific business goals, incorporate the latest design and technology trends, and offer a seamless user experience that fosters trust and engagement with your target audience. Lacks consistency Consistency is a critical factor in building a strong brand identity and creating a memorable user experience for your website visitors. An inconsistent website can be a significant turn-off for potential clients, who may perceive it as a reflection of your business’s overall quality and reliability. A website that lacks consistency can manifest in various ways, such as broken links, mismatched designs and graphics, inconsistent content tone, and navigation issues. These inconsistencies can create confusion, decrease credibility, and discourage visitors from engaging with your website or contacting your business. For example, if your website’s colour scheme or font choices differ across pages, visitors may find it challenging to establish a visual connection with your brand, leading to low engagement and retention rates. This means it’s crucial to ensure that your website’s design, content, and functionality align with your brand guidelines (you do have brand guidelines right?) and offer a consistent experience across all pages and devices. A redesigned website can provide an opportunity to re-evaluate your brand identity, refresh your visual elements, and create a more cohesive and memorable user experience that drives engagement, trust, and loyalty. Loading times too long In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, users have come to expect quick and seamless experiences across all online platforms, including websites. Slow loading times can be a significant barrier to delivering an optimal user experience and achieving business goals, such as generating leads and conversions. If your website takes too long to load, visitors may quickly lose interest and move on to competitors’ sites, resulting in missed opportunities and revenue. Long loading times can occur due to various reasons, such as large image or video files, outdated website technology, or poor website optimisation. Therefore, it’s critical to ensure that your website is optimised for speed and performance to meet users’ expectations and boost your website’s rankings on search engines. Oh yeah – did we mention that speed is a ranking factor? A revamped website can leverage the latest design and development technologies, such as responsive design, caching, and modern web hosting, to ensure fast loading times, enhance user experience, and drive business growth. Hard to navigate A website’s navigation is a critical element that directly impacts user experience and engagement. A complicated, confusing, or hard-to-navigate website can frustrate visitors, leading to high bounce rates, low conversions, and negative brand perception. On the other hand, a well-designed and intuitive navigation system can enhance the user experience, increase engagement, and boost your website’s effectiveness in achieving business goals. A website should have a clear, consistent, and logical navigation structure that guides visitors to the information they need within a few clicks. This means organising the website’s content into meaningful categories and subcategories, using descriptive labels and concise text, and providing easy-to-find calls-to-action. For instance, a website that requires users to dig through multiple pages to find the information they need, or one that lacks a clear hierarchy of information, can lead to user frustration and abandonment. A website redesign can provide an opportunity to reassess your website’s navigation and optimise it for a seamless and intuitive user experience. By leveraging the latest design and development practices, such as user testing, responsive design, and visual hierarchy, a revamped website can offer easy navigation that engages visitors, builds trust, and drives conversions. Do you need a new website? A website is a powerful tool for businesses to attract, engage, and convert potential clients. However, to maximise its potential, a website must be optimised for user experience, search engine visibility, and your unique business goals. If you notice any of the signs we’ve discussed, such as outdated branding, slow loading times, or hard-to-navigate pages, it may be time to update your website to keep up with the competition and meet your clients’ expectations. At boxChilli, we happen to specialise in creating bespoke, modern, and highly-effective websites that align with your business needs and branding. Handy right?! If you’re ready to take your online presence to the next level, get in touch with us today to discuss your website redesign project. Our team of experts will guide you through the process, from initial consultation to launch, ensuring a seamless and successful experience. Don’t wait any longer to unlock the full potential of your online presence – contact us now and let’s get started! Back to blog list About the Author Luke Keil Design & Development Director Luke’s day-to-day roles aren’t limited to only designing easy to use and functioning websites, but also managing the Design & Development teams ensuring websites are created and maintained to a high client satisfaction. Luke comes from an extensive background of lead design roles and has been working in the industry since 2010. His many successful roles have covered a wide array of design industries from Branding and Packaging Design to Print Design, Web Design and UX. In his spare time Luke likes to create illustrations for t-shirts and is aiming, in the near future, to restore old rusted motorcycles to their former glory.