10 Signs You Need a New Website
Houston Small Business Websites
Redesigning your business website is a large undertaking. Review the list below to determine how likely a candidate you are for a new website. We’re definitely not trying to give you website envy or diagnose a need that isn’t real. This is simply our list of signs you should look out for when thinking about getting a new website.
#1. Your website speaks the WRONG message
Just recently I was speaking with a potential client who wanted a new site. One of his biggest concerns was that his site lacks a clear message.
#2. Your website doesn’t have a CLEAR purpose
The most important aspect of a business website is to facilitate the business to achieve the overall company goals. Typically, this translates into a few common online goals like building credibility, increasing leads or sales, supporting marketing efforts and providing valuable information.
#3. You can’t update your OWN content
If you have to hold your web designer’s cat hostage to get changes done to your site in less than two weeks, then it’s probably time for a new site. The fact is, most sites today are built on content management systems (CMS) that allow an average non-technical person to easily manage simple things like text and image changes. A CMS should be a standard part of your website management experience. We use WordPress as our standard platform of choice for speed, ease of use and development flexibility. Whatever you use, just make sure you’re using something that makes your life easier, not harder.
#4. Your site looks OUT of date
It’s been proven time and time again that a person’s perception of your company is directly affected by their perception of your website. Think of your website as a virtual storefront on main street.
#5. Your website has very LONG load times
In the world of rich media, most websites have overcompensated with a huge amount of unnecessary bloat.
#6. Your website lacks a consistent look and feel
While this might not seem like the most obvious sign of a redesign need, it’s important that people consider it.
#7. You can’t FIND your own website on Google
We’re not talking about your most competitive keywords. We’re simply talking about typing in your company name in Google and searching for your website. Typically, with most companies, they should be in the top 5 results for their own brand name. If you simply can’t find your site in Google, you can officially start worrying. Customers tend to search in google rather than bother remembering a domain name. Most of our client sites’ highest search terms are ALWAYS related to their company name. Showing up for your company brand should be a non-issue… is yours?
#8. The site has mistakes, typos, and OLD information
Over time a website can simply become defunct. Typically, we find an inverse relationship with the age of the website versus the level of interest in fixing any blatant site errors. (I kind of liken this to the idea of getting a scratch on a new car versus an old beat up car). Perhaps your entire board of trustees have since moved on or maybe you have expanded your service offering to include a whole new range of products or services. The idea is that the information is full of mistakes, inconsistencies and old information and it has to go. Basically, in with the new and out with the old.
#9. Does your website work on ALL browsers?
If your website was built during the 90’s, you might have a note somewhere at the bottom that says, “this site works best in Internet Explorer 6.0+”. This is a dead give away that you could be having formatting problems in newer browsers. The problem with browser display problems is that typically, if you could see the problem, it would be fixed. Be sure your web developer supports all the latest browsers before signing a contract.
#10. Are people FINDING you from your website?
Depending on your company goals, online goals and “calls to action”, your mileage may vary on the results you expect from your website. If you’re an e-commerce website, traffic and conversion is the matter of staying in business. In a referral-based industry, a website helps drive warm referrals to the place where they are ready to contact you. Is your website getting traffic? Is that traffic quality traffic? Are people contacting you from your site? Are they quality leads? Of all the signs that you need a new website, this is the one that I’m hesitant to easily say you need to “redesign the site”. Before you decide on a new site, you might want to consider other factors such as site traffic and conversion rates.
Source: GlideDesign
About LaraNet: We are a web design firm focused to help you to grow your business and communicate with your customers and prospects using two simple but powerful tools: 1) Interactive Website and 2) Internet Marketing Strategy on social networks like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc… Whether you want to work with just a web page, or launch or improve your presence on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn or communicate with your customers through newsletters, or improve the location of your business in the search engines through Search Engine Optimization, or start marketing your products or services online, in LaraNet we can help you.
