Many people believe all the work is done after designing and developing a website. However, websites require continuous, routine maintenance and Redesign. A website should, at the very least, load and show content correctly, but it also needs to present information in a clear and engaging manner to encourage user interaction. Your website must be updated in the age of instant gratification, both in terms of functionality and appearance.

Your website frequently serves as a potential client or customer’s first impression of your Business. While they might not notice whether your website is updated with the latest web design trends, they will definitely notice if it is slow, stale, or dependent on outdated features. Not only will customers notice that your website needs an update, but many factors that deter potential customers can also hurt your search engine rankings, making expanding your business much more challenging.

Not sure if it’s time to update your website? Our web design agency in Melbourne will share the basics of website redesign and some obvious signs your website is due for one.

What is a Website Redesign?

Let’s first understand the purpose of a website redesign effort and the difference between a redesign and a refresh.

A website redesign involves making substantial changes to the website’s overall structure, codebase, navigation, visual frontend design, content, form layouts, and sometimes the content management system (CMS).

A website redesign gives your site a new look and helps users understand who you are and what you do by using brand colours, logos, fonts, textures, and more. It is a fantastic time to review your messaging hierarchy to make it easier for visitors to find what you offer and increase your success metrics.

Now that you know what a website redesign is, let’s now go over the 8 signs your website needs redesigning: 

1. Your Website Is Slow to Load

When a website takes a long time to load, that is one of the biggest indicators you need to update or redesign. People no longer have the patience to wait for slow pages because of the level of competition and information available.

In fact, a study found that users have a tolerance limit for slow page loads of around 1.0 seconds and that if the load time exceeds 2.0 seconds, they are more likely to leave the page.

In addition, Google prioritises website load speed when determining how to rank pages, so if it’s slow, you’ll most likely drop in the SERPs.

You may assess the performance of your website and determine whether a redesign is necessary by using Google’s PageSpeed Insights test. Test it on desktop computers and mobile devices to ensure your website loads quickly on various platforms.

2. Your Website Is Difficult to Access on Mobile Devices

When was the last time you used a tablet or smartphone to browse your website? Mobile functionality is a crucial ranking feature in search results, just like page load times are because the majority of browsing is done on mobile devices. You’re losing customers and visibility if your website isn’t mobile-friendly.

First, examine how photos appear, if the text is easy to read, and whether buttons and navigation are obvious and user-friendly on a smartphone’s screen. Can customers quickly purchase something or fill out a contact form? 

Next, check your website analytics to see what proportion of visitors use mobile devices. If it’s less than 50%, your website’s difficulty in navigation may be to blame. Your business may benefit from a website redesign that prioritises mobile users to boost leads and revive them.

3. Your Website Is Not Keeping Visitors on the Page

Check your bounce rate when you look at your analytics, whether you use Google Analytics or another tracking system. This shows how frequently visitors leave your website after only viewing one page. Next, look at the typical number of pages visitors view throughout a visit.

A more than 70% bounce rate indicates that your website isn’t engaging users and encouraging them to explore other pages or look for additional information. Similar to that, average page views build on that. 

When you redesign your website, you can frequently expect a decrease in bounce rates, an increase in pages per session, and longer periods spent on the site, all of which increase the likelihood of conversion.

4. Users Have a Hard Time Finding What They’re Looking For

A website’s effectiveness and speed are crucial. Visitors want to be able to find what they’re looking for easily and quickly, just as load times are essential to UX. If they can’t find what they’re looking for or the conversion process involves several steps, they will likely go on to a competitor. Users should be able to quickly locate what they need, purchase, subscribe to, and request information without needing external assistance. 

It could be time to talk to a web design agency about cleaning up the design if your website receives a lot of traffic, but conversion rates are low and steadily declining.

5. Your Social Media Shares Are Experiencing Troubles

Social media postings and shares account for about 26% of website traffic, frequently higher for e-commerce websites. If the social media postings you share from your website aren’t receiving much engagement, your website may not be visually appealing. A dated website won’t have the necessary eye-catching content for images, previews, and shares to “halt the scroll.” To generate more high-quality shares and increase new traffic, update your website and enhance participation on social media.

6. If Your Business Changed

Although it may seem obvious, your website must adjust accordingly if your business has undergone a transformation. People visit your website to learn more about your business, discover what products and services you sell, and so on. If your website is outdated or lacks fresh content, you’ll miss out on sales and conversions. 

If you’ve undergone a rebranding, it will also reflect that. A redesign will guarantee that any new or updated products or services are available and visible.

7. Your Competitors Updated Their Website

Check out the competitors to evaluate how your website holds up. It could be time to update your website as well if theirs is responsive, modern, and in line with current trends. This doesn’t imply that you should copy what a competitor is doing, your website must be entirely unique, but it should demonstrate that you stay current with web design and business trends.

8. Your Website Doesn’t Help Your Business

When determining whether it’s time for a new website, this is the main factor you should think about. Your website has the potential to be an effective digital marketing tool, able to raise brand awareness and expand your clientele. 

If your website isn’t generating enough conversions, leads, or sales, it may be because search engine traffic isn’t high enough or because people aren’t converting once they arrive at your site. Either of these is a reliable sign that your current website isn’t doing its job for you and your business.

Website Redesign vs Website Refresh: What Makes Them Different?

As was already stated, a website redesign will involve significant coding and aesthetic changes. A website refresh, in contrast, focuses more on refreshing the visual style and feel of the website. The structure and codebase of the website will mostly stay the same, while some minor adjustments might be made.

The Layers of Web Design and Web Development

You must understand the layers of web design and development to create an effective design before deciding if it’s time for a website redesign. In order to create a successful design for your website, it is imperative that you understand these several layers and their components.

The Structure Layer, or the Content

The structure layer, or the content, is what your audiences will see when they visit your website.  The text and images in this layer should be readable. This page should be simple to use for visitors to browse your website effortlessly. Since it contains the layer necessary to finish the online document, XHTML is essential to web development.

The Presentation and the Style of the Website

The website’s presentation and style determine how the content appears to visitors. This is made up of the CSS, sometimes called “the style.”

The Behaviour

The layer that alters your webpage is the behaviour. Utilising JavaScript, which completes your page, is what you do when using Ajax or DHTML. The PHP scripts, however, will run if your reader clicks a command on the website if PHP is present in the back end.

Many people fail to grasp the significance of separating the layers. It is crucial that the layers on a web page you are creating are kept apart from one another. The only way to do so, which is the most effective method of separating your content from the layout of your websites, is by using external style sheets.

Using external JavaScript files has the same effect. You can gain advantages from breaking apart the layers of web design, some of which are as follows:

• Shared Resources – You can include an external CSS file on any page of your websites once you start creating them. You don’t need to be concerned because it won’t repeat the file as it changes on every page you utilise.

• Faster Downloads – When a client downloads a script, it is considered cached, making subsequent page downloads in the same browser quicker.

• Multi-Person Team – If you have entrusted many employees to work on a website, sharing the workload will be simpler. Permissions are simply no longer required. Thus there is no need to be concerned about them. You can hire many people to work on the CSS file in addition to the JavaScript file and hire additional staff for other tasks.
• Backward Compatibility – Since most browsers can’t use this kind of technology, notably with CSS, HTML and others, people who have websites that are developed with the development layers will benefit from backwards compatibility.

Keep Up with the Latest Trends with Digital Rescue

Your business will lose potential customers if you don’t have a functional and attractive website. While updating your website can help, working with a reputable web design agency like Digital Rescue can change the way you do your business and put you on a more direct path to success.

Backed by our 20+ years of experience in the industry, we can redesign your website so that it better represents your brand, offers a fantastic user experience, and is search engine optimised to help you rank higher in SERPs. Combining the web design expertise of Digital Rescue with a leading SEO strategy by TopRankings, it’s time to get the website you deserve. Get in touch with us and book an obligation-free chemistry call today!

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