An effective website design is more than just an eye catching logo accompanied by some creative imagery. Your site can't just look good but it has to have a great user interface, be easy to navigate and generate leads.
Sometimes your website might be easy to tell it's due for an update just by looking at the design but there's a chance you might not know when the time is right.
If this is you, read on! Here are five easy ways to know whether or not its time for a website update.
1. It doesn't Work On Mobile
I am a bit of an analytic jockey. For instance, I know that out of the people reading this blog roughly 50% are reading it on their mobile device based on our current stats. That doesn't just relate to our business, this is the new standard in internet browsing. Mobile usage has steadily grown year over year with more people gaining their insight and information from a mobile device instead of a traditional desktop.
This means your website should be easy to view and navigate on both desktop and mobile devices. We recommend achieving this by building the site with a responsive design.
"Responsive web design is an approach to web design that makes web pages render well on a variety of devices and window or screen sizes. Recent work also considers the viewer proximity as part of the viewing context as an extension for RWD. Content, design and performance are necessary across all devices to ensure usability and satisfaction." Taken from Wikipedia
2. YOU've CHANGED YOUR BRANDING
The average website lasts a few years but a lot can change in that time within a company. If your company has gone through rebranding since your website was first built it should be obvious that a change is needed. Strong branding can make the difference between closing the sale or losing it to a competitor. Your website sends a very direct message to your audience about your company's message. An outdated website that doesn't match your current brand can be doing more harm than good. 
3. You're Not Getting Conversions
Leads are good, but thats just the first stage of your buyers journey. Conversions are what really matters. If your site is ranking well and bringing leads do you notice that it's stopping there or is your buyer moving down the funnel to the path of conversion? Having automation built in your website is a great way to move your leads down the sales funnel so they convert. Automation in 2019 isn't the same as automation in previous years. The sky is the limit with the type of automation you can develop into your digital strategy.
Keep an eye on your websites bounce rate, if it seems higher than normal then users aren't finding your website useful. A website with the customers goals in mind is a website that is going to convert.
4. Your website is inconsistent
Websites are always growing and evolving but this usually means there is more than one person working on the site. Having multiple developers or employees working on the site often leads to inconsistency. Things like different fonts, colors, logos, page formatting and navigation can make your site confusing to your visitors and ruin their experience. If your website is too far gone, starting fresh with a brand-new website design can eliminate these issues and create a consistent brand.
5. You've outgrown your current website
We see this a lot, and honestly we don't hate seeing it when we're the ones who built the original! If you've outgrown your website, you're doing something right. If your website hasn't been updated since your business growth then you could be losing out on even more growth! Your website should reflect where your business stands today and not when the site was originally built.
The Takeaway
Do you find yourself reviewing your website and agreeing that you suffer from a lot of the issues we have pointed out about? If so, it might be time for a conversation. Take advantage of our free whitepaper with 20 questions you should ask any web agency before hiring them. If they can't answer these questions properly, keep looking.