How often should I redesign my website?

I realise the bias in a web designer writing this article but this is a question I get asked a lot, more so in the last few years. With design & technology trends evolving so quickly it doesn’t take long for even the best designs to start looking dated. Gone are the days of set & forget websites where you could launch and consider a revamp 3 years later. In order to stay current, our websites need to as well.

We all know how important first impressions are and your website is often the first place people will go to check out your business before making contact. When it comes to websites, people do judge a book by its cover. So, an outdated website can often come off as unprofessional and influence how a customer perceives your business.

For me personally, I can’t help but wonder that if you are neglecting such a vital asset to your business, what else are you neglecting??

I know I’ve completely written-off businesses before based on their website and I’m obviously not the only one…

Check out these stats:

1. It takes about 50 milliseconds for users to form an opinion about your website
2. 38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the content or layout is unattractive
3. 75% of consumers admit to making judgements on a company’s credibility based on the company’s website design.

Don’t stress, keeping your website up to date doesn’t mean that you need to invest thousands re-developing it every few years. There are plenty of smaller things you can do to keep your website fresh and get the most out of your original investment.

If it’s already beyond that, yes a full redesign may be on the cards (which I’ll go through further down). But first I’ll discuss some smaller things you can do to postpone that for as long as possible.

How to keep your website working well & looking great:

• As often as time allows, flick through your website and make sure you’re happy with the content. Perhaps update images with some newer ones and tweak some of the writing.
• Ensure all your products and services up to date. Remove any you’re no longer offering and add in any new ones.
• Same goes for your portfolio; an outdated portfolio could leave people wondering if your products are outdated too.
• Try to add in new testimonials/reviews when possible, they provide social proof and demonstrate that your service is still top notch. If you don’t have any, ask for them! Not many people will just leave you a review, you need to ask for one.
• If you have a FAQ section, keep it updated! Not only is it very helpful but it can actually save you time as well if you’ve already answered a customer’s question before they even contact you. It also demonstrates that you care about their questions.
• SEO Optimisation is constantly evolving. Have a look through your SEO settings from time to time and make sure they’re in-line with current best practices.
• If you have a blog, use it! It’s great for content marketing and can also be very helpful to your customers.

Note: One of the things that can affect your organic google ranking is how often your website is updated. A website that is regularly updated with fresh content will have better results than one that has been left neglected.

This article from reliablesoft.net explains this really well along with the many other benefits of keeping your website’s content fresh.

Arrggh, but I’m too busy to do all that

Too busy working in your business to work on your business? I get it and am totally guilty of doing this myself; I’m sure all business owners are from time to time.

Truth is though you’re really doing yourself a disservice by neglecting it and probably missing out on opportunities to improve. You need to find a way to make it a priority. Pick a day and time each week that you can reserve for working on your website. The amount of time you need to invest will vary depending on your industry.

Not your strong-suit or you just don’t have time to learn? Fair enough; but then it’s time to delegate or outsource.

While at first it might seem as though you’re spending more dollars (and eating into your profits), delegating can actually save or even generate money. You’re getting the service done right (and probably quicker) whilst your time is better invested in doing whatever it is you do best.

You can outsource virtually everything these days including:

• Copywriting & content marketing (writing blog articles, newsletters and the like)
• Social media management
• Graphic design for use on your website and other advertising mediums
• Website Maintenance & Updates – A service we happen to offer; check out the details here. Yep this is totally a blatant shameless plug 😉

So how often should you completely redesign your website?

There isn’t a fixed time frame as it really depends on your industry. So instead, here is a list of questions to ask yourself:

1. Is my website mobile friendly? This is a big one. For many industries, over half of your website traffic is coming from mobile phones. So if your website isn’t mobile friendly, don’t even bother reading the rest of these questions. You need to get your website redesigned ASAP!
2. Is my website better or at least on par with my competitor’s websites?
3. Has the number of people visiting my website increased, or at least remained constant?
4. Am I proud to share my website?
5. Do my customers compliment my website?
6. Does my website align with my branding, methodology and business goals?
7. Does my website still meet the needs of my business?

As you’ve probably surmised if you answered “yes” to most or all of these questions, your site is in great shape. If you answered “no” then you should probably consider a redesign.

Shameless plugin #2

At Rivmedia Web Design, we don’t just create websites that only you will love, but that your customers will love too!

So if you’re considering a redesign, why not check out our web design service and see if we’re a good fit for you and your business.

You may also be interested to know that we offer Website Payment Plans and with up to 12 months to make your payments, we make budgeting for your new website incredibly easy.