Why Refresh Your Website?
Every website should be redesigned and updated at regular but reasonable intervals. At times, the process can be risky, costly and time-consuming. Inevitably, though, your website needs to upgrade. As time passes, it will look outdated or users will find it difficult to navigate pages. Or perhaps your site needs better search engine visibility. You may not be aware but more than 80% of customers actually make an effort to research about a brand or company online before buying anything? This goes without saying that your website’s vibe, appearance, design and user-friendliness can be a double-edged sword: it’s either you win more customers or encourage them to look elsewhere. A website helps customers, potential prospects and likely business partners get to know more about your company. In short, it represents you, your products and services, and what you stand for as a business. It’s an information base as much as a solid platform for reinforcing your brand.What Signs Should You Look For?
The are many reasons for giving your company website a facelift. Below are tell-tale signs that you badly need one:1. Website looks outdated
While you try to grow your company, it’s easy to be caught up in your own affairs. You forget to keep up with the outside world and pay attention to new trends and developments. Your competitors could have released innovative products while you’re busy maintaining the status quo.
Invest some time and energy in benchmarking best industry practices. What are the leading companies doing at this point? Are there any changes to their websites? What are people saying about their website and how do they feel?
Refresh your website, especially in matters of search engine optimisation. Give it a new look, a new feel – anything that matches present customer needs and Google algorithm changes. Redesigning your website is one of the best ways to level the playing field. Remember that even start-up brands can get ahead of big companies online with the right SEO strategies in place.
2. Website lacks a mobile version
You must have heard of the mobile-first index – a trend that Google started last year in view of the fact that more people now use smartphones and tabs for finding and buying products or services online.
Smartphone and tab usage have overshadowed desktop use that not having a mobile site is a big disservice to your own business. Just imagine. You have plenty of useful content and your website’s appearance is not bad either. But what’s the use of a cool and informative website if none of your target clients can even find read and navigate it on their phones or tablets?
Website layout and content should properly display on a smaller screen. It is frustrating when you can’t see a website on mobile devices. And this isn’t even the end of it.
Google now ignores websites that do not have a responsive design. The SEO consequences will be great. If you’re not willing to pay the price and be “seen-zoned” by Google’s crawlers, make your site mobile friendly ASAP.
3. Website has no social presence
You don’t build a website and expect people to find it through search engines alone. As the old saying goes, “leave no stone unturned.”
If you can utilise every online platform made available to you by the Internet, then take advantage of it. Using social media brings your website closer to your target markets while simultaneously giving you more SEO points. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone without leaving a hole in your wallet.
And if you’re sceptical about social media because you feel it’s time-consuming and whatnot, take note of these figures (2018 statistics by Statista.com):
- 2.2 billion Facebook users
- 1.9 billion YouTube users
- 1 billion Instagram users
- 335 million Twitter users
