Giving your website a new design offers countless benefits, some of which include better SEO, more traffic, and the ability to reach new audiences. But how do you know when it’s time to redesign your website? Here are some tell-tale signs to look for.
It’s Not Ranking High in the Search Results
There are numerous possibilities why your website isn’t ranking high in the search results, but among the most common is a poor design. If your website features broken elements, poorly written code, and/or other design flaws, Google is not going to rank it high. The good news is that you can overcome this problem simply by redesigning it.
High Bounce Rate
Does your website have a high bounce rate? As you may already know, bounce rate is the percentage of visitors to a site or page who leave without visiting a second page on the site. While there are always exceptions to this rule, a high bounce rate generally indicates a more serious problem, such as irrelevant content or a poor design. In any case, you should consider redesigning your website if it suffers from a high bounce rate.
Managing Content is Difficult
Do you dread creating and adding new content to your website? We all know the importance of publishing fresh, original content. It encourages higher search rankings while attracting more visitors in the process. If your website has a poor design, though, you may struggle to create and manage content, in which case you should consider a new design. Implementing a content management system (CMS) in your site’s design, for instance, can make this process a breeze. Furthermore, some CMS platforms are designed to be search engine-friendly, meaning you’ll have an easier time climbing the ranks for your site’s target keywords.
It Takes Forever to Load
Another tall-tale sign that your website needs a fresh look is long load times. Studies have shown that up to 40% of users will abandon a site if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load. Unfortunately, some websites take 4, 5 or even 6+ seconds to load. If this sounds familiar, consider using an optimized design to speed up your site’s load times.
It’s Not Mobile Friendly
If your website isn’t compatible on mobile devices, it’s probably time for a new design. Several studies have shown that mobile Internet traffic now surpasses desktop traffic, meaning more users access the Internet on smartphones and tablets than traditional computers. Whether you choose to use a separate mobile domain, dynamically serve HTML and CSS based on user agent, or a Responsive Web Design (RWD), you need to provide a mobile-friendly experience to your site’s visitors.
