7 signs you need a new website in 2023
If you clicked on this post, then maybe that's the first sign that you should take into consideration. Let's begin with a simple exercise.
Grab your phone and go to Google. Go to Incognito mode. First, type in your company name. Then, type in a few relevant searches that people would search to find you.
A few questions to ask:
Did your website appear in the first few search results?
Did it take less than 4 seconds to load?
Once it loaded, does it adjust to your mobile screen size?
Is it showing updated, relevant content?
In the first three seconds - do you communicate what it is that you do CLEARLY and make your differentiators stand out right away?
Is it clear what action you want someone to take at first glance?
If you answered no to any of these questions, keep reading. We're going to do a deeper dive into the signs that you need a new website in this wonderful year of 2021.
1. Your website looks crappy on mobile. (Sorry to be harsh, we're just honest.)
This is a huge one. It's not news to you either – look around. People are glued to their phones! We spend an average of 5 hours a day on our phones. During that time, they're most likely stuck in Instagram-land or searching for information on Google. It is now of the utmost importance to have your website built for mobile FIRST. It is no longer okay to have mobile be an afterthought. And Google has made mobile a priority. In July of 2019, they updated their algorithm to index the mobile version of your website first. And guess what – if your competitors' website offers a better mobile experience, it's much more likely that Google will bump up their rankings over yours in search results. Mobile experience is made up of a variety of factors, including speed, usability, even design/layout.
On average, 70% of website traffic comes from mobile devices. Not a surprise when we check our phones 150x a day and our average screen time is 4 hours a day. Whether you like how obsessed we've become with our phones or not, the point is that making sure your website has an amazing mobile experience is a necessary evil if you want your business to survive, not just thrive.
2. Your website has a bad user experience.
Here's where layout, design, and overall "does it work" comes in. If there are broken links, outdated content, fonts that are too small to read, it's not clear how you want the end customer to use your website (confusing navigation, like too many pages in the drop-downs). Also, a high bounce rate (meaning people leave your site without perusing any other pages) – these are all factors of user experience. Google doesn't like it when you don't make it easy for people to use your website and find the answers that they're seeking. It's that simple!
3. Your website doesn't communicate what it is that you do.
You have only a few seconds to get the attention of prospects that land on your site. If it isn't apparent RIGHT away what it is that you offer, how you're different, how you can solve their problem, and what action you want them to take... Well, go ahead and say bye-bye to that lead. Understanding your target audience, their needs, and how you can help them is the most crucial aspect of all of your marketing efforts.
4. You haven't made any updates or published new content on your site.
If you're like most people, then you had your website redesigned and haven't done much with it since you launched. Maybe published a few blogs here and there. But later, the excitement died off, and you realized how much work it is to manage a website. Naughty! Having a website isn't enough. A website is like a living, breathing creature - it has to be fed (content, has to be updated, optimized for SEO) to stay alive. Otherwise, it deteriorates, and then it becomes too late to salvage. Not having someone dedicated to managing your website means that you are not prioritizing your business! Your website is the single most crucial element of your online presence. It is the first impression you make on potential customers, where you have only a few seconds to capture their attention. Make it your priority!
5. You haven't "SEO'd" your website. (Search Engine Optimized)
This one is a bit tricky. If you haven't optimized your website for search, there is a chance that your current site could be optimized without doing a rebuild. Other times, it's best to start from scratch. The answer would lie in the infrastructure – if it was originally built in a way that's manageable to make the changes needed to optimize for search. Someone with SEO knowledge (like us) can take a look at the website's backend and help you figure that out. Either way – whether it's starting fresh or updating your existing website, SEO is probably not a new term to you. It's incredibly important that each page has been optimized effectively. By doing so, you are essentially telling Google – "Hey! I'm here! And I'm answering the questions my potential customers are asking, so please show me in your search results!" One thing to note about SEO is that it isn't a one-and-done tactic. It is an ongoing strategy based on research about what your potential customers are searching for and how your website can offer solutions to their problems/questions (and that's very, very simply put!)
6. Your website takes more than 4 seconds to load.
You can do a simple test on pingdom.com to test your website load speed. If your website takes longer than 4 seconds (and we're generous with that number because nearly 50% of users expect websites to load in less than 2 seconds), then it's time to either make some optimizations or create a new site. Speed improvements come from several factors, including image optimization, minifying javascript, CSS, and HTML, and more technical issues that we won't get into for your sanity. The point is that if any of the previous reasons rang true to you, starting with a new site is most likely the best way to go. If you feel like your website is amazing and nothing needs improvement except speed, then hire someone who can help you increase the speed. And don't forget – our idol Neil Patel says that for each second you make someone wait, that reduces your conversions by 7%. Enough said.
7. You want to get more leads.
Okay, this one is a bit obvious. Who doesn't want more leads? More leads = more customers = more money. If your website wasn't designed specifically to convert visitors to leads, then you are losing out on potential customers!
In conclusion
If you're ready to get a fresh start in 2021 and set your business up for success online, get your website audited (for free.) We will give you our honest opinion about what areas of improvement there are on your current site, or if you should treat your customers to a brand new, shiny website for 2021.