Is it Time for a New Website? 7 Signs it Might Be Time for an Upgrade

Websites are an investment in your company and in your marketing goals to attract potential customers. How do you know if your current website has reached the end of its lifespan or if it can continue serving you? Consider the following seven questions, which will give you a good basis in order to judge the effectiveness of your website.

1 Is your website an accurate, current representation of your brand?

Having an up-to-date and current websites sends a message that your company is healthy, growing, forward-looking and ready to serve new customers. The best brands and companies naturally evolve and change over the years. Your website should reflect that evolution and showcase your company in the best possible light. This will leave a strong, positive impression with potential customers of a brand and website that are both modern and fresh.

2 Are you aggressive enough?

While it may vary across industries, generally speaking, websites have a lifespan of 3-5 years. A consumer-facing website needs to be current in design,and speak to potential customers with content that is fresh. Take a moment to examine your three closest competitors. What do their websites look like? Do they have engaging content? Are their sites easy to find and navigable? Don’t get left behind–get out ahead of the pack with an ever better website.

3 Is your content relevant and updated?

When is the last time your website was updated? If potential customers are looking at your site to see if you fit their needs, will they find the information they need? Are the most recent images they’ll see from 2014? Having and keeping content that is on-point, relevant and updated is key to attracting customers, especially as customers will usually comparison shop for goods and services online before contacting businesses.

4 Is your site easy to find?

Now, more than ever, your website has to be easily found in search engines. Customers are in the habit of researching the goods or services they want by finding companies online and comparing. If your site doesn’t rank on Google, you don’t exist. Old sites built with Flash, common, do-it-yourself services and other bad techniques are notorious for not being indexed well. A website must be built from the ground up with search visibility in mind. If you’re not coming up in searches, it’s definitely time for a new site and a focus on SEO.

5 Is your site easy to navigate?

Have a look at your website through the eyes of your potential customer. On average, a website has about four seconds to make an impression on a user or they will simply go somewhere else. Your site’s navigation and menus must be well organized, your content must be thoughtfully arranged and easy-to-find and there need to be clear calls-to-action. If the navigation and content on your current site is difficult to use and find, it’s time for a new website.

6 Are you launching a new product or service?

Sometimes launching a new product or service doesn’t fit elegantly into an existing website. Instead of trying to force something into the site’s navigation and structure, it makes sense to start fresh and design a new site which allows you to prioritize and focus on current sales goals and product/service offerings.

7 Is your site mobile responsive?

We all know how much we rely on our smartphones these days. Potential customers will use their smartphones and tablets to search for goods and services. If your website isn’t mobile responsive, meaning the layout adjusts to accommodate the screen size viewing it, your site will look terrible and it will also be penalized by Google. Simply put, in 2018, if your site isn’t mobile responsive, you’re shooting yourself in the foot.

How did your current website stack up? If it looks like it’s time to refresh, we’re here to help. LAB Digital Creative is the expert in Memphis, Tennessee web design that is mobile-responsive, search engine friendly and beautiful. We have built effective, results-getting websites for clients across Memphis. Shoot us a line to learn more: hello@labdigitalcreative.com.