Does Your Business Need A Website Redesign?

If you’re a small business owner considering a website overhaul, it’s time to get excited! Website redesigns take your online presence to the next level. Whether your current site is outdated, has poor functionality and performance, or you just want to refresh your brand image, a website redesign can help bring new life into your digital home.

A great way to determine if you need a website rebrand is to see what’s (not) working on your current site. Determining whether or not you should take on a website redesign project can be complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. So, how do you determine if you need an entirely new website?

Determine Your Goals

Have you ever started a fitness program and then quit after only a few weeks or months? Why’s that? Because the goal wasn’t specific enough. Your goal wasn’t something you could really work towards.

The same is true of website redesigns. If you don’t set tangible website and business goals before starting, it will be hard to tell if your new site is even helping at all. Set specific goals that are measurable and achievable with a reasonable amount of time to measure (say, 3-6 months), and it will be much easier to determine the success of the project.

What Does Your Current Site Lack?

These are questions to get your gears going about your website’s performance.

• • Does your website or landing page have a clear call to action (CTA)?
  • Is it easy for both loyal and potential customers to find the information they’re looking for?
  • Does it convey the purpose of your business and what makes you unique?
  • What’s the loading time of each web page?
  • Are there other areas where people can get help or support when they need it?
  • How about social media — do you have info on where to find you on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok?
  • Do you have a mobile website with a responsive design and usability that works on mobile devices?

Listen to What Your Customer Are Saying

The best way to find out whether or not your site needs a redesign is by listening to your customers and website visitors. At times, it may seem like asking for feedback will lead to nothing more than a flood of negative responses that will make you want to give up on web design, but when handled correctly, this can actually be an opportunity for you and your business.

Think about it. Feedback from the visitors will help you understand what they like about your existing website. How easy is it to use? Criticism and praise alike will help you along with your redesign strategy.

Watch the Competition

When it comes to website design, know what you’re up against. Keep an eye on your professional frenemies. But how?Competitor analysis is a great way to get a sense of how other businesses in your industry are presenting themselves online and what they’re doing right. Start by comparing your website design with similar competitors. Analyze the website design, functionality (UX design), and content. Identify what you like and don’t like about their sites and use this information

to help you define your goals for redesigning your own site.

Social media is also an excellent source of information regarding how well other businesses’ websites perform. Peep at how they attract new customers while simultaneously keeping shoppers engaged with ecommerce and promotions.

Make a Strategy

If you don’t have a redesign plan, it’s time to start thinking about the design process. Goals are crucial to any project — whether it’s a website redesign or an expansion of your brick-and-mortar business.

Like most things marketing, this can sound daunting. Take this large task and break it into smaller pieces. That’s how our team approaches every project: one step at a time.

If you’ve never written down your goals before, take an hour out of your day and put pen to paper now. You’ll thank yourself later when you’re not scrambling for direction and wondering why no one is buying what you’re selling.

Start by defining your target audience and creating personas. Who exactly are they? What are their demographics? What interests do they have? Are there particular people within this group who would benefit more than others? Once we know that information, we can start creating content that appeals specifically to them. The website redesign process is so much smoother once all that information is nailed down. You can add design elements that draw in your target audience because now you know them.

Watch Your Visitors’ Behavior

Determine if you need a website redesign by looking at your website’s metrics. Google Analytics is a great place to start when you’re looking at the back-end parts of your website. It should be part of your digital marketing strategy to keep tabs on this stuff.

• • Bounce rate: This is the percentage of users who only visit one page on your website before leaving without interacting with any other pages (bounce). A lower bounce rate means that more people have stayed longer on your site and engaged with its content. If this number is high, you need to reevaluate the design of your current website to improve the overall user experience.
  • Conversion rate: This metric measures how effective CTAs are on each page throughout their journey through your site. It shows how well visitors convert into customers after making contact with them via CTA(s) from one page (or series) to another within their journey through different sections/pages across various departments within an organization’s website.
  • Session duration: The time during which active interactions with your website.
  • Device type: Just like what it sounds, you can tell which kind of device visitors are using.

What Do Your Resources Look Like?

The biggest factors that determine whether or not a website redesign is right for your business are time and resources (think budget or pricing). If you’re short on either of these, just look at which kinds of tweaks you can incorporate. We understand that website redesign costs can be intimidating, and while you don’t want to take shortcuts, sometimes looking at other alternatives for some elements can help.

It’s a good idea to look at a web designer with experience creating custom designs

for all kinds of websites using industry-leading tools like WordPress or Squarespace. This will help with your business website maintenance so anyone in your company, including you, can keep up if necessary.

Teamwork Making the Dream Work

If money is tight, one option to explore is hiring freelancers, for example, for copywriting needs. Check if they have experience with search engine optimization (SEO), meta descriptions, and website copy (for the homepage or the “about us” section).

If you have some in-house designers, you could consider having them take on some tasks like coding functions instead of hiring a web developer. This could help keep costs down while freeing up time so developers can focus on other tasks.

Lift Marketing Can Tackle Your Website Redesign

If you’re unsure if your business needs a redesigned website, then it’s best to consult with an expert. Lucky for you, we are great at this. We can help you determine if your current site meets your goals like lead generation and appealing visual elements.

At Lift Marketing, our team will work with you during every step of the website redesign process, from project management to finding a great content management system to ensure that we make sure everything is done right. Why are you waiting? Call us today!