When is the right time to refresh your website?

Written on 30 January, 2019 by Karen Lim-Sam
Categories Marketing Web Design & Content

In the brick-and-mortar world, you can build a shopfront that lasts for years but, in the digital sphere, that same principle can cost you customers, clicks and sales. The digital landscape is constantly changing and your website needs to keep up to date in order to stay relevant to those you’re trying to reach.

Ask yourself the honest question –
Is your website helping your business grow? If your answer is no, then it’s probably worth thinking about updating your site.

Give your website a refresh

Failing to refresh your web copy, design and functionality can threaten your professionalism and reverse the hard work you’ve put in to build customer trust. So how do you know whether your web presence is due for an overhaul? Here are five signs your business needs a website refresh.

1. It no longer reflects your brand

Businesses change over time. Make sure your website reflects the image and message that you want it to. People’s first impression of your site will be visual. Not only should it reflect your brand but also be aesthetically pleasing. If your website looks cluttered, refresh your website to maximise white space and use strong visual images to engage the audience. When it comes to website copy it should be well-written, tells visitors who you are and what products and services you sell.  Your copy should cover the “Who, Want, When, Where, Why and How” because if people can find the answers to those questions easily, they will keep browsing.

2. It doesn’t look good across multiple devices – mobile, tablet, phone and laptop

Over 50%^ of website traffic comes from mobile devices. Today, everyone has a mobile device that they use to check email, send text messages and most importantly to browse the internet. Therefore, it is imperative to have a mobile responsive website so that it is easier for potential customers to navigate your site from their mobile devices wherever they are. If they can’t they will go elsewhere, potentially to a competitor. To see if your website is responsive, open it on your phone or tablet and see how it looks. If it hasn’t been optimised, it’s time to change.

3. It’s slow to load

A website should take less than 2 seconds to load before a visitor gives up and tries somewhere else. The highly competitive online world isn’t kind to online businesses that aren’t customer friendly. If your website constantly experiences slow loading times or freezes regularly, there could be a number of reasons causing this – server location, large image files, bulky code, embedded flash or an outdated content management system (CMS). The best way to find out is to get a web developer to comb through and audit every aspect of your site.

4. High bounce rate and low session rates.

A bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave your site without navigating to other sections and session rates are how long people stay engaged with your site. Typically, a high bounce rate and low session rate could mean the visitor got bored, could not find what they were looking for or simply didn’t know what to do.

Ideally visitors should be able to find what they are looking for in less than 3 clicks. A simple exercise to find out if this holds true for your website, is to navigate your own site and see if you can find certain information or perform key actions such as send an enquiry, make a purchase, find contact us details or even specific product information. If you find it difficult, then you know it is time to rethink your website’s navigational structure. To do so, the first place to start is to review your site map.  Find out how many steps it takes for a customer to get to any given page. You want to reduce the number of touchpoints to your most frequently viewed pages.

5. You have very little to no conversions

Google Analytics can offer powerful insights into your customer journey as well as the elements of your website that drive conversions. There are two things you should look at, the total number of visitors to your site and how many of those are buying or making an enquiry.

Successful websites have a conversion rate of 5-10%. If yours is lower than this and you have high traffic volumes it means something is stopping them from converting. Consider reviewing your shopping cart process and call to actions. Enlarging the ‘Buy Now’ button or removing registration pop-ups are smart ways to refresh your website easily. You may also want to look at reducing the number of steps it takes to make a purchase – ensure you only ask for the required information for a fast and seamless checkout.

When was the last time you updated your website?

We understand that life can be busy, especially when you run your own business. However, updating your website regularly with a focus on your customers’ best interests is key to operating a successful online business. At a minimum, we recommend you do a complete website review of your website every two years.

So kick off the New Year with a free Website Health Check here or if you think it’s definitely time you sent your site for a makeover, call the Netregistry team on 1300 638 734, we would be more than happy to help.

 

^https://www.statista.com/statistics/241462/global-mobile-phone-website-traffic-share/

Looking for some help with domains, hosting, web design or digital marketing?
 

Send me marketing tips, special offers and updates