With the number of people and businesses on the internet nowadays, you only get one chance to attract and keep users on your website. How does your website display your business? You should look at your website as a digital presence and a first point people looking for you will see. Here are six signs that it might be time for a new website.
Your Website is Outdated
When you are thinking about the age of your website, you should worry about two things. Firstly, you should note that web design trends are changing all the time. Just look back a few years and the websites you used to think were modern and then look at a modern website today. As well as this, you should also think about how much text is on the website. Websites which are ‘text heavy’ are known as busy sites and can cause visitors to click straight off your website.
The next thing you should also consider is how Google ranks your site. This is constantly being updated. At Freedom Search, we understand Google’s updates and create websites which are SEO-ready in order for us to start getting good results.
Difficult to Navigate
It could be your website looks amazing and therefore, you don’t think you need to invest in a new website. However, if your website is difficult to navigate then it can also cause usability issues. The way in which your site actually works and navigates is extremely important. If you haven’t got a good navigation system in place, you might find it difficult to keep people on your site and your conversion rate will be very low.
Don’t go outside the box, as this might be perplexing to users who are accustomed to knowing where to look on a website. Instead, offer simple alternatives that are clear from the start.
Not Mobile Friendly
With over half of web traffic now coming from mobile devices, you need to make sure your website is mobile-friendly. This means having a responsive design which can be easily viewed on any device, whether it be a desktop computer, laptop or smartphone.
If you’re not sure whether your site is mobile-friendly, simply enter your URL into Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool and it will give you a clear answer.
Your Website Does Not Generate Leads or Sales
If your website is not doing what it’s supposed to do then you need to take action. If you are selling products or services online, then your website should be bringing in leads or sales.
You can track this activity by looking at how many people are visiting your site and how long they are staying on each page. If you’re not happy with the results, it might be time for a change.
Another reason you might not be getting any leads or sales is that you have no SSL Certificate. An SSL is a padlock which appears next to the URL at the top of a web page. It means your site is secure and personal information is encrypted.
Poor Google Rankings
If you are not appearing on the first page of Google, then you need to take action. It is important to be aware that the competition for ranking is extremely high and it can be difficult to achieve a top spot.
Your Google rankings are not always a direct indication you need a new website. You may just need it optimising. Our team at Freedom Search can help you with that, with our SEO services.
One way to improve your ranking is by using keyword-rich titles and descriptions, as well as including backlinks from other websites. If you’re not sure how to do this, our team at Freedom Search can help get your website ranking higher on Google.
It is Very Slow
Your website might look beautiful, but if it’s taking too long to load then you’re going to lose potential customers. In fact, 40% of people will abandon a website that takes longer than three seconds to load.
There are various things you can do to speed up your websites, such as compressing images, using a content delivery network (CDN) and minifying CSS and JavaScript files. However, if your website is still slow after implementing these changes, then it may be time for an upgrade.
Get a New Website Built by Freedom Search
If you’re unsure whether you need a new website, our team at Freedom Search can help. We will take a look at your current website and offer a free consultation to see what improvements can be made.
We understand that every business is different and therefore, we tailor our services to meet your specific needs. Whether you need a brand-new website or just a few changes here and there, we can help.
Get in touch with us today to find out more about our web design in Preston and across the entire UK.
