This may come as a shock to some, but websites don’t last forever. As is the case with most aspects of running a business, trends change, your business needs change, your customer needs change, and your company must adapt to keep up with these changes. Your website is no exception.
That being said, it’s important that you get a new website for the right reasons. For example, just because your competitor got a new website doesn’t exactly indicate that you need a new website (however, if your sole motivation is cool points and you have the budget, then by all means, go ahead and one-up those new-website-having-bastards!). Similarly, getting a new website solely because you saw a decline in traffic (or because you weren’t getting enough traffic in the first place) may or may not actually solve the problem. If said traffic decline is caused by your users leaving your website because features are broken or confusing, then a new website could certainly help solve the problem. The point is, you need to identify your needs and goals before you can effectively evaluate whether a new website will actually help you meet those goals. Here are 6 signs that you do, in fact, need a new website:
1. Your Bounce Rate is Too High
Generally speaking, a high bounce rate indicates one of two possible things: either your website is being shown to the wrong people or your website user experience sucks. If your website is being shown to the wrong users, then your problem more likely has to do with your advertising and SEO strategies than the design of your website. If you are getting traffic from your target audience, but they are leaving without taking the desired action(s), then it might be time to rethink the web design.
2. Your Website Isn’t Mobile Friendly
Maybe your audience didn’t access your industry’s content on mobile when your website was built. Maybe your website is older than smartphones. Maybe you put all your stock in pagers. Whatever the case, if your website still isn’t accessible on mobile devices in 2018, it’s time to take action. Google confirmed Mobile First Indexing in March of this year, meaning Google wants to make the web (that includes you!) mobile friendly. There are multiple ways to implement mobile friendly web design, but Google officially recommends Responsive Web Design.
3. Pages or Site Features Don’t Work
This seems like a no brainer, but it’s surprisingly common to see websites with broken pages or features. If your website isn’t fully functioning, then for the love of Google, call your web design company (or find a new one if your existing company can’t fix the problem).
4. You Can’t Easily Update Your Content
While there are certain areas of a website that are better left to designers or programmers, you (and/or whoever helps you manage your web presence) should be able to make updates and edits when you need to. If you have to call your web company every time you want to make an announcement or update, get a better website.
5. Your Company Identity or Mission Has Changed
As mentioned earlier, companies adapt to changes in trends and user needs. If your website no longer aligns with your company mission, or if you have significantly changed our company’s identity (such as a rebrand or acquisition), it might be time for a new website.
6. Your Website Is Outdated
Admittedly this is a broad statement and by itself doesn’t automatically warrant a new website, but there’s a difference between needing a refresh and being plain outdated. If you are using tools, connections or methods that have become outdated or obsolete (for example, maybe you have a separate web address for the mobile version of your website when it would make more sense to have a responsive website), it may be time to plan for a new website.
Even with proper web maintenance and marketing, there are certain points where a new website is the best solution to meet an organization’s needs. Fortunately, the process doesn’t have to be painful. If you’re ready to take the next step for your web presence, contact Adlava at 702.988.2119 to talk about the future.
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