Without a doubt, creating a website is no easy task. That’s because everything circulates back to your website: Your social media, referrals, directory listings, Google searches, etc.

Hence, it’s important that your website can make a great first impression.

To make it attractive to your visitors, you need to make constant updates and redesign your website. Doing so boosts conversion rates and subsequent revenues.

But what factors do you need to look for when it’s time to redesign your website? Here are some signs that you need to be aware of:

1. If the website is not generating traffic

If you have recently noticed a significant drop from your leads and traffic, then web users are not clearly finding what they are looking for. That’s why you might consider having a site upgrade to bring them back.

2. If the website has complicated navigation

There should be specific pages on your site that should be easy to find. For example is your About Us page tells viewers what your company does. That same thing with your Contact Us and Support pages where users can immediately contact you if they experienced any problems.

If these pages are usually hard to find, then it is deemed a red flag that would tell you that your page needs an upgrade.

Most site visitors want to quickly find what they are looking for. If they could not find a page or look for the information that they are searching for, then they will likely move on to your competitors.

Moreover, if you have a site that is hard to navigate, Google and other search engines would have a hard time crawling through your site. It is because most search engines rely on the structure and information of your website to determine whether or not it fulfills its purpose.

The easier it is for Google to find your site, the higher the chance that it will show up on relevant search queries. So, you need to optimize your website.

3. If the website has a high bounce rate

If your website suffers from high bounce rates, then it is time to upgrade it.

In a nutshell, bounce rates are the overall percentage of visitors that visit a single page of your site during their session.

Having a high bounce rate means that your site has a poor user experience. If a user does not have an overall positive experience in navigating your site, this will cause your bounce rates to soar.

Meanwhile, if visitors spend more time on your site, then it is a clear indicator that they are interested in your content. The more time they spend on your site, the more likely they will convert.

But just because people are not converting now, does not mean that it is already a loss on your part. In fact, spending a significant amount of time on your site has already boosted the user’s awareness of your brand. But that would not be achieved if your site is cluttered.

4. If the website takes too long to load

You can run your site through tools.pingdom.com, a speed test tool to see how long it loads. If it is longer than three seconds, then you need a site update to improve its speed.

In fact, approximately half of the website visitors abandon a site if it takes more than three seconds to load. Although you might not need a total overhaul of your website, but you know in your gut that there is something wrong and it is holding you back, then you need to consider redesigning your website.

5. If the website is not responsive

Another thing that you need to check is if your site is responsive or not.

It was back in 2015 that Google started rewarding more responsive websites in mobile search results. That’s because users will be accessing your site from devices that have different screen sizes.

To ensure that the overall experience of users in your site is fast and reliable, you should give this Wix complete review a read and see what factors about your web host you should consider.

So ensure that you will not be left in the dust. SEO takes time and maintenance, so a highly responsive website is crucial.

6. If the website looks outdated

Like we said, first impressions do matter. Most users will not go back to your site clicking and exploring if it is not visually appealing.

If your website looks outdated, then it is high time to consider a site redesign.

An outdated site simply shows that you are not updated with the current trends. More importantly, it comes off as if you simply do not care.

It is hard to build your brand as an industry leader in your niche if your website dictates otherwise. You also might be losing out prospects because people get confused, and they have no idea what your site is all about.

That’s why your site must be updated in a way a retailer updates its storefront. As much as you can, make it innovative, new, and easy to digest.

7. If your competitors are doing it

While it is true that you should focus on what is right in front of you, and not blindly follow what other people are doing, if your competitors have websites that significantly look better than yours, then you will be putting yourself at a terrible disadvantage.

If your site is lagging behind your competitors, then you should consider an update to put yourself ahead of the competition.

8. If it’s difficult to tweak it on your own

Making a couple of tweaks on your site, such as updating an event or uploading a blog post should be easy enough.

But if your site is built on a platform that is a bit hard to work with, or you still need a third-party to make updates, then you might consider building a site that has an easy to use content management system.

Over to You

It helps that you really do take the time to asses your site. You don’t have to do it alone, either. You could discuss the issue with your friends, colleagues, or ask a professional website design for evaluation.

Make sure that you have a site that’s usable, up-to-date, and aligns with your current goals to make the most out of it.