Given that we are living in such a digital world, having a strong internet presence is one of the best things you can do to continue to grow and maintain your business. The first place prospective clients typically turn to is Google - and that’s why having a functional, responsive, eye-catching, easily accessible and mobile friendly website is so important! Keep on reading to find out what can indicate the need for a website redesign.

Your website is unfriendly (for mobile devices).

Think about your day for a couple of seconds…how much of that day is spent on your phone? Chances are, if you’re like most of us, there’s a good chance it's a large portion of the day. Between search engines, social media usage, and regular communication, we are spending a large portion of our lives on these little screens. Having a mobile friendly website allows the users viewing your website to have a better user experience. As an added bonus, Google’s algorithm ranks mobile friendly websites higher than those without mobile friendly options - meaning that mobile friendly websites are going to be the first ones that appear in a Google search!

Broken page links can harm future prospects.

There are few things worse than stubbing your pinky toe on the corner of your bed, but one thing that’s easy to list off is when you’re using a website with broken links. Hitting the “learn more” button and reaching the 404 error page is not only soul crushing and can negatively affect the users experience, but it can also lead to higher bounce rates on your website. Bounce rates are defined as the amount of visitors who leave your webpage immediately. This means users aren’t clicking on anything or visiting anything other than your home page. This can lead to your page being at a lower rank on future search engine results. 

Outdated information can leave users confused.

Finding outdated information on a website is a similar soul crushing pang to coming across a broken link. Again, search engines like Google will rank websites that regularly update content higher than those who don’t. Even updating your website monthly will improve the quality of your website, and encourage visitors to return regularly. 

Website navigation should be easy.

Have you ever used one of those websites that is painfully hard to use? There is no information easily available, colours are bright and jarring, and you’re using significant brain power to even figure out how to access the contact page. Most of the time when this happens, people simply exit the site. No one wants to spend half their morning trying to figure out what your company does. In order to ensure other visitors are able to easily find what they’re looking for, we suggest pretending you’re a visitor looking for some information, or even having a friend or family member search for something specific on the site. If it’s not easy to find for them, it won’t be for the average person either.

Accessibility is key!

Having a website with easy navigation is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to website redesign. The next step is to ensure you have an accessible site. This may include things like not using red or green on top of each other, or ensuring letters are an appropriate size for people who may have a visual impairment. There are all kinds of features that can be implemented to ensure a website is easily accessible for users. We recommend you check out the Hubspot Accessibility blog for more tips on ensuring everyone can access your site!

Your website should reflect you, your brand and its business.

In addition to accessibility and easy navigation, companies also need to ensure that their websites match their brands. This includes design choices like logo, fonts, and colours used. Websites are the windows to the business soul, and it's important to have a website that reflects your brand and its mission. 

You can't make simple updates without a developer.

Finally, website maintenance and updates aren’t something you should be spending an arm and a leg on. Properly built content management systems (CMS) make it easy to make edits, such as business updates or blog posts. If you’re not able to easily make changes or updates to your website, it may be time to look for a new content management system that fits your needs.

So now what?

If you felt like your website hit a couple (or all! No shame here!) of these points, take a deep breath and relax. They are relatively easy fixes, and we at Alister are here and willing to help you out. Reach out today for a free discovery call to discuss your needs.

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