6 signs you need to refresh your website

SHARE:

Design

The internet as we know it has been through phases of technical capability, marketing technique and design fashion. Even in the past five years, we’ve taken huge leaps in the way we’re able to create and build a website that shows the world what our businesses do with style and identity. 

A consequence of this is that a website can start to look and act outdated in just a few years. We don’t always think that something needs to be brand new to be functional, but there are a few telltale signs of a site that’s in serious need of an update. 

Slow load speed

Often, the older the site the slower it is to load. This is down to a lot of factors – the build methods of older sites often have excess scripts that aren’t needed, there’s often broken resources that have simply been lost over time or a lot of data stored within the site. The longer your site takes to load, the more customers you are losing and the worse your business appears. 

A fixed width layout

Before designers had to concern themselves with the variety of screen sizes we have now, sites were built to a fixed width. They were built with content containers or tables that kept the words within contained. Not only do they fail to respond well to bigger screen sizes, they simply look dated. We know that looks aren’t everything, but when competing with other businesses who appear modern, you stand out in a bad way.

Unresponsive design

Statistica tells us that 52% of all website traffic comes from mobile devices. What’s more, Google uses a ‘mobile first’ index that chooses your ranking based on the performance of your mobile site instead of on desktop. If your site is using an entirely different site as a mobile version, or even has no responsivity at all, you are in serious need of a design overhaul that enables you to communicate with your audience wherever they access your site.

Poor Conversion Rate

If there’s only one reason you choose to update your site, make it this one. If your website visitors are dropping off, it’s a clear message from your potential customers that your site isn’t doing its job any more. There are a lot of things that contribute to this; poor UX, overly complicated navigation, outdated messaging. It’s worth analysing your site before a redesign to see if you can pinpoint this issue and avoid making the same mistake again.  

Online clutter

Just like in life, content can accumulate on a site. With new service pages adding to old, blog posts and news articles since you started in 2001, partners or clients adding content, we often see sites in excess of thousands of pages that are bringing them no benefit. The best sites are those that have clear, accessible information. If yours is out of control, it’s time to get to grips with a clean up and a new site. 

No updates without your designer

A lot of older sites that are hard-coded aren’t built with a Content Management System. This means that without a knowledge of coding and access to the inner workings of your site, you’re unable to update even a few lines of text. We build everything on a CMS that allows our clients to update the information on their website without the need of a programmer. We’re always here for the bigger updates, but we know that you need to be able to update your pricing or add a blog without learning HTML.

No matter what your reasons are for needing a new site, Zinc Digital are here to help.

No matter what your reasons are for needing a new site, Zinc Digital are here to help. We’re experienced in working with businesses with sites of every age and requirement. We’ll help guide you towards a site that fits your identity and speaks directly to your target marketing. 

If you’d like to talk about your site, get in touch with our Creative team today

How To Choose Pages For Your Website

Learn More

Are WordPress Websites Good for New Businesses?

Learn More

Our Favourite Web Design Trends For 2023

Learn More

Get great content, tips and news straight to your inbox