Do I Need a New Website? [with Website Audit Checklist]
Web design and development don’t sit still. And that means a website can become pretty old, pretty fast. Without proper optimisation or preparation for scalability, it’s easy for sites – and entire businesses – to get left in the dust as their competitors move out in front.
Wondering if your own website is lagging behind right now? You’re in the right place. Before your business gets in a bind, we’ll take a look at why a strong, user-friendly website matters, the warning signs you need to heed, and what goes into planning that shiny new website. We’ll even throw in a downloadable audit checklist to make the process even smoother.
Quick links
- The importance of having a good website
- What is the average lifespan of a website?
- The biggest signs you need a website
- Download your free website audit checklist
- Planning a new website
The importance of having a good website
It goes without saying that it’s important to have a good website.
As the face of your business, it’s pretty likely going to be the user’s first impression of you online. As such, it’s a reflection of who you are and how you operate. A website that’s fully optimised with the user in mind shows a business that’s credible, understands its customers, and has its branding nailed on.
As for the nuts and bolts underneath, strong web development means people can find you quicker, improve your online visibility and make the customer experience a smooth, hassle-free process. And who doesn’t want that for users?
What is the average lifespan of a website?
It depends how you want to approach this question – because there are both quantitative and qualitative answers.
Research has shown that, after poring over 200 different websites and the intervals between their redesigns, the average lifespan of a website is 2 years and 7 months.
Of course, if you put the figures aside, there are other things at play to factor into the lifespan. A lot of this timeframe will depend on industry and company – and the changes that affect both – as well as things such as changing customer behaviour, technological developments and how your business is performing overall.
The biggest signs you need a new website
So, what might an outdated website look and feel like? Take note of the below and see if they apply. Be sure to heed what your website’s saying before your customers start flocking to the competition.
Poor navigation
Getting around a website should be easy. If customers can’t find what they’re looking for, or they can’t make a purchase, get in touch with you, or complete any sort of action – then the experience is going to be a very frustrating one.
Slow loading speed
In this day and age, slow websites are something that users simply won’t stand for. Even waiting 3 seconds for a page to load is asking too much of their patience. A speedy site is doubly important now too: not only will users jump ship to faster competitors, but site speed is something that Google takes into account when ranking as well.
Misalignment with your business
As companies grow and evolve, the messaging of their content becomes outdated. Content and copy that’s stagnated can whiff up a website in a big way – and projects the wrong message from your business. Whenever your business moves into new territory, make sure you’re updating your copy and messaging to reflect the evolution.
Poor user experience across devices
If your site hasn’t been built to be fully responsive to different device sizes, you’re in big bother. Since everyone’s on their phones these days, a lacklustre mobile experience isn’t going to cut it, whether users are browsing or buying.
Low conversion rate
Not seeing much in the way of conversions? If you’ve made some changes to your website, and you’re still not seeing conversions stack up (and your traffic is still high), then a total redesign could well be the remedy you need. And if not, you should at least be tracking your conversions so you can see how many leads you’re getting – and where they’re coming from.
Difficulty updating
If updating, uploading, or adding content is an ordeal, you’re not maximising your team’s time and your website’s potential. And if you’re having to rely on an external agency to make these changes, then adding fresh, high-ranking content to your site regularly is going to create inefficiencies for all involved.
Download your free website audit checklist
Not sure if you need a new website? Give our free website audit checklist a download and get investigating.
Planning a new website
Ready to move ahead with creating a brand-new website? If all the above has proved anything, it’s that there’s a lot to think about before you jump in feet first. Here’s what you’ll want to consider at the planning stage…
Your customers
When you can get a handle on your customers, including what they like, what they need from you and their demographic background, you’ll have a ton of information that you can use to inform how your website will look, how it’ll move and what it can do for them. We’ll show you how to unearth key insights about your customers here.
Branding
The research you do into your customers will come in handy when thinking about your branding too. Alongside this, think about your own values, the personality you want to broadcast, and the voice you want to talk in. Key considerations like this have a huge role to play in creating branding that speaks to your audience in a meaningful way.
Design
The design of your website not only needs to make sense to the user’s needs, it should be user-friendly for those in your business to get to grips with too. This is especially important if you don’t have a full-time web designer or an agency to rely on – and stops your new site from quickly becoming outdated since everyone can quickly update the content.
User Experience
In the planning stage of your website, think about the navigation of your site from the user’s experience. It’s easy to get carried away with fancy bells and whistles, but ultimately, think about what these mean for the user. Will your ideas get in the way of moving around the site, completing transactions, and getting from A to B easily? Strip back what you don’t need and go for an experience that’s smooth and logical.
Accessibility
Following on from the above, you’ll want your website to be accessible by as many people as possible, right? Of course you will. At the planning stage, think about the design and development elements to carry out so that people with impairments and disabilities can get around your site without issues. Remember: this isn’t optional, so make sure you’re not leaving it as an afterthought.
SEO
As well as keeping overall site speed low, there are other ways you’ll want to optimise your new site for search. One thing you’ll want to do is think about how your pages are named, including their URL slug. Both of these things have a huge impact on how each page will be ranked on search, since they let search engines know what main topics and info are on webpages, and the actual content within them. A mismatch can throw your rankings off and stop them from being featured on the first page.
Don’t forget, to make sure your website redesign project can properly get off the ground, you’ll need to get buy-in from stakeholders so that everyone’s on the same page. And once you’ve done that, a website requirements document will make your proposed site structure, design elements, and functionality specifications clear to everyone on the project team.
Ready to rethink your website, but need some help bringing your vision to your customers’ screens? See what we can do for you here, or get in touch with us at 0345 459 0558 for more information.
