Is It Time For A Small Business Website Redesign?

If it has been awhile since you designed your small business website, it may be time to consider a redesign. Times change and as your business grows, you need your site to do more. Here are seven reasons why you should consider a small business website redesign.

1. Outdated content – Sometimes, you don’t need a full redesign. You just have to spend time updating your web content. Does the website currently reflect the products and services you offer? Can you explain what you do better? Do you have articles, audio or video you can add? Should some content be deleted?
   
   
2. Unprofessional design – Does your design still look professional? Web design trends change and a site that looked great a few years ago may now look old or unprofessional.
   
   
3. Poor navigation – Can visitors find everything they need on your website? Sometimes, as a site grows, website owners place content wherever they think it will best fit. As you add more content, your current navigational structure might not adequately showcase your key content.
   
   
4. Poor lead capture or product sales – Is your site attracting new prospects, leads and customers regularly? Look through your web statistics. Which pages are most popular? Are those pages converting well? If not, consider a redesign.
   
   
5. Low search engine rank – How your website is designed can have a tremendous effect on your search engine rankings. If you don’t have a high ranking in Google for your keywords, consider doing keyword research, revising your content, and adding internal site links to make it more search engine friendly.
   
   
6. Browser incompatibility – How does your website look when viewed with the main internet browsers, Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari? How does it look on a phone? Today, many people browse the web on their iPhones, Blackberries, and iPads. If you use technology like Flash, Apple products can’t read it.
   
   
7. Needs have changed – Does your website do everything you need it to? If you started out with a brochure site and now need features like a content management system, blog, forum, membership area, shopping cart or other elements, it may be time to redesign your site.

A small business website redesign should be more than just making your site “prettier” to look at. It should take into consideration site structure, usability, and conversion rates. Put yourself in the minds of your visitors. Can they find what they are looking for? Do they think your site is easy to use? Does your site look trustworthy enough to buy from you?