Telltale signs your website needs a redesign

For many of us the first time a potential client ‘meets’ us is on our company website. Those first few seconds are all we get to make a lasting impression, leaving the person wanting to know more about us. If your website does not quickly engage them, they will soon look elsewhere. So take a moment to think about your website, does it incorporate the 5 S’s? If not maybe it’s time to refresh, reenergize and redesign your site.

Smart Thinking

As a country, we now own more smart devices than there are people living here.

As a result, it is essential that your website content is at the very least mobile-optimised. If your website is non-responsive, then visitors on mobile devices will quickly move on to your competitors’ website, rather than wasting time scrolling from one side of the screen to the other on yours. Tools such as Google Analytics will allow you to see how many visitors are accessing your website from mobile devices such as tablets or smart phones and how many are using desktops.

Safety First

If your website was built using a content management system such as WordPress, it is vital to ensure that you are using the very latest version. By upgrading your software security, you can prevent hackers gaining access to your website, avoiding a data breach or the installation of malicious viruses.

SEO Ratings

Google occupies almost 70% of the global search engine pie, so it is a good idea to make sure that it likes your website. With over 1,600,000,000 visitors each month Google likes its users to see freshly updated pages and uses this in order to rank your website against your competitors. Page names, image names, meta tags and content all combine to make an SEO friendly, highly ranked website in those all-important search results.

Simplicity

The problem with using a content management system and continually trying to keep your content fresh and SEO friendly, is that you can end up just adding more and more information without taking the time to declutter and streamline your content. The more information on your site, the more difficult it becomes for your potential customers to find what they are looking for. Think simple, relevant and user friendly and you can’t go far wrong.

Social Scene

The use of social media by businesses in the UK has now become mainstream, with the majority of businesses using it in some form or other to interact with their customers as part of their marketing mix. Facebook continues to dominate social media having over 30 million users in the UK, with Twitter coming in second place.  Businesses have realised the power of social media and are using it in order to create long term relationships with their customers. If your website is not already set up to connect with your customers on social media, then adding social share buttons should be at the top of your to do list. Not only will it allow your readers to share your content, effectively boosting your brand and SEO rating, but it also provides you with an easy way to share your latest offers and keep them up to date with any relevant news.

Hopefully by now you have realised that redesigning your website is not just about making it look good, it’s about making your website work harder and smarter for your business. If you would like more information on how to get the most out of your website or would like an informal chat about how effective your website is, then please contact us………….