Is your website something you are proud of or does it make you cringe when you think about it? This is a crucial question to consider because whatever you think about your website, visitors probably think the same. At the very least, a website that is not up to the right standard won’t portray the right image of your company.
When analysing your existing website, here are the things you should consider:
- Does the website have a modern design? Modern designs are uncluttered and clean.
- Does the website properly reflect your brand? Has your logo changed, for example, or did the original design not quite get the branding right?
- Is the website easy to use? When considering this question, remember to think about it from the perspective of visitors to the website, i.e. people who are unfamiliar with it. Will they be able to find the information they are looking for quickly and easily? Does the website do everything visitors expect it to do?
- Does everything on your website work as it should? Even if it worked when you first launched it, upgrades to platforms, plugins, third-party integrations, and other code can cause features to break.
- Is the website optimised for search engines with modern SEO practices and techniques?
- Is the content on the website up-to-date? For example, are there products or services on the site that you no longer offer? Are there products or services missing? Is all the contact information correct?
- Is the website easy to update and manage?
- What does your website look like on mobile devices? Do all the features work when you access it on a mobile? The importance of this cannot be understated given the numbers of people who now browse the internet using their phones. Also, if the mobile version of your website does not work properly, it will not perform as well in Google search as it could.
- Has the code of the website been updated recently, particularly in relation to security patches? If not, your website could be vulnerable to hacking.
- Does the website load fast, including on mobile devices?
- Does the website have all the functionality you want?
If any of the above points give you cause for concern, you should seriously think about getting a new website for your business.
Investing in the Future of Your Business
Getting a new website is an investment that will generate returns for your business. Here are some of the benefits that getting a new website will bring:
- The website will showcase your brand properly and will better represent your business
- You will get more traffic to the website through various channels, including from Google
- Visitors will spend more time on the website
- Your conversion rate will improve, i.e. you will generate more revenue and profit for your business
Several years ago, business owners in some industries could treat websites as an optional extra. This is not the case anymore. Not only do you now need a business website, you also need the website to be modern, fully functional, and in-line with current industry best practice standards. If yours doesn’t meet this standard, it is time to get a new one.