From a nail salon to investment companies, every venture needs a website at the heart of their business strategy. Online sales platforms and the high street have been battling for dominance for years, but without a strong website, the likelihood is you are missing out on sales to competitors. Websites can age fast, and consumers adapt even faster, so it’s vital to keep them updated. But when is the right time to refresh your website, or even have a complete redesign?

1. Website performance is down

Low or reduced conversions from online visitors to sales can be a signal that it is time to invest in a new website. Above all customers want a professional looking website that is easy to navigate and fast to use, making it easier to give you their money. Convenience is the main reason Amazon dominates in e-commerce, after all. A skilled UX designer can help you create a new premium website that will prompt engagement, be visually attractive and relevant to potential visitors.

2. There’s a high bounce rate on certain pages of your website

Tracking website analytics is an important step for any business owner; this will reveal the most visited pages and the pages which do not seem to be gaining any interest. If you are seeing a high bounce rate on only particular pages of your website, this could be a minor fix that can be resolved with a refresh. Perhaps the page’s content is not easy to understand, or the customer isn’t sure what you want them to do next due to a lack of calls to action. A quality digital agency will have both designers and marketers who will be able to tell you where customers are being misdirected and how to fix it. 

3. Your website isn’t secure against cyber-attacks

Website attacks are unpredictable and can be sacrificial to the trust you have built up with your client base. If your website is damaged, search engines may blacklist you, which will lose precious sales and website traffic.

Ensuring that your website can upgrade software, back up your data, and encrypt login pages is essential. Depending on if your website can handle the above is the answer to this question.  We would always recommend using a secure website hosting company, many of which (including us) will already have all your data backed up in the event of an attack as well as a team of experts who can get your website back.

4. Do you have a Content Management System in place?

If the answer is no to this question, you are certainly in need of a redesign. A CMS will allow you to quickly change content, update details, and add new images easily and without needing to know a single thing about website coding. If you hire the experts, they can even create templates for blogs, articles, and other content so your website always looks consistent and professional.

5. You can’t afford not to update your website

It’s no secret that a full website redesign is going to take longer and be more expensive than a refresh, but in the long term you may find that you have saved both time and money. An older and less functional website is more likely to break, be hacked, or penalised by search engines. So opting for a new or updating your website may save you some hassle in the future. A professional digital agency will be able to keep your current website live while the new one gets created in the background meaning you will always be up and running. If you have decided to go down the route of some smaller upgrades, it is important to have realistic expectations and set a clear plan of things you need to change to avoid an expensive overhaul.

Everything we do at Hydra Creative is completely tailored to your business requirements, the team specialises in bespoke digital solutions. Talk to us today and we can guide you into deciding whether a website redesign or refresh will work best for you and your business.