15 signs your website needs a refresh

Your website is a 24-hour storefront that can guide a customer through every step of the buying process. One of the biggest mistakes a business owner can make is getting complacent regarding their online presence.

Your website gives you the chance to pitch yourself and your company to tens of thousands of potential customers, and it’s crucial to get that first impression right.

If your site isn’t up to par, you might turn customers off without even knowing it. Improving your brand’s online appearance can be a daunting task, so we’ve compiled a list of 15 common reasons your website might need a little TLC.

1. Outdated visual design

No matter how well your site functions, its aesthetic is the first thing a potential customer will judge. Apart from the overall look, good quality imagery and video content is essential in conveying your company’s professionalism. Even subconsciously, customers can be incredibly observant, and everything from images with dated content to a questionable font choice adds up to their perception of your brand.

2. Sluggish loading times

Every second a customer waits for your site to load is a second closer to them jumping ship. No one wants to wait in line, and on a website with many pages to explore, the process might be enough to send customers elsewhere. Minimising the time to get from A to B means your clients are far more likely to see everything else your company can offer them.

3. Lack of CTAs

If your website is a pitch to customers, CTAs (calls-to-action) are your way of sealing the deal. Without CTAs, a website is nothing more than a complicated method of presenting information. Users need to know how to get in touch and establish the relationship between them and your company, and a lack of CTAs can mean your website is falling at the last hurdle.

4. Poor SEO

Without the name recognition of huge corporations, you’re reliant on search engines to guide first-time users to you. Meta titles, descriptions, keywords, and consistent blog posts are some of the many methods of gaming the system to prioritise your website. We recommend frequent use of Google Analytics to visualise your performance and highlight areas for improvement.

5. Not mobile-friendly

Depending on your field, more users may access your site on a phone or tablet than on their computer. If a mobile user faces a broken mess of misplaced images and dodgy text boxes, then chances are they won’t be on your site for long. In this technological era, it is absolutely vital to optimise your site for every device to keep all your bases covered. Read more about Google’s move to mobile-first indexing.

6. Not secure

The horror stories of hacked websites are enough to keep any business owner up at night. With even the biggest companies in the world often falling victim to security breaches, keeping yours and your customers’ data safe is paramount. Besides that, security warnings on your site can be catastrophic for your SEO and lower your chances of keeping a user on the site significantly.

7. Not reflective of your brand

Your website is one long pitch to countless potential customers. Everything about it has to reflect your brand’s values and send out the message you want to be picked up. If you compare your business today to where it was when you first created your website, it is likely to have developed and grown beyond recognition. Old logos and outdated information can make your company seem unprofessional at best, and fraudulent at worst.

8. Lacking in content

When it comes to reaching potential clients, content is king. The more quality blog posts and articles your website features, the higher the chances of landing near the top of search engine rankings. Of course, consistency in tone and standard is equally important –everything has to add up to one cohesive brand. Amongst many of the creative and digital marketing services we offer, we’ve seen a huge rise in the demand for copywriting.

9. Difficult to navigate

Much like loading times, the technical side of web design is all about streamlining the journey from page A to page B. Your website has to be intuitive and well-structured. If a customer needs a map to navigate the labyrinthine design, they will simply give up and look someplace else.

10. Outdated plugins

WordPress is constantly updating and without the right level of maintenance and support, your website can soon become full of errors and glitches. If you frequently find your website suffering from these breakages, get in touch with the team today and find out more about the benefits of our hosting, maintenance and support packages.

11. Attracting the wrong customers

It might tempt you to say any traffic is good traffic, but if your website is consistently bringing in the wrong kind of enquiries, a change in messaging is required. Your website should say nothing about your company that you would not say yourself, and if it does, then the quicker you fix that, the better.

12. A high bounce rate

Referring to the percentage of visitors who leave your site after only seeing one page, your bounce rate is more a symptom than a particular issue. Anything listed above can discourage visitors from exploring your website further, so while it may not highlight exactly where your problems lie, a high bounce rate is always a cause for concern.

13. No social integration

Your website should not exist in a vacuum. Keeping all of your internet presences connected is essential to maximising your chances of exposure. Being able to share your website content across social media is a key benefit of social integration, without which you lose a huge potential audience.

14. Reluctant to show customers

No matter what the reason is (technically outdated, aesthetically sloppy), your website should never be a source of embarrassment for you. Some customers will only ever interact with your business through the site, and if you aren’t proud of how it functions, then it is definitely time for a renovation.

15. Unable to make changes

Sometimes your website may be stuck in the past through no fault of your own. If you’ve lost contact with your old developer or you simply don’t know where to start, outsourcing professional help is always a sound investment for your business’ future.

If these issues are ringing true for you, then Root Fifty Two has a team of web design experts ready to help. We have specialists in branding, web design & development, social media management and digital marketing and everything else needed to craft you a unique and fully functional website that you’ll be proud to shout about!

Lose the headaches of outdated plugins and slow response times – get in touch now to start moving your business into the future.