Key Signs You Need A New Website
A professional, top-quality website can be a major source of lead generation and revenue and if it isn’t, you may need to think about redesigning your website or starting from scratch entirely. There are many signs that indicate that your website may need a redesign. Some are painfully obvious - from an outdated web page to a 10+ second load time - however, there are some you might not notice at first glance. In this blog, we discuss the of the most important reasons to update your website and how we can help you.
1) Your website is out of date and confusing
One of the most common reasons that companies update their website is because they have outgrownt heir existing design and brand. This was the case with Baker Tilly International, an international accounting firm, who wanted to deliver a unified brand and a clearer layout across their main site and all of their member sites (around 60 of them!).
This was achieved with one of our favourite CMS platforms, Umbraco's, impressive scalability and power, which meant we could assemble a simple, yet engaging website layout for Baker Tilly International.
As websites are a potential customers' first impression of the company, it is important that it has a clear layout, and more importantly a clear message about brand identity and personality. Thus, it was important that we got the sites up and running as quickly as possible, which our ClerksWell experts managed in just 3 months with great results.
2) Your website is not mobile-optimised
Mobile devices are the primary way that people use the internet today. According to Google, nearly 75% of users prefer a mobile-friendly website, whilst 50% said that even if they like a business, they are less likely to use them if their website is not mobile-friendly. It is therefore essential for your business that you have a mobile-ready website.
To achieve this when building new websites, companies need to consider using responsive web design. A responsive website is one that automatically adjusts to fit on large and small screens, making it easy to operate on desktops, tablets and smartphones.
Luckily, we have your back, as a responsive website is a standard feature of our design and build process. This means your website’s content will be rendered and function across multiple devices from day one. The grid editor settings on both Umbraco and Sitecore platforms mean there is no need to develop a separate mobile website. Phew!
3) The site speed is slow
When potential customers visit a company's website, they are not only looking to find accurate and useful information, but to find it quickly. Nearly half of customers that visit a given website expect it to load in less than 2 seconds, and 40% of users will think about leaving a site if it takes more than 3 seconds. Thus, fast site speed is essential in keeping and converting customers.
Slow load time can be caused by multiple factors, including too many redirects, slow server response time, too many plugins and too large image files.
4) The website is hard to update
Content is the most important thing on your website. It's what people come for, and what they will (hopefully) stay for. Unfortunately, one of the problems we hear from our clients is that their websites are outdated and unyielding - hard to update.
They want a website that is easy to update, so they can keep it relevant and engaging for their customers. The best way to manage your content effectively is to use a content management system, it’s all in the name!
The Pensions Regulator is a prime example of a company who came to us complaining about their old site. Their old site wouldn’t let them create content easily and reliably, so they had to rely on someone with a high level of technical skill. With our talented developers, and the brilliant Sitecore CMS platform, we managed to set them up with a CMS that allowed them to update and manage all of their content on a daily basis.
Summary
Do any of these problems sound familiar to you?
Then you should probably think about updating or getting a new website. Here at ClerksWell, we have partnered with Umbraco and Sitecore to create innovative, robust and functional websites that suit our client's digital needs. Our experts have been developing websites since their inception, and we pride ourselves on our technical expertise in solving business problems.
So if your website is out of date, hard to navigate, unresponsive or slow and you are thinking of creating or redesigning your website - talk to the experts at ClerksWell.