11 Signs You Need a New Website

Is your website Built to Convert?

In a world where people Google everything before they buy, there’s nothing more valuable to your business than a sleek, eye-catching, user-friendly website.

But here’s the thing: a bad website can actually cause a bad impression on potential clients. While not having one means you’re missing the boat, a faulty website can do more harm than good to your business and brand image. Poor design, slow-loading pages, and outdated content translates to a frustrating user experience and drives potential customers away—instead of having them come back for more.

Here are 11 signs you might need a new website.

1. It Isn’t Mobile Friendly

In this day and age, there’s nothing worse than a “pinch and zoom” website. You want your website to scale to the size of any device, so people won’t struggle to see your content.

Not to mention this is a huge factor for your Google search ranking, especially with its latest algorithm updates. In case you skipped the optimization class, we talk about it next.

2. It Has Not Been Optimized For Search Engines

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) draws customers to your website by recognizing the keywords and phrases they use in their search for products or services similar to yours. It doesn’t stop here, SEO also helps to boost your credibility and can keep you ahead of the game. Here are a few reasons your site may not be ranking well:

• Your headlines don’t include keywords
• Your images aren’t compressed and web-optimized, which will make your website load slowly
• You have too many keywords stuffed in your content to the point that it sounds robotic
• You haven’t set up proper page titles and meta descriptions

3. It Is Not Getting Results Anymore (Or Maybe It Never Did)

Here’s the thing with websites: if they don’t generate sales or contribute to the growth of your business, then they’re pretty much useless. This happens for several reasons:

• Your pages don’t have a clear call to action. Do you want people to call you, fill out a form, or look at your portfolio?
• Users don’t have an easy way to get in touch with you
• Your website doesn’t provide a clear path for your customers, so they have to guess where to click next

4. It Is Too Focused On You

Is your site loaded with awards you won, internal mission statements, company history, and all about how your business is great? If this is the case, do yourself a favour and start thinking more like one of your customers—how can you solve their problems and make their lives easier? As Donald Miller, best-selling author of StoryBrand points out, a website’s main focus should be on how you are going to help your customers: “The customer is the hero, not your company.”

Trust us; it will make a difference.

5. It’s Too Slow And The Content Is Hard To Read

There are no shortcuts when it comes to loading times and user experience.

• If your website takes more than 7 seconds to load people will leave. Research shows 47% of people expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less
• If your website looks like a novel, no one will take the time to read it
• To produce engaging content, think about what type of information your customers are looking for
• Figure out ways to make it brief by using words that make sense to your target audience

6. It’s Too Slow And The Content Is Hard To Read

We’ve all met someone whose personality fascinates us. That’s how you should think of your website: a people magnet. If you’re using stock images and generic content you stand no chance, because—believe it or not—personality plays a key role in customers’ decision-making process.

A website with an awesome personality will encourage users to remember your brand, raising your chances of conversion.

7. The Information Is Vague Or Overly Detailed

When people come across your website, they don’t want to spend a lot of time searching for what you do and what products or services you offer. People should be able to skim your website and know this information right away. Think about these questions:

• Do users have to click through multiple pages to get an idea about who you are?
• Does your website accurately represent your business today?
• Do potential customers have to guess what sets you apart from your competitors?

8. It Looks Outdated

The appearance of your website is a reflection of your company. If your website looks unprofessional, users may assume that you are as well. An updated website is what boosts the credibility of a business and establishes trust. After all:

• You don’t want people wondering if your business still exists
• Outdated websites will only send the message that your business doesn’t keep up with the latest trends

9. You Have A Hard Time Updating Content

When it comes to content, the rule of thumb is the following: updated content equals more traffic. This stuff is powerful, so you need to provide your customers with the latest information about your business.

If you struggle with keeping your content up to date, consider using a CMS that is easy to maintain and add new content (e.g. WordPress)

10. Your Forms Are Too Long

The truth is no one wants to fill out a long-form. If your website’s aim is to get leads, the advice is to keep it simple and get people’s name and contact information, followed by 1-2 questions on how you can help them.

11. It Has Too Many Pages And It’s Hard To Navigate

Seeing too much content is just as useless as not seeing enough. It’s confusing and it translates into a bad user experience. Here’s something to put you in the right mindset:

• A website should grow with the business and for that, it doesn’t need a hundred pages
• The menu should focus on the main pages—the most valuable to your audience
• You should remove pages that no one visits. Google Analytics helps you follow your traffic and see how your website is performing. In case you don’t have it, then you have an extra reason why a new website should be your top priority.

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