Answer Three Questions to Decide
Are you trying to decide if it’s time for a whole new website? If so, you want to determine the level of investment you need. Is a copy and design refresh enough, or is it time to rethink and start over? To help you make an educated decision, here are the top three questions you should ask yourself first.
1. Is your site mobile-friendly and responsive?
This is hands-down the most important thing you need to consider. Google performs mobile-first indexing, focusing on the mobile versions of websites when indexing and delivering search results. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly or responsive, your site will rank poorly in searches.
Mobile-first indexing is done for a good reason: more than half the US is accessing the internet on mobile devices. That number is only expected to continue growing. If your website is not optimized for mobile, you should consider creating an entirely new one.
In addition to missing sales opportunities because the site is non-responsive and hard to read on mobile, it’s likely that the site loads slowly, has errors, and functional glitches. It can be very difficult to retrofit older sites to be responsive, and it’s often easier to start over.
2. Is it easy to edit your website when needed?
Are you able to quickly make edits to content, such as editing copy, changing and formatting images, adding pages, or changing menu items with little or no coding knowledge? If yes, then your site content management system (CMS) may be fine, and you might simply need to give your content and design a facelift.
If you cannot easily edit your site, or you are always waiting for your IT department to make changes, or you somehow bring down your entire site every time you spot a typo, you need to consider a new CMS. Websites built on older, outdated systems, custom-built platforms, and homegrown solutions can become a liability that ends up costing you significant time and money in the long run.
Your CMS should make it easy for anyone in your organization (with permission, of course) to make quick changes whenever needed. If your hands are tied by your CMS, then it’s time to consider a whole new website.
3. Does your website convert visitors?
A good business website helps generate revenue by making it easy for visitors to find the information they need and motivating them to take action. If your website isn’t converting visitors to buyers, it’s not living up to its full potential.
Your website content and structure should be strategized to appeal to your target audience and customer personas so you can focus on the visitors who buy your products. You should audit your website to answer these questions:
- Are there important pages buried under many clicks?
- Do you have hidden pages that can’t be reached from your main menu?
- Do you have any pages that have similar content to each other, with very little content, or, worse, the same content?
- Are your page names confusing to a first-time visitor?
- Is it hard for a visitor to contact you?
- Are there any roadblocks to visitors making a purchase?
If you said yes to any of these, then your site is not easy to navigate and it’s holding back your business.
The Bottom Line: Time for a New Website
If your website passed the three questions and it is mobile-friendly and responsive, easy to edit, and easy to navigate, then you may be able to get away with just a new design or a content refresh.
The major issues called out above are the types of challenges that are best solved by starting over with a new website and CMS, such as WordPress. They address significant issues that can have real business impact, and require more than fresh content or a new color scheme.
A new website can maximize your visibility and reach, improve user experience, drive more traffic to your website, and position you as an industry leader. In addition, having a fully optimized website will, ultimately, increase your revenue opportunities.
Still not sure? If you answered no to any (or all) of these questions, we can help. Contact us today and we can walk you through an assessment of your current site.
Find out where you stand on the road to digital marketing success.
Contact Us – Ready for a New Website?
Anthony Cedrone
Director of Web Development and Creative Services