The Signs It’s Time for a New Website

If you have a website that draws visitors and results in conversions, you might think you do not need to worry about having a new website built. The truth is, however, that most businesses let their website go for far too long without an update. Do you wonder why Facebook and YouTube get upgrades every three months? It is because going any longer than this without a refresh makes the website look dated. While you might not actually need a new website every three months, you will eventually need one. Here are some signs to look for that will tell you it’s time for a new website:

1. Your website hasn’t been redesigned in more than three years.

Just like clothes, just like hairstyles, web design goes in and out of fashion. What looked fresh and new when your website was built will quickly become tired and stale. If you haven’t had a new website in more than three years, you need a new one. Technology usually changes enough during a three year period that anything you were using three years ago is not just aesthetically outdated, it is also technologically outdated.

2. Your search rankings are starting to drop.

Google favors new websites over old websites. It favors new content over old content. Why? Because the newer the websites and the content is, the more relevant it is likely to be. And while your old website might still be perfectly relevant, Google may no longer think that it is, which means that you will start to see your ratings drop. Also, a lot will have changed in search engine optimization in between when your website was built and now. If you’re still using old tactics, you need a new website designed to accommodate new tactics.

3. Your website is ugly.

If you have a hard time emotionally separating yourself from your website, ask your employees, friends, and family for honest evaluations of whether or not your website is aesthetically pleasing. Some websites are just downright ugly, especially those that have been cheaply produced. For example, if you are still using the template website that you pieced together yourself when your business was two days old, now that your business is five years old, your website is ugly and it is going to put an ugly face on what might otherwise be a great business.

4. Your business has outgrown your website.

How do you know if your business is too big for your website? One of the best way to know is that you are trying to cram too much information into too few pages. You have difficulty fitting all of the information you need into your navigation, so that info is impossible for your visitors to find. Additionally, your website might simply not be able to handle the amount of traffic it is getting. Take, for example, the Dollar Shave Club website. When their marketing video when viral, they got so much traffic their website was down for almost a full day.

5. You have a high bounce rate.

A high bounce rate is indicative of many things, the biggest one of those things being that your site visitors simply do not find your website useful. If your website is not useful or, more likely, the aesthetics of that website send them running for the hills, your website is not doing you justice and it’s time for one that will. Old website take longer to load, their design is not as pleasing, their information is difficult to find—all things that bounce people from your website.

6. Your website is slow.

If your website is slow, you are going to see a high bounce rate. Your website might not actually be that slow, for when it was built. For example, if your website takes three seconds to load, that might have been a triumph when it was built in 2011. Today’s consumer expects your website to load in less than a second and will click away if it doesn’t do that. Older technology does not load as quickly as new technology, so if your website is slow, you need a new one.

7. Your website no longer accurately reflects your brand message.

If you’ve changed the direction of your brand, but you are still using your old website, you are sending two different messages—and that is never a good thing. Even if you’ve changed the content on your website, using the old design that was made with a different message in mind will create discord. If you’ve taken the time to change the direction of your business, you need a new website; not six months down the road, but as soon as you decide to change.

8. Your website does not work on mobile.

A website built in 2012 might not have been made with responsive technology. What does this mean? That your website will not work properly on mobile devices, which is a huge problem, considering that more than 50% of all online traffic now comes from mobile devices. While you can retrofit an old website to work on mobile devices, it is a much better idea to get an entirely new website that is built with today’s consumers and their mentality in mind.