10 Ways to tell if your website needs a re-design

If you are reading this blog post, you are most likely interested (or at least thinking) of having your Website re-designed, but are not sure if it’s necessary. 95% of the time, the answer is yes, but too many people are fooled into thinking that having their Website redesigned will immediately increase their sales/visitors. This isn’t the case, but can be achieved by examining where your Website is falling short and vastly improving the customer’s experience. We have put this list together to help you identify the common issues with Websites and if a redesign is the best course of action.

Your Website isn’t mobile friendly
Over 50% of people viewing Websites are doing so on a mobile of tablet device. That’s a lot of people! A non-mobile friendly (or non-responsive) Website will have significantly less reach than a mobile friendly site, and will also provide a poor experience for the person viewing it, making them less likely to purchase a product and return in the future. 

Overcrowded navigation bar
The menu (or navigation) bar is a vital element of any Website and should be as clear and uncluttered as possible. Although it may seem wise having as many options and links as possible for customers to click on, this only confuses viewers and ruins the overall experience.

A lack of ‘Call to Action’ Buttons
‘Call to action’ buttons, are links that promote certain aspects of a Website or business.  For example, a button saying ‘follow us on Twitter’ is a call to action and is promoting the businesses twitter profile. Using these enhance the users experience and also help generate more following on social media, newsletters and more.  

Too much text
Information and text heavy Websites are renowned for boring readers. Nobody wants to search through piles of writing just to find the bit of information they are looking for. Using bullet points or even better, info graphics and icons help convey data much more attractively. This will increase the user experience and make it more likely customers to return.
  
Badly written code
Whilst this might not be something you can check yourself, your Website provider will have access to the code and can provide you with the relevant information. All Websites should be built to the latest HTML and CSS standards and not doing so can have a negative impact on your site. If your Website isn’t written with the latest version of HTML and CSS, then it’s definitely time for a redesign.   

Small Images and text
The content of the Website is the main attraction for the user, making it vital to the overall success of the site. Images are designed to be bright and bold to pull people in, so making them too small so that they are hardly even noticeable is a very bad idea! If your Website is full of small images and text, you may need to think of a redesign or at least revamping the content on your current site.  

Too many distractions
Whilst using small images isn’t the way to go, you don’t want to be taking up 80% of the homepage with a huge picture either. A Website should stand out and attract the customer, but you don’t want to distract them from what is important (making a sale or promoting a product/service). Make sure you use imagery sensibly and try not to lose focus on the overall aim of the Website.     

Contact Info requires effort to find
Believe it or not, internet users are lazy, and want access to information as quickly and easy as possible. If they have to scroll all the way to the bottom of a page to find your number, then they will leave your Website. Simple as that. Having your contact information on the header section of your Website or one click away on the menu bar makes it much easier to access.

No Videos on your site
Videos are a brilliant way to engage viewers and are much more likely to retain people’s attention and keep them on your site. If your Website is lacking in video content, you may want to think about uploading some. Even if they are just 2 or 3 minutes long, or used as a background like on our homepage, it still makes a difference!

The Content isn’t engaging
Images and videos are a great way to make the Website more engaging. But the key is in the text. It needs to be short, snappy and tell the reader exactly what they are looking for. At the same time, you don’t want to appear like a robot. Give your content some character and personal touches, this will resonate with the reader and make it much more enjoyable to read.

Hopefully this list will help you to determine whether or not your Website is in need of a redesign, or if you simply require a few updates here and there. If you need further guidance & advice with your Website, please get in touch!