Website redesign — When is the best time to do a redesign?

Website Redesign — How Often Should You Update Your Website?

Regardless of whether a company is engaged in online sales or operates in the service industry, rebuilding a website over the years becomes necessary. Consumer trends are constantly changing, the development of new technologies is visible, as well as safety guidelines. All of these factors mean that we should regularly check to see if it's time to upgrade your site.

There is no clearly defined time after which a decision should be made to redevelop the website. However, our experience tells us that it is best to redesign a website once a year or several years depending on the industry and the dynamics of its technological development. For example online stores Products from the clothing industry require more frequent updating than the business card page of an industrial company. However, each case should be considered individually.

However, it is worth mentioning that modifying, improving and redesigning a website is not always a one-time action. The most effective is the constant monitoring of data and regular updating to increase the indicators that the company cares about the most. Simply put, we will achieve the best results if we approach changes on the site as an ongoing process.

There can be many reasons for renewing a page or store. We most often notice several of them:

• the desire to modernize and adapt to the current trends of the site, mobile application or store,
• understanding the importance of UX (User Experience) and the impact of usability on conversion
• adaptation of the website and individual functionalities to the new marketing strategy of the company,
• removal of elements that negatively affect the positions in the search engine and optimization of the page.

These are just a few motives out of many others that signal the company needs to change. Reality proves that there are many more factors that indicate the need to carry out the redesign of the website. We have analyzed the most important of them.

Website Redesign — Signs That Signal It's Worth It

There are at least a few signs that should light a red light in our heads to notice. Redesign of the website in the following cases should help us gain new customers and improve our market situation. Otherwise, we risk losing more opportunities and the chance to increase sales.

Lack of responsiveness

Interactive agency is able to effectively adapt the site to mobile devices, which is standard nowadays. If our website does not display correctly on all types of devices, we should definitely do something about it. The times in which search engine positions depend mainly on the results achieved by the pages and the store on mobile devices need to adapt. Lack of responsiveness often prevents the user from taking the desired action. The result is the loss of a potential customer and, consequently, profits.

High bounce rate — Need a remodel?

A high bounce rate is an indicator that, in a big way, tells you what proportion of users leave our site after viewing the first page. It is possible that you have encountered a situation where in the first years after the creation of a store or web application the coefficient remained low, but later began to increase.

This sign should not be underestimated, as it can testify to changing user preferences. In the meantime, the target group could get used to modern solutions and new functionalities from competitors. This makes it possible for her to currently perceive our website as uninteresting and leave after a few seconds. This sign testifies to the need to redesign the website by an interactive agency. There is an opportunity to make sure before making a final decision during UX audit or User Experience research. Statistics on increasing coefficients will be analyzed using data from Google Analytics or other tools that allow creating e.g. heat maps (exploring the user's path within the service).

Low usability, outdated appearance and the need to update the software

The above point can show us that something is wrong and make us wonder if our site is outdated by chance. The competition is constantly working on the implementation of new solutions, functionalities and interesting aesthetic innovations. If we have missed these actions over the years, it may be time to catch up.

Another thing is the need to update the software language over time. Individual versions of programming languages become obsolete and are less resistant to attacks. Taking care of the safety of consumers, we should then act responsibly and take care of updates. And since we already have to outsource the work of an interactive agency and at the same time we are thinking, for example, how to increase sales in an online store, it is worth considering redevelopment. We then get the chance to make two roasts on one fire. We will take care of security, topicality and aesthetics while adapting the website to the prevailing trends.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) — Lack of Usability and Marketing Benefits

Modernizing a website is usually designed not only to draw attention to the new look, but to potential marketing benefits. A well-optimized website for search engines has the chance to jump high on the phrases that we care about the most as business owners. Thanks to this, we will be more easily found by potential customers.

Factors that affect the position of the page in the search engine can not be counted. However, Google provides at least a few rules in this regard, which should be followed. They indicate, among other things, the loading speed of the page, which we will check in a tool called Google Speed Insights. Older sites have this to do with the fact that they often load slowly and the images on them are unoptimized, which makes it difficult for the consumer to interact.

Sometimes it becomes unprofitable to take care of all aspects related to usability, SEO, as well as aesthetics when deciding to redesign a website. Especially when we are wondering why, despite the increasing expenditure on search engine positioning, we continue to not get satisfactory results. It is worth considering creating a website, store or service from scratch, because contrary to appearances, it may turn out to be cheaper.

When planning a website redesign, consider the structure of the website. You can use the consultation for this purpose. A good structure means that the user is able to reach the desired information or product in just a few seconds. If this is not possible for a specific reason, changes will have to be made. Although remodeling in such a situation seems like a big expense, in the long run, this kind of decision usually pays off financially.

Problem with adding new content and panel handling in the company

The decision to redesign a website does not have to be based on external factors. Sometimes it is taken at the request of employees within the company. An example is when a page does not have a client panel. This means that in case of a desire to update information on the site or enter new data, the company must order this to the developer each time.

In the long term, this is not very convenient, because changes are not always made quickly enough. It is also expensive. It would be much easier if each of the employees could enter a new text, blog post or other element with the help of a few clicks without the necessary intervention of a programmer, right? Modern stores and websites practically every time allow you to make changes to the content yourself.

Failure to translate marketing activities into increasing sales in the online store

Or have you been investing for months in marketing activities that don't work? Maybe the next marketing agencies send you reports with the results showing the entrances to the site, with which nothing happens later? This may mean that your attention is directed in the wrong direction, and the real problem may lie in the usability of the online store.

Mismatched to the market, an old and slow online store will often have no chance of generating sales even with huge marketing budgets. Not being vigilant and noticing the real source of the problem can cause us to do a Sisyphean job of increasing the number of inputs for years. However, they will not increase sales, but will only discourage more customers from closing transactions. Make sure the store is useful and relevant with help User Experience Research or expert analysis of our interactive agency.

Summary — What does a website redesign give?

Rebuilding a website has to pay off in business terms and that's what the discussion usually comes down to. The above points will help you identify the moment when it is possible to get the most return on such an investment. If you are not sure yet, talk to us, and we will be happy to advise the most favorable solution.