When Is The Right Time To Invest In A Website Redesign (Or Make Updates Instead)

Your website’s mission should be creating connections and turning visitors into buyers.

If you’re not confident it’s doing its job, it may be time to take a serious look at what could be missing.

When your website is outdated, difficult to navigate, is no longer converting, or no longer reflects your brand or mission, it’s probably time to consider a redesign.

The typical shelf life of a website is about 3 to 5 years (this website says 2 years and 7 months). This is due to website functionality upgrades, changes in best practices for SEO and UX (user experience), how your business has evolved, updated privacy and other online regulations, and more.

You know it’s time to update your website if any of these things are happening:

1. Your website isn’t mobile-friendly: The majority of online traffic comes from people using their mobile devices (over 60%, but I dare to say that number is higher). If your website isn’t built so that it functions perfectly on phone or tablets, you are probably losing clients. Mobile responsive sites may also rank higher in search results.
2. You’re embarrassed to give people your URL or share posts or links to services, or other important info on social media or via email. This could be because your brand has evolved and your site’s style and message is no longer aligned (also see #4).
3. Your site is difficult to navigate: We are all busy and just like you, our time is at a premium. If people can’t find the information they want quickly (you have less than 3 seconds!) or things on your site are confusing, they’ll leave and go look elsewhere (i.e. your competitor’s website).
4. Your site is no longer a reflection of your brand or mission or it no longer attracts the “right” type of clients. This could mean your messaging needs updating and/or your visuals are no longer aligned or have that old-school stock photo vibe.
5. You have difficulty updating text or images, or maybe it’s hard to work with period. If you have ever wanted to pull your hair out because the backend of your website is hard to maneuver around and you’re afraid if you click the wrong thing, you may possibly blow it up or break it, you may want to consider a redesign to an easier to use, modern theme.
6. Your site isn’t secure. Website security (including functionality) is a soapbox topic of mine. “Security ” can mean a lot of different things, from security monitoring, ensuring you have good backups, best practices for user logins, fixes when things go wrong, and more. One very basic and necessary item is having an SSL certificate to help provide a secure connection. That little padlock up by your URL is created by your SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate and tells visitors your site is safe to visit. (Though…per Google, Chrome’s padlock will soon be replaced with a “tune” icon. More info about there here.)
7. Your site hasn’t been optimized for SEO or doesn’t use best practices. If you’ve noticed high bounce rates or are getting little or no traffic from organic search results, it could be due to old or nonexistent technical SEO site practices. In fact, each of these items in this list are things Google pays attention to.
8. Your website isn’t converting your visitors into clients or you are attracting the wrong type of  people. This could be design related, outdated messaging, or other factors.

You are probably not ready to redesign your website if:

• You recently updated your website. After a new website launch, you’ll want to give time for the dust to settle. It takes at least 3 months for Google to index and possibly longer for your site to show up in searches. Give it time so you are able to gather information and conversion rates before making big changes.
• Your website is already performing and converting like a dream. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, but be sure that you are sporting the latest software upgrades to implement security patches and other updates pushed out by WordPress, your theme, or plugins. Minor updates to the user experience or flow may be all that’s needed.
• You are second-guessing your business and no longer sure you love what you do. Or, maybe you want to transition or step back.
• You aren’t clear on your business goals or don’t understand your audience.

When its time to upgrade your site, a strategic approach to your website design will help you can create a website that truly supports your business growth and meets your needs. If you think the right time is now (or soon), reach out and let’s chat!