When someone wants to know more about a company, they search for their website online. So imagine they arrive at your website and see something like this:

Oh dear. It may be time to modernize that site of yours because a website which looks outdated presents a bad first impression to share with potential customers.

If your website is super old and no one can use it, what’s the point? You are probably paying yearly fees for hosting and a domain name anyway so there is no reason your website can’t be upgraded to the latest greatest in web design. It doesn’t matter what industry or category your business falls into. It reflects poorly on you if someone tries to go to your website and it’s either non-existent or horrendous looking.  Now don’t get me wrong, I understand it is probably much harder to make the decision to spend money for a website redesign when your website is still slightly functional and possibly even brings in customers. If this is your case,  you may still want to consider how a website redesign could boost your sales even more. If you have been struggling internally with whether or not your website needs an update, here are a few things to think about.

1 – If your website is over three years old and has not been updated, you automatically qualify for a website redesign. What does the copyright date in the footer say? If the year is not current it’s a sign to customers that you have not updated in awhile.

2 – Do you actually get potential customers contacting you through your website contact form?… or wait, does your contact form even work?

3 – Is your website responsive? In other words can it be easily viewed on various mobile devices.

4 – How tough is it to make content changes to your website? Do you have to get in touch with IT guy Bob who rarely gets back to you if at all?

5 – How does your website compare to your competitors? If you take a look at other company websites in your field does yours look outdated? If your website looks basically the same as many of your competitors, here is your chance to get an edge.

At some point you have to change the way you think about your website in terms of redesigns and updates.  In between redesigns, make sure that you are at least updating portions of your website to keep it as current as possible. Website redesigns can be a stressful thing if you look at it that way. But you don’t have to. Come to terms with the fact that updates should be happening on a regular basis.  They can also be very healthy for your company and I am sure your customers will appreciate your efforts to keep up with the latest greatest.

Think your website is up to snuff? Try our new website self-audit to see how you stack up in the modern age of web design: