How long has it been since you’ve changed up your website? Whether it’s been a year or 10 years, there is always some aspect of your website that could be improved. As technology and the Internet continue to evolve, so should your website. While this may look different for each website, there are 7 major signs that your website is due for a makeover.
Just as websites play a major role in attracting customers, they also can play a major role in diverting them to competitors. By ignoring these signs and keeping your website the way it has been, you will only continue to hurt your business and potential reach. Find out if your website needs a makeover and how you can fix it today!
1. Not Mobile-Friendly
With all of the rapid advancements in the technology industry, there is no doubt that smartphones are now more accessible than a laptop or a desktop. As of January 2022, 54.98% of web traffic worldwide came through mobile devices (StatCounter). So, when it comes to your website, it is more likely for a customer / user to visit your website from their phone.
While this should be great for increasing web traffic, if your website is not mobile-friendly, this will cause more harm than good. It doesn’t matter if your website is newly designed and functions well on a computer, if it’s not mobile-friendly, your website will have a low rating on Google. This low rating will push it further back on the search pages, therefore, risking losing over half of your organic search traffic. In 2022, every web designer should be ensuring your website is mobile-friendly since it is such an important aspect of the overall user experience and web traffic.
Steer away from any web designer that doesn’t automatically recommend your website to be mobile-friendly. If you want to test if your website is mobile-friendly, check out this free Google test here.
2. High Bounce Rate
A “high bounce rate” will vary depending on your business goals and expectations for your website. Even though it’s relative to each website, typically a bounce rate will be within the 26%-70% range, according to Rocketfuel. If your bounce rate is in the 56%-70% range, that could be considered higher than normal and worth looking into. There are a variety of reasons why your website could be getting a high bounce rate. One of the main contributors to a high bounce rate is if a page is slow-to-load. Nobody wants to visit a slow-loading website, so not only will people leave, but Google will rank them low.
Additionally, if there are any error pages or blank pages, then this will create an extremely high bounce rate. Another contributor to a high bounce rate is if you include misleading meta titles and meta descriptions. People will visit your site expecting to receive information about the topic they were searching for just to not find their answer. This misinformation will cause them to leave quickly, thus, creating a high bounce rate. By working with an experienced web developer, they should be able to reduce your bounce rate to the average level.
3. Un-Optimized Website
Maybe you have a great website layout and design set up, but all of it could be hidden if you have neglected to implement a website optimization strategy. An un-optimized website puts your business and your website at a severe disadvantage compared to your competitors. It will set you up for a low search engine ranking which as we know, impacts the number of visitors.
By implementing SEO, you are utilizing an essential tool to reach and draw in more users to the content they are searching for. Through carefully selected keywords, images, and videos, your website will be filled with relevant content that will target relevant prospects. While some businesses may think they can get the same results from paid ads, they are wrong. According to Digital GYD, organic SEO is 5.66 times better than paid ads. You can improve your analytics and brand awareness without having to spend extra money on Google Ads or Microsoft Ads. For more information on SEO and how it works, check out this great YouTube video from WordPress Tutorials.
4. No Linked Social Media Platforms
As social media continues to grow over the years, it has proven itself to be a major channel of communication for businesses. It is crucial for businesses to take advantage of the free platforms and link their accounts. While contact pages are still necessary and essential, social media profiles should be linked somewhere accessible on the page too. In this day and age, younger demographics are more inclined to look for more information or reach out on social media platforms rather than calling or emailing.
By linking your platforms, you not only provide extra communicative options for your customers, but you can increase your following on these platforms. This integration will drive traffic to your social media platforms and create more quality links to boost your online presence. With an improved search ranking, your website and business will be able to grow even more just by integrating the links of social media platforms. Check out the links below for guides on how to add social media links to your website.
5. No Blog
You may be wondering if every website and business should have a blog section on their website. The answer is yes! Even if you have an eCommerce or a specific niche website, there are always people searching Google with questions in your sector. With an estimated 5.5 billion searches every day, Google is filled with people looking for more information on what your business has to offer (AndorSEO).
This drive of people checking out your blog will not only increase traffic but improve your SEO. According to Digital GYD, websites with an active blog generate 67% more leads and 434% more indexed pages than those that don’t. By implementing a blog with keywords, your business and website could have a complete turnaround. This would help generate better search engine results and a lower bounce rate. If you find it difficult to come up with blog topics or even the time to write a blog, then you can leave the responsibility up to an SEO agency. If you want to do it on your own, take a look at this guide for choosing one of the top blog topics of 2022 here.
6. No Video
When designing a website, it is important to make sure that your customers are engaged in your content. Keeping them engaged will not only keep them on your website longer but will help you rank higher in search engine results pages. One of the simplest ways to keep customers engaged is through videos. According to Wistia, customers that visited websites that had videos spent 2.6 times longer on them as opposed to pages that didn’t include videos (Wistia).
If your website has no videos, you have been ignoring a simple, yet powerful SEO strategy. Think of using videos as a direct way to communicate your business and its vision to your customers. In return, you will improve your brand awareness, SEO, user experience, and search engine rankings.
As the smartphone industry continues to grow and become more affordable, you can create your own video from the comfort of your phone to upload to your website.
YouTube is a great tool to utilize since it is owned by Google. By uploading your website’s video onto YouTube, your website is 53 times more likely to appear on top Google search pages (WebFX). Take advantage of video-use on your website to improve your SEO. Check out this YouTube video on how to film a high-quality video from your smartphone here.
7. Uses an Outdated or Archaic CMS
If you have been using the same content management system (CMS) for years, then you may be sacrificing the backend interface and frontend design of your website. Your CMS is supposed to save time, increase security, reduce technical issues, and improve usability. By neglecting to update your CMS, you are neglecting the overall functionality and maintenance of your website. Furthermore, since your CMS controls the overall composition of your website, you will be hurting your SEO in the long run. So, in order to keep up with competition and the ongoing advancements in the industry, you have to get rid of your outdated CMS by updating or upgrading to a new one.
Across the Internet, there are just over 73 million websites that use CMSes (BuiltWith). Ever since WordPress has dominated the CMS industry, a lot of older CMS softwares have been abandoned. With fewer people focusing on their services, this lack of support can make outdated CMSs more susceptible to potential security risks. Software like Joomla, Kentico, ExpressionEngine, and Drupal are well-known in the CMS world but may have specific factors that may be outdated or archaic. While Joomla is still a popular CMS to use, it cannot match the themes, plugins, and ease of functionality of WordPress. Similarly, Kentico provides a popular software, yet is outrageously priced making it inferior to WordPress’ accessibility. As for Drupal, their system is geared towards more high-level programmers, making it not as easy to control and use for many designers. Find out more information on the top CMS software at the YouTube link here.
Get a Websults Makeover
We understand the frustration of a website not reaching its potential, and we also know exactly how to fix that. Our wide array of web development services can guarantee you a better functioning website that will increase web traffic and user engagement. With over 20 years in the industry, Websults knows the importance of adapting to the technology advancements and ongoing changes in the industry. We focus on continuing to educate ourselves as well as our clients on what works best for your sector. For all 7 of the signs we listed above, we offer solutions through our redesign services. Websults values our clients and wants each of their businesses to succeed through the help of our web development and SEO services. If you are realizing your website is well-overdue for a redesign, then reach out to us at (727) 597-7300 to see what services we can provide for you!
Websults | SEO Agency Located in Clearwater, FL
The team at Websults can help in deciding which method would work best for your needs and would be happy to set up the integration for you! As an experienced web development, social marketing, and eCommerce agency, Websults will listen diligently to your needs, ask questions to help identify any other needs or future needs, and will work hard to give you a competitive advantage in your industry. Contact Websults for a free consultation.
