Have you been thinking about updating your website but debating if its worth the spend? Here are 5 quick red flag signs to look out for that can determine if you should get a re-designed website. Whether you website is two years old or 10 years old, these basic improvements are crucial to gaining online traffic and improving your Google ranking.
1. Your website is not responsive
If your website can only been seen properly on a desktop and not on a tablet or other mobile device, it is not responsive. A static website hurts your online presence and the mobile user experience. Mobile devices are now the leading platform when browsing the internet. 74% of users will leave an unresponsive website because it’s not user friendly. Once you have adapted your website to be responsive on all platforms, your visitor traffic and conversion rates are likely to increase.
2. Long loading time
If you type in your website URL, click enter and notice your website takes longer than 5 seconds to load, that is your second red flag. Your website should load within 5 seconds -- the ideal speed time is 1.5 seconds, which is inline with 75% of sites on the Internet. Your loading speed can determine if a user stays on a page. The average user attention span is less than 3 seconds, so if your page loads too slow, your visitors may leave due to lack of patience. Many factors lead to a slow loading time: your site might have many videos that are large file sizes, complex file formats, too many plugins and large codes. The faster you can get your website to load the better it is for your visitors.
3. You have old content
If a visitor goes on your site and sees that the last blog post or news update is a few years old, they might think the company no longer exists. It also drastically reduces your ranking on Google -- the more frequent you post, the more likely your site will rise in Google rankings. It might seem like a tedious and daunting task, but once you make this a consistent routine you will see that your website will perform better. Remember that quality trumps quantity -- write posts that will engage visitors to stay and read.
4. It looks outdated
If your competitor's site has a leg up on design, you should update your own website. Select neutral colours (maximum of three colours) that are consistent to your brand and easy on the eyes, and include any social media icons for visitors to click on. Update your images -- and try to avoid stock images. Instead, take photos that showcase your company, staff and location. Include or refresh your head shot and team photo. Declutter your website --if your home page is content heavy, visitors may not want to stay on the page.
5. Flash site
The ultimate red flag sign is if your current website is built with flash. Flash website is no longer compatible with the latest website browsers. Flash is not compatible with mobile devices either, so this is something that should be fixed immediately. Your visitors will be taken to a page that requires a flash player, and often will automatically leave your site because they cannot access it.
