YOUR WEBSITE’S PURPOSE WAS UPDATED
If your site’s purpose or goals have changed, then it may require a website overhaul. For example, if your new goals are to provide more lead generation content, you may need to restructure pages to drive more leads; or if you’ve recently added a shopping cart to your website, you may need to update its layout to be more in line with other eCommerce websites.
While you clearly don’t need to do a full site redesign each time you adjust your marketing goals or messaging, it’s a good idea to check every so often to be sure your site is still aligned with your newest marketing plans.
YOUR CLIENTS OR USERS ARE COMPLAINING
Working closely with your customer service team is a great way to identify issues with your current website. Your website design and content strategy need to be addressed if your customer service team is getting calls that include people saying some of the things listed below:
- I can’t find you online.
- Your website is not usable on a mobile device.
- I am having trouble checking out and buying your product.
- Do you offer product “x” or service “y”?
- Where is your business located?
- Where can I buy your product?
INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC DESIGN TRENDS CHANGED
Is your website keeping up with design trends? With industry-specific web design trends changing every few years, a website that is two or three years old will seem outdated when compared to a competitor who has a website that is up to date with the latest design trends.
By no means are we saying that you need to chase the newest website design trends like flat design? When trying to determine if a redesign due to a design trend is worthwhile, ask yourself two important questions:
- Will changing our website design be beneficial to how our brand is perceived?
- Are our competitors taking advantage of these new trends?
YOUR WEBSITE LOOKS UNTRUSTWORTHY OR OUTDATED
Whether you believe it or not, approximately 75% of people will judge the credibility of your business based solely on the design of your website.
In 1999 Jakob Nielsen identified four ways in which a website can communicate trustworthiness:
- Design quality
- Up-front disclosure
- Comprehensive and current content
- Connection to the rest of the web
In a recent study by the Nielsen Normal Group, they observed that the very same factors that Jakob Nielsen identified in 1999 continue to influence users today.
Article adapted from linchipin
