Your business is your baby. But your baby needs new clothes.
(By new clothes I mean a new website, boo)
But let’s be honest, your website is often the last thing that gets your attention. You have more important things to do (like attend to your clients, manage your books, train your team, etc.). The website can wait. But it keeps waiting… and waiting… and waiting…
Unfortunately, this can come at a cost. A drab, outdated, or just plain boring website leaves much to be desired — and this can deter potential customers, limit your visibility, and plateau the traffic to your site.
Your website is one of the most important assets in your business. It’s the point of contact for potential customers, the “home” of your brand, and a showcase for your products and services.
So, make it count.
If you were looking for a sign to redesign your site this year, it’s this.
And here’s why:
It’s Painfully Slow (and You May Not Know It)
Have you ever gone to a website and it took ages to load?
Pretty rage-inducing sometimes.
But that’s a them problem, not YOUR problem (right?)
Maybe you’re thinking, “Well, my site is kinda slow but it’s not THAT slow”.
But you might be wrong. Sorry to burst your bubble. ( I do this because I love you, I swear)
The reality: As the owner of your site, you are “cached” for the complete version of your website. The images, the text, the graphics, everything.
This means that when you visit your site, it loads faster than it will for the average person.
And you could be none the wiser. Your website might be painfully slow to other users, but to you, it seems to load quickly. So you might not even notice there’s a problem.
But there’s a test for that.
Use the tool https://pagespeed.web.dev/.
This will tell you FOR REAL whether your site loads quickly and is optimized for new users. It will also compare site speed and performance for Mobile vs Desktop.
A slow website isn’t just objectively slow for users, it’s also a huge limitation to your website traffic. Page speed is one of the most important ranking factors when it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which has to do with your visibility in Google and ability to drive site traffic.
Pagespeed is a seemingly “invisible” issue but can have major implications when it comes to getting website traffic and new leads.
But you wouldn’t know what you’re missing until you looked under the hood (i.e. do a page speed test).
Realizing your website is secretly slow might be a hard pill to swallow, but it’s one worth swallowing.
Because that means you have the opportunity to fix it (yay!). And a site redesign will usually do the trick.
There’s a Big, Fat “Warning” Sign on It
Another “invisible” problem that comes up all the time is site security issues.
This is when new users encounter a “Warning: Site Not Secure” page when they visit your site.
And again, if you have visited your site before, you might not see it because you are “cached” for the complete version of your website.
This is a simple issue to fix but a difficult one to identify.
Basically, your website is missing what’s called an SSL Certificate.
Once applied, this certificate changes the version of your site from HTTP to HTTPS. This confirms that your safe is secure for people to visit and interact with.
But how do you know if your SSL is missing?
- Look at the URL: If your website URL starts with “http://” instead of “https://”, it’s likely missing SSL. (The “s” in “https” stands for secure, meaning SSL is active)
- Use an SSL checker: Use free online tools like SSL Checker or Why No Padlock? to test your site’s SSL status. Enter your URL, and it will show if SSL is active and configured correctly.
Setting up SSL can be a bit technical and involves purchasing the license through your domain provider (it might be Namecheap, GoDaddy, or the like).
Any website developer who knows their chops will do this for you — as well as perform regular site security checks to make sure your website is safe and user-friendly.
It Doesn’t Reflect the Personality of Your Business NOW
One of the biggest issues I see with websites is that they don’t showcase the character or “personality” behind the business. Maybe they are just generic (a cookie-cutter design) or the brand has been through so many iterations that the website no longer reflects what the brand is about now.
These are simple problems to fix… with a redesign.
As stated, your website is one of the most important marketing assets you own. If it doesn’t highlight the character of your brand, it’s not using its full power to differentiate you from other businesses.
And differentiating your business is not just a “nice to have”. It’s essential. Because what if the deciding factor between a customer choosing you vs the other guy is your website?
Yikes.
But it’s also a creative activity. How would it feel to have a website that spot-on reflects your brand, uniqueness, products, team, values, etc?
Pretty nice, right?
This establishes the foundation of all your marketing efforts going forward. Designing a website that’s impactful, descriptive, and attractive can make a HUGE difference.
So, if your site is a little outdated or otherwise doesn’t respect your business today, it’s definitely time for a refresh.
SEO? Don’t Know Her.
If you’ve been in business for a minute, you’ve likely heard the buzz about “SEO”.
But just to make sure we have the same definition, SEO is a type of marketing involved in helping your website (and online profiles) rank in search engines – namely, Google.
And it’s the primary source of organic traffic for businesses and blogs.
SEO is one of those things that gets a little confusing for business owners. At the jump, it seems highly technical. Maybe it sounds time-consuming. And busy business owners often don’t have the time to figure it out.
But many of your SEO woes can be remedied with a site redesign.
For example, I already mentioned that page speed is a critical Google ranking factor. A website redesign will implement a speed-optimized template that helps your site load faster.
A website redesign will also incorporate a “responsive” template, meaning your site is optimized for any type of device (desktop, tablet, smartphone, etc.).
It will also fix pesky SEO “best practice” issues, like fixing broken links/404 pages, ensuring all your web pages have titles and descriptions, formatting page headings in an optimized way, and compressing the sizes of your images on your site.
There are many more activities that go on behind the scenes, but you get the picture. A website redesign can fix a lot of SEO issues in one fell swoop.
Now, this might not result in a huge uptick in traffic (though it can), but it will ensure that the FOUNDATION of your site is fully optimized. This will support all future SEO efforts, traffic from your blog, lead generation, etc.
I certainly recommend doing SEO as an ongoing activity, but at the very least, make sure the basis of your site is optimized. If you’re not sure if your site is SEO-friendly, it’s probably not. Find a website designer to give her a makeover.
Where Does the Traffic Go?
If you’re doing any marketing at all, you’ll want to know whether those efforts are paying off.
But if your website is the final landing spot for this traffic — and you don’t know where users are going after that — you’ll really have no idea if your marketing is driving results.
This is where website analytics come in.
Ew. Website analytics. Numbers. Math. Don’t want it.
But bear with me. You can’t avoid the numbers forever. You gotta look at them. I’ll tell you why.
For one, you’ll see the source of your traffic. Are people coming from Facebook? Google? Pinterest? LinkedIn? Knowing this will show you where to focus your efforts / what’s working well.
For two, you’ll see where people are going after that. Are they going to your Contact page? Visiting your home page and then leaving? Reading your blog? Knowing this will indicate whether your website is keeping users around or sending them elsewhere.
Finally, website analytics will track conversions, i.e. whether customers make a purchase, fill out your contact form, etc. And that’s the ultimate goal, right?
Google Analytics is the best, free source of website analytics.
You will need to create an account, grab the verification code, and add the code to your website.
If you’re not tech-savvy, though, a website designer can easily do this for you. As well as implement conversion tracking.
Once it’s set up, you don’t really need to touch it. But I do recommend reviewing your traffic on at least a quarterly basis to see what channels are earning you new visitors and customers.
Knowledge is power, after all. And a great web designer will get you set up so you always have this knowledge (i.e. data) at your fingertips.
It’s Time for a Better Content Strategy
Again, your website is kind of like the “home” for all your marketing endeavors. This means it’s the landing place for great content. Content that describes your services, brand, and customer success stories.
If your website is neglected or drab, chances are, you don’t really want to post content there. Or, the content that’s there needs a refresh as well.
A website redesign is a great opportunity to start fresh.
Spruce up your service pages with more personality, pictures, graphics, and stories.
Redesign your product pages to be more visually appealing, descriptive, and shop-worthy.
Streamline your sales funnel or contact page to make it stupid-easy for customers to contact you.
A website redesign is about more than just the look, it’s the content as well.
A website redesign will also give you an optimized platform to post blog articles, case studies, and testimonials.
Blog articles can help drive traffic to your site and testimonials build trust with potential customers.
I get it — if you’re not proud of your site, it can feel like a chore to post new content. But with an updated platform, you’ll have renewed confidence (and capabilities) to level up your content strategy.
At The Web Edit, we’re all about the power of content. People read it. They digest it to understand more about your brand and services. They share it, driving more visibility for your business.
Turn your website into the content engine it needs to be to attract new clients or customers. You’ll see, it’s fun!
Website Redesign with Your Brand in Mind
Okay, I’ve probably twisted your arm enough. You know your website could be a little better. Maybe you want a new look, renewed SEO, or better site speed. (I mean, all of the above is ideal). I’d love to help you with this.
Here comes the pitch: If you’re looking for a website redesign, The Web Edit is the place to do it. We specialize in fast, SEO-friendly, and content-improved websites for all types of brands. We’ll inject your personality back into your business, with a fresh look, feel, and user experience.
This year is THE year to finally update your site. Send us a message to discuss your project today.