When was the last time you reviewed your website? Is it pulling its weight and turning those all-important leads into sales or are visitors leaving without taking action? Here are five reasons why your business needs a new website now:

1. It’s not responsive

‘Responsive’ is the biggest word in web design at the moment. You may have heard of ‘responsive’ design but do you know what it means?

Essentially, a responsive website is one that automatically changes its design according to whether it’s being viewed on a desktop computer, mobile phone or tablet PC.

With more and more people viewing the internet on mobile devices while they’re out and about, a responsive design is a must. Because the appearance of your website adapts to the device, it’s easier for users to read and navigate the content without having to scroll across pages or zoom in to read the site. It means you can create a more consistent experience across platforms.

It is possible to create a separate mobile version of your website as a stop gap if you’re happy with your main site, but if you’re thinking of redesigning and having a new website, then creating a responsive build now will save you money very quickly.

2. It’s not effective

Your website isn’t just a place to tell people what you do – it should bring in new enquiries, give you a tool to collect data from visitors, and create a positive brand awareness.

Be honest, is your website easy to navigate? Does it feature strong calls to action and mechanisms for capturing visitors’ data? If it doesn’t, you’re leaving money on the table.

If your website is difficult to navigate, then website visitors are quickly going to go elsewhere. You need to make the process of buying from you as easy and streamlined as possible.

Perhaps you feel that your website is in tune with your objective to get new enquiries and collect data effectively, but are you actually monitoring conversion rates for these goals? You’d be amazed how many companies don’t.

It’s tempting to make little tweaks to your website rather than admitting it’s not as effective as it could be. The thing is that the costs of on-going changes add up. Creating a new website can save money by generating more business. The key is to think long-term.

3. You can’t change it or add to it

Can you change your own website so that you can add new pages or products? Does it have a WordPress blog? So many websites don’t have a content management system or are just too complex to use. As a result, they end up being static and inflexible to the changes that inevitably occur in business.

A WordPress blog is hosted in a shared environment but is simple to use and enables you to add new articles and images to your website on a regular basis. You can also schedule articles in advance so that you can write then in one batch and then ensure that they appear automatically throughout the month.

Having regularly updated, relevant and high quality content on your website is important from a search engine optimisation (SEO) perspective because Google is looking for websites that actively seek to engage with and add value for their customers.

4. Not easy to optimise for Google

Do you have a gorgeous looking website that no-one can find? Being optimised for Google isn’t just a case of working with a company that provides Google SEO. If your website isn’t built with Google in mind, then you will need a new website before you can rank well. Make sure that you work with a web design company that designs and builds with Google in mind.

5. It’s time to freshen things up

Everything has a shelf life, even your website. If your current site has been around for a few years, then it could be that your past, current and even potential clients know it hasn’t changed and therefore think that nothing new is happening within your business. They may recall looking on the site and, even if they don’t remember the details, assume that if you didn’t have what they wanted in the past, you won’t now.

A fresh website design may encourage them to take a second look.

Change tends to revitalise and reignite customer interest, and returning visitors are likely to spend some time looking through the new design to see what’s changed. This may be the push they need to make an enquiry.

A new and improved website design also sends the message that you care about the customer experience and that you are not afraid to refine and evolve your business according to their needs.

Call the H&P Design team today 0115 9140 640
Improve your business’ online appeal with our experience in web design.