“My website looks outdated”
“Our website has been hacked”
“We need more pageviews on our site”
“I can’t view my website properly on mobile”
These are just some of the common reasons we hear when a client comes to us for a website revamp. But are the reasons valid? Is the cost justified?
Here, we take a look at some of the common reasons for a website revamp, and whether you should do it.
You could do with a better design
One of the top reasons for someone to want to change or update their website is for design reasons. Can we all agree that design is subjective? While the design is one part of your website, it may not always be the most important.
Yes, we agree that impression matters, especially if you are selling your products or services through your site, but we do think that functionality is a more valid reason, especially so if it is going to cost you thousands just to change the look of it.
You can’t view your website properly on mobile
THIS, for us, is one of the top reasons you should revamp your website. Why? You might assume that your readers or customers could still go on their desktop to browse your site if they need it, but assessing the web on mobile has taken over web-browsing on desktop, at least in Singapore.
Source: StatCounter Global Stats – Platform Comparison Market Share
Even if they might not have in other parts of the world, mobile browsing now constitutes a significant part of overall website-browsing traffic, which means it is a segment you can’t afford to ignore.
It can’t be emphasised enough how important it is for your website to be responsive. It will help your readers browse your website properly despite the different screen sizes of their devices. What’s even more important is that Google takes into consideration whether your site is mobile friendly when ranking it, so if you want your site to be more searchable, making it responsive is mandatory.
Not sure whether your site is mobile-ready? Here’s how you can find out in 3 simple steps.
You want to incorporate a blog on your website
In this day and age, inbound marketing definitely works better than outbound. If you’ve just realised it, you might want to start spending some time publishing blog articles on your site. Not only is it a good strategy to get your readers coming back to your site regularly with relevant content, having relevant keywords and informative content can greatly help your site ranks better.
If your website is a simple site, you can add a blog element quite easily. However, a complex corporate site that comprises security elements may make it difficult to “simply add a page”. In cases like this, you might want to consider a microsite dedicated to publishing content. We can help you with that as well.
You want to implement an e-commerce solution
Perhaps you own a cake shop and had previously set up a website for your online presence, showcasing some of your best cakes and enabling customers to send enquiries to you via a contact form.
Now that your business has expanded, you would like to enable customers to order cakes via your website. This would require a sort of payment gateway, and allow aggregation of orders such that it is sent to your kitchen for preparation for the date of order. Such requirements would probably mean you need to change your website entirely.
Your website’s been hacked!
It’s every website owner’s nightmare to wake up to their website being down, or worse, to find that someone’s logo has been implemented on their site. Not only that, hackers can access sensitive information on your site, such as customer’s credit card information, address or simply stealing your database. This calls for urgent action.
We’ve met clients who have had their website set up by freelancers overseas and lacked reliable maintenance or security updates. If this sounds familiar to you, you might want to look for a reliable company that you can call upon in times like this.
Your website is not converting
Say you own a mortgage rate comparison site and your ultimate goal is for someone to click through your site to get a mortgage loan so that you earn a referral fee. You’ve invested in writing great content articles and have gotten good results – higher total page views, lower bounce rates and longer time spent on the page. But your readers are not converting. What’s the problem here? And more importantly, does that mean you need to revamp your website?
Firstly, there can be several reasons for a low conversion rate:
- Brand reputation
- Price – competitive pricing might put you in an advantage. Or simply, a high-priced product would probably require more time for a buyer to mull over it.
- Sales complexity – selling a bag is way different from selling a software solution which requires in-depth research or the approval of your boss.
- Usability of the website – your audience simply can’t find what they are looking for on your site and gave up.
As you can see, there are some reasons which have absolutely nothing to do with your website. But to be sure, you can go on to do some A/B testing, or consult with us to see if your website requires some UX enhancements.
The bottom line is that revamping your site may not always be the solution to more pageviews/audience/conversions. Sometimes, all you need is a little UX enhancement, a security update or just a minor change to the site. That’s good news too since you’ll likely need to spend less. Not too sure about what to do with your site? Contact us here for an honest consultation!
