By John Eberhard

Here are a number of reasons why getting a newly designed website would be a good idea right now:

1. Mobile Friendly: If your site was designed years ago, before it became a hard requirement for sites to be mobile friendly, it would be a really good idea to get this handled now. Statistics show that over half of web visitors today are coming to websites from a mobile phone. If your site was designed back when this wasn’t a thing, then it will show up tiny on the screen and the text won’t be readable. Which means most visitors on a mobile will just leave.

   Most new sites are made in a format called “responsive,” which means that the items on the page are moved around depending on the size of the screen (desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile), but are still readable.

2. Changing Styles: Web design styles have changed a lot over the last 3-4 years. And although that by itself doesn’t mean you have to go chasing after every new styles that comes out, if your site is more than 5-6 years old, chances are it is starting to look old. A new design will make it look modern and up to date, and will give your visitors the idea that you care about your image and online presence. This is especially important if a lot of your competitors have newer looking websites but yours looks older.
3. SSL Certificate: If you’re going to get a new website, it makes sense to get an SSL certificate at the same time. This changes your web address from http to https and makes the site more secure for visitors. Google has been pushing for all sites to have an SSL so browsing is made more safe for everyone. For sites that don’t have an SSL, Chrome and Firefox now have a message in the upper left saying that your site is “Not secure.” Having an SSL gives your visitors more confidence in using the site and especially filling out a form or using a shopping cart.
4. No Response: If you have a site that looks nice, but isn’t getting response, something can be done about that. There are two possible reasons: 1) the site is not designed well to get responses from the people that are visiting, or 2) no one is visiting, i.e. your monthly number of visitors is very small. Design problems that would negatively affect people responding could include: a) no prominent phone number, b) no contact form on the site or it is hard to find, c) you have a shopping cart but it is hard to find or not prominent, d) no clear call to action, i.e. you’re not telling people to respond or not giving them a good enough reason to respond.

   If your site traffic is very low (less than 200-300 visitors per month) there are number of ways to drive traffic to your site. Contact us to find out what options you could pursue.

5. No Personalization: One mistake I see a LOT with some small businesses is to have a site with lots of information but no pictures of the business or personnel. This is a mistake, because one of the things you are trying to do with any promotion is to differentiate yourself from the competition. Otherwise, why should they select you?
6. Poor Quality Design: The quality of the design is important, because that is the thing that the visitor first sees, and it is the quality of the design that will invite him in and get him to see more and read your message. This involves things like the color scheme (using colors that go well together and fit your topic), graphics, the fonts and size of the type, large photos, the placement of the various elements, etc. The competition in most industries today is fierce. A high end design will get your site noticed more, help you differentiate your business, and help you deliver your message.

If you have some of these problems, contact us and we’ll be happy to go over your options for a new web design.