How Often You Should Redesign Your Website
If you go to Google and search for “how often should I redesign my website,” the top result that mostly comes up is once every two to three years. But you might ask, is that it? Why that timeframe?
The truth is, there is no standard time you need to consider when deciding to redesign your website. You need to rely on data from the site itself and the users and the website’s purpose to determine if it’s time. So, what information do you need, and how do you get it?
What Redesigning Your Website Means
There are many elements of website design. The graphics, the interface design, and the content are all confined in web design. Therefore, to redesign the website, all these elements will need to be changed either entirely or partially. In effect, the site will have improved performance, a new look, and in some cases, a new purpose.
Essential Data You Need Before You Decide to Redesign a Website
It has become so easy nowadays to collect critical data such as web traffic, conversion rates, and analytics of your website. And given that this information is vital to evaluate your site’s health, it will play a crucial part in your decision to redesign the site.
1.Web Traffic
Website traffic is defined as the amount of data sent and received by visitors to a website. It reflects how the web visitor found your site, how they interacted with it, and how long they were on the site. All this data is recorded by analytics tools such as Google Analytics.
There are essentially four types of web traffic. There is a direct, referral, organic, and social traffic. Out of the four, organic is the most sought-after since its traffic coming from an online search.
As a website owner, you need to strive for organic traffic. Most web users trust results from their search, and when your website ranks for their search terms, they are likely to believe that you have the solution to their query. The good thing is that you can redesign your website to rank higher in search results.
2.Conversion Rates
Conversion is usually one of the goals of creating a website. It refers to the rate at which web visitors turn to customers. In other words, the percentage of web visitors who take the desired action.
To calculate your website’s conversion rate, you will need some variables such as product/service type, traffic source, location, and others. This information helps you figure out whether you are reaching the right audience.
Conversion rate can be affected by the User Interface of your website, load time, and persuasion level incorporated in the web content. A professional web designer will point out areas that can be improved and their impact.
3.Web Analytics
Analysis of a website involves the collection, interpretation, and reporting of web data for audits. In that case, web traffic and conversion rates data are incorporated in web analysis. With web analytics, you can make an informed decision of what you need to add or remove on the site to improve it.
Web analytics can tell you the number of links your website has, and their value. From the same data, you can find out how your site performs in reference to similar sites in search engines. With this data, you become more aware of what’s working and what’s not.
Today, MonsterInsights and other powerful WordPress plugins can help you collect, analyze, and visualize meaningful data such as web analytics, conversion rates, and traffic.
How Often Should You Audit Your Website
Your primary concern should not be redesigning the website but rather auditing it. However, for non-techies, web audits can be daunting. In a web audit, the data collected either by automation or manually needs to be assessed and interpreted accurately to gauge a website’s status. This status will, therefore, help you decide if redesigning your website will be necessary.
A website audit should highlight if the website is up to date, performs optimally, and is fulfilling its intended purpose. To clarify, your website needs to have the latest features in the industry and address customer pain points.
Website design trends are a great source of inspiration when thinking of a makeover. Trends such as designing for compatibility with multiple devices, accessibility features, and responsiveness show us that web design is now more focused on the user, which is a good thing.
If you are doing the maintenance for your website, make sure you check out the numbers on the dashboard and make sense of them. Meanwhile, you are in luck if a professional web design agency manages your website. The benefit of having someone else maintain the website for you is you are assured of optimal performance.
Why You Need to Redesign Your Website
We have outlined the reasons you need to consider several elements of your website before embarking on a makeover. This then leaves you wondering, what happens if you just don’t redesign and stick to your current design? Many things will happen. The most common is your site will lose relevance, then the site’s usage will drop significantly, and eventually, financial losses.
An outdated website will discourage user engagement due to bad user experience, low ranking in search engines due to lack of SEO, and the ROI from it will be too low.
Looking for a Website Designer Near You?
Have you been experiencing a drop in numbers on your dashboard? Are your customers complaining? Maybe it’s time for a makeover. Contact us for a quote and let us help you get back on top, where you belong.
