According to numerous eCommerce experts, business owners should redesign their websites every 2 to 3 years. There are countless reasons to redesign your website. Today, we’ll focus on the top 5 reasons why it’s important to keep your online store’s presence updated and fresh in 2023.
You want to boost conversions
A great website should successfully communicate what your business does, who your products are for, and what your core objectives are within just a few seconds of scanning your homepage. It’s a surefire sign that it’s time to redesign your site if someone can’t quickly figure out what your company sells or who your target customers are.
The sooner you’re able to communicate who you are and what you do to your audience, the sooner they’ll be able to make a decision about purchasing from your brand. A cluttered, wordy, or hard-to-read website complicates users’ search for information or products, driving them towards competitors.
Your brand has evolved
No business remains static over time. As your company expands, moves into new markets, and creates new products or services, your brand goals can shift as well. Redesigning your website can reflect the changes your brand has made and inform visitors about your current objectives and values.
Your brand’s evolution might involve a new logo or color scheme, but more importantly, web copy and content. You can’t expect to connect with customers today if your content doesn’t address their current needs. A website redesign will involve a lot of editing and rewriting product descriptions, blog posts, company “About Us” pages, and any other content you’ve produced over the years.
The website is outdated
This may be the top of the reasons to redesign your website. Most customers will immediately recognize if your site hasn’t been redesigned in a decade. You need to consider that visitors aren’t familiar with your company. Therefore, an outdated site with features that either don’t work or aren’t necessary can be a red flag to visitors. They might wonder if your company is a scam or if it’s even in business anymore — especially if you published lots of content years ago but have fallen behind in your content marketing efforts.
Does your online brand looks like it hasn’t been updated since the early 2010s? If so, your customers will be more inclined to visit a competitor’s site with a more modern-looking interface.
Site performance has decreased
As your business grows, traffic will naturally increase. The problem is that lots of free or cheap eCommerce platforms aren’t scalable enough to account for this kind of growth. Some website redesigns also involve upgrading to a more professional platform with more room for flexibility and customization. BigCommerce and Adobe Commerce are a few popular options to consider if you’ve outgrown your current platform.
You should see how your site compares to the recommended loading speeds. You can check your performance metrics for free using Google’s PageSpeed Insights. This tool will show you how well your site is performing and give you actionable advice for improving slow loading times.
Customers report difficulty navigating your website
A big red flag is if you’re seeing high bounce rates or abandoned carts on your site. It’s a sign that customers are having trouble finding what they need quickly enough. This could be due to many outdated or missing links, a lengthy checkout process, or a site that doesn’t work well on mobile devices.
Whitney Quesenbery — the executive director at the Center for Civic Design — wrote an article about what she describes as the “5 Es of usability” nearly 2 decades ago. Although suggested in 2004, these guidelines still serve as an excellent roadmap to UX to this day.
According to Quesenbery, site owners need to focus on these 5 aspects to create accessible and well-designed online stores:
- Effective: How completely and accurately the site visitor’s goals are achieved
- Efficient: How quickly the customer can complete their goals
- Engaging: How well the website interface draws the user in and how pleasant and satisfying it is to use
- Error tolerant: How well the site prevents mistakes. For example, entering the incorrect address during checkout and how easily it helps customers quickly rectify any errors
- Easy to learn: How intuitive the website is to use for first-time visitors
Redesign Resources
To sum up, the most common reasons to redesign your website are to create a better experience for users and improve usability.
Need a helping hand with your website redesign plans? Wagento ensures that your online store incorporates all the best UI and UX factors. Wagento works with the most highly recommended eCommerce best practices. Our experts offer custom design services, branding integrations, continuous optimization, and so much more. Connect with us today to get started on your site redesign journey!
