Is It Time To Redesign Your Website?

Imagine hearing about a great new store selling something you’re interested in. You jump in the car, pull up outside, and discover a crumbling old building with a broken sign outside.

You decide to go in anyway – maybe it’s cooler inside? But when you enter, you find harsh neon lights that hurt your eyes, a confusing mishmash of products thrown together, and no sign of the payment counter or staff to ask for help.

Would you stick around for long? Probably not.

The visual appeal and user-friendliness of a brick and mortar store are hugely important - and the same goes for a website.

In fact, the way your website looks and works may even be more significant! Studies show that 88 percent of consumers research a company online before making a purchase – which means your website is likely to be the first contact they have with your brand.

If it’s not up to scratch or inconsistent with your brand, you could be losing your audience before they even consider making a purchase.

If that thought scares you, it might be time to redesign your website.

 

Is It Time To Redesign Your Website?

First Impressions Last

How long do you have before someone makes a snap judgement about your business based on your site? According to research, about 50 milliseconds (0.05 seconds).

It may seem harsh, but one glance at your colour scheme, fonts, and images is enough for a potential customer to decide yay or nay. And that’s before you even get a chance to wow them with your content! Ouch.

Your website needs to look the part and draw the right people's attention very quickly before they’re onto the next one. If it looks out of date or doesn’t fit what they expected to see from your brand, it’s doubtful you’ll get another chance to win them over.

Creative Design Matters

As much as we’d like to say that looks don’t matter, the truth is that they really do when it comes to your website. In those precious milliseconds of first contact, people are judging your “book” by its cover.

You need intelligent, appropriate visual design to draw them in so you have a chance to wow them with your content! If the overall structure (both visual and navigational) is glitchy, ugly, out-of-date, confusing, or slow, it’s not difficult to guess what the perception of your business will be as a result.

Are You Showcasing Who You Are?

Aside from the practical usability of your site, your website should reflect who you are. What are the key words that would describe your brand? Chic, corporate, funny, cool, classic, innovative?

Make sure your site's look, feel, and tone display your brand personality clearly and consistently with your other channels.

Your brand identity is what helps attract the right audience, so it must be on point. You also need to stand out from the competition. So if you have just a bog-standard site that looks like those of your competitors, you won’t be very memorable unless you redesign your website.

Provide Value

Is your website all about you? If so, it’s time to switch your tactics. A good website focuses on the audience. When they land on your homepage, they should be able to quickly identify what it is that you can do for them.

Make it easy for visitors to see what you do, and provide calls to action to guide them to the right areas of your site, such as a contact form, email sign-up, or purchase page.

Bear in mind that 96 percent of your website visitors aren’t ready to make a purchase yet. They are actually there looking for information. Give them what they need via content such as blogs, and you’ll encourage them to stick around for longer – and hopefully visit again.

Stay Up To Date

An out of date website tells visitors that your business is out of date. Ensure your content is relevant and updated. If the last blog on your site is from two years ago, people might assume you are no longer in business or have nothing valuable to say.

This applies to the usability of your site, too. Old plugins can cause glitches or compromise the security of your site, making your business seem untrustworthy. And broken links suggest a lack of attention to detail. Ensure your site is mobile-friendly– the majority of users these days browse the internet on smartphones.

Redesign Your Website To Boost Your Business

The right website is a fantastic asset for your business. It builds trust and credibility, attracts your ideal clients, and is a powerful source of leads. But the wrong website can do more damage than having no website at all.

If you think it’s time for a change, it’s essential to do it right. Creative Web Designs can help you redesign your Shopify website with a clean, modern look to impress your customers and help increase sales. Contact us today to find out more.