Why You Should Redesign Your Website Every 2 to 3 Years

Without a doubt, your website is the face of your business. It helps give your brand the first impression and can help create a long-lasting relationship with your customers. But just like with any other relationship, sometimes things can begin to get stale and boring. What once used to be a website full of excitement, up-to-date information, and innovative design can run the risk of eventually becoming homely and stuck in the past. Customers are loyal but will also look for better alternatives if they don't feel they're being taken care of as they deserve. Their gaze might start to stray to a newer, better-looking website.

In this article, we're going to determine not only when it's time to get your website a redesign but also the reasons why it needs it. So get your checklist ready to see if your website is overdue for a makeover!

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How Often Should You Redesign Your Website?

First of all, to be clear, there is no magic number for this question. Each business and brand has different needs. There is no universal rule determining the exact amount of time a website can stay relevant. Deciding to redesign your website should not be taken lightly. It should take careful consideration, and it will involve time and money being invested in it.

However, the consensus for redesigning a website seems to be every 2 to 3 years. Particularly with how fast things change nowadays, keeping your page fresh is essential.

"If your website is three years old — a lifetime, in the digital world — odds are it's outdated. Geriatric. Old and crusty. What was attractive and aesthetically pleasing three years ago likely isn't today." - Adlava

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Now, it's also important to mention that a redesign doesn't mean you have to change all your brand and graphic design elements. It's not necessarily starting from scratch. It's more about taking the parts that work and injecting new life and purpose into the website. It's an opportunity to pull in your current customers again and attract new ones as well.

"Redesigns can just entail making functional modifications that help your website work better and assist you in reaching your marketing goals." - Hubspot

Besides the amount of time you've had your website up and running, there are also different reasons for considering a redesign, such as increasing traffic, adding functionality, creating more leads, etc.

Let's take a look at some important reasons to redesign your website.

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1. You aren't getting the desired results

Perhaps you already have a beautiful and functional website, but if it isn't helping to build your customer base, then it's pretty pointless. If you're unhappy with your results, you should examine your site's conversion rates. This can help give you a clear idea of what needs to be adjusted.

Jessica Hill from Hubspot suggests these questions to ask yourself to guide your redesign process:

• Does your call-to-action convert visitors into leads and customers?
• Do your landing pages inspire people to learn more by digging deeper, or are they simply aesthetically pleasing pages that convey little value?
• Is your site too text-heavy or riddled with corporate-speak?
• Does your site's look and feel match your company's voice and speak directly to your target audience?

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2. You want to rebrand your site

If your brand has grown a lot in the past few years, it might be time to implement brand guidelines and styles, so your site has a cohesive design. Your website needs to have a consistent look and feel throughout it. This includes deciding on a color palette, fonts and font hierarchy, button styles, iconography, etc.

"If a visitor clicks on a link on your homepage and is taken to a page that looks completely different, they may be confused or even worry that they were redirected to a malicious page." - Anna Fitzgerald

Your website is an excellent opportunity to show how strong your business is. Having it be all over the place with inconsistent design will give the opposite message.

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3. Your site isn't responsive

The simple truth is, if your website isn't responsive, we can guarantee you that you're losing leads as well as existing customers. Mobile users want to have a great UX on their devices. This is especially important, considering more than 17% of all web traffic comes from mobile devices.

Also, users want to have the same experience looking at your site from a desktop, laptop, tablet, or many variations of mobile devices. They're expecting a seamless experience. You may lose customers if your site does not provide a smooth experience across all devices. If you're not providing this already, you urgently need a website redesign.

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4. You want to drive more traffic to your site

Something else to consider is if your traffic is pretty much non-existent, maybe your content isn't optimized. Perhaps you're failing to address broken features and duplicate content. Or your site's design is simply outdated—whatever the case. Changes need to be made ASAP.

Even if you do have a beautifully designed website, it won't matter if nobody sees it. You need to optimize your site for search. An efficient way to do this is making a blog part of your content strategy.

"Websites that feature a blog have a 434% greater chance of being ranked highly on search engines." - Hubspot

Eventually, you'll be able to link your blog posts to related pages and posts. This will help search engine bots, and visitors understand the relationship between content on your site.

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5. Your website isn't functional

This one is pretty much a no-brainer for a website redesign. You absolutely cannot have a website that doesn't work for your users. Your goal should be to have your site be as user-friendly as possible. If functionality isn't your focus, your traffic and leads will take a direct hit.

"Always do our research and see what people in your industry are doing on their sites, check the new features they've implemented, see what big players are doing and implement that functionality to provide the best experience to your users and convert them into customers." - Tatyana Khamdamova, Forbes

Here are some questions to consider before redesigning your site:

• ‍Are your product and service offers up-to-date?
• Is your site navigation confusing?
• Is your important content easily found?
• Can users easily find basic information?

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6. You can't update the content

Good content sets you apart from competitors and helps give the right message to your audience. Therefore, content marketing can play a massive role in the success of your business. Your website should provide you with the ability to update and add new content as necessary. You should be able to do this through a content management system easily.

"Make sure that your website is optimized for SEO, which will help with your marketing efforts." - Tatyana Khamdamova, Forbes

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Your content can be delivered through text, videos, tutorials, how-to instructions, etc. Make sure your content stays consistent with your brand's overall message and feel. Remember always to be consistent!

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Time to Redesign?

How did it go with your checklist? Is your website up-to-date, or is it time to get a facelift? It's necessary to consider different aspects and not jump in blind. Change is a good thing, as long as it is well thought out and considered.

As we mentioned before, redesigning a website is a big step and takes careful planning. It's also a great opportunity to reinvent and create! The best part is discovering different ways you can help both grow together! Whatever you decide, always keep in mind the needs of both your business and your customers.

Let's talk.

Reach out to us on Facebook or LinkedIn and let us know how often you redesign your company's website and what kind of changes you have implemented. Or follow us on Instagram for a bite-size version of our blog.

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