In our last post “Strategic Planning Evolved – The QUAD Model” we provided a new and innovative way to help you tackle the sometimes overwhelming task of developing your strategic plan.
With this article, we are going to help you identify if your website needs an update with four basic questions.
The most successful online businesses adapt quickly & consistently to reflect a market that’s constantly in flux. Have you completed a website update in the last 6 months? The last year? Two years? …Bueller?
Ok, so maybe your business processes or services and products haven’t changed much in a handful of years. But what users expect from the websites they visit, in terms of functionality and appearance, have definitely changed. A lot.
Change is good; it helps us learn and grow. On that note, it’s time to figure out whether your website is up to par.
Ask yourself the following four questions—and answer them honestly!—to determine if it’s go-time for a website update.
1. Have I written compelling content?
If you want to outperform your competition, you first and always have to consider the user perspective. Always, always, always consider your users!
Specific to content, failure to consider your users looks like this: you’ve not really thought through your copy from their perspective. You’re offering up what you want to say, rather than providing the information your users are after.
Trust us on this one: content is king. If you don’t give people what they want, they’ll find a site that does.
So spend a moment or two considering who your target audience really is and what they want. Then take a good, hard look at your copy.
First and foremost, is it compelling—not to you, but to your users? Next, is it below, at, or beyond their assumed reading level? Beyond that, are you questioning your grammar or punctuation? Does your content follow a logical path? Finally, does it support a direct call to action?
Do you have an obvious content problem? If so, you need a website update.
2. Do I have a modern web design?
If your website looks and feels outdated, chances are it’s hurting your business. But don’t fret! It means there’s no better time than now to make it right.
Look at your site. Really, look at it. Are the design trends up-to-date? Is the site navigation logical and easy? Is the branding current and consistent, site-wide?
Modern websites are strategic. They utilize copy and imagery to draw in users and compel them to complete a specific call to action, like signing up for an account or making a purchase. Modern websites utilize white space to give users’ eyes a rest.
They certainly don’t look or feel dated right off the bat.
Is your site “boxy”? Does it have super tiny text? Are the fonts streamlined or all over the place? Is the architecture complicated? Is there so much to read and look at that the pages feel overwhelming?
If you don’t already have an account, then we encourage you to sign up for Google Analytics. After, take a look at your bounce rate. This KPI, or key performance indicator, will tell you how many people click into your site and then leave without any interaction between.
Is your bounce rate is higher than 50%? If so, you need a website update.
3. Is my website mobile friendly?
More people now use mobile devices to browse the web than desktop or even laptop computers. What this means for online businesses, without question, is that their websites must be mobile-friendly.
At WE•DO, we use responsive design to ensure that the sites we design and build look and function as intended, no matter the device.
First, ask yourself if your website is truly mobile-friendly. Then drop your URL into Google’s mobile-friendly test tool.
Did it pass the test? If not, you need a website update.
4. How fast is my website?
Without question, users loathe slow-loading websites. Most people expect a page to load in (we kid you not) 2 seconds or less. The vast majority of people bounce from sites that fail to load after 3 seconds.
Does your site have a bunch of redirects? Are your images optimized or are they too big to load immediately? Is the platform your site was built on outdated? All of these factors (and more) can cause a site to load too slowly.
To test your site speed, we encourage you to check out a couple of Google tools, namely mobile speed performance and PageSpeed.
Have you got a site speed problem? If so, you need a website update.
Ok, so you need a website update. We can help.
From strategy -to- websites, PR, digital advertising, brochures, business cards, etc., – feel free to reach out to us. Send an email to Craig@PierceForward.com or call 978.660.7590 to get started.
We’re ready to get to work. Are you?
This article was originally prepared and published by WE·DO Worldwide. WE·DO Worldwide is Pierce Forward’s digital agency partner.
