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When to Design a New Website

5 Signs That You Need a New Website Design

Fifteen seconds. According to some estimates, that’s how long the typical visitor spends on a website, which means your site should capture a user’s attention from the moment it pops up on their screen. In today’s market, a website is the hub of your digital identity, your company’s interface with the world, the genesis of client conversion and ROI. Simply put: You need a website. But how often should you hit refresh on that site and build a new one?

Businesses tend to redesign their web presence once every three years, for good reason: Trends adapt at such a quick clip that your site needs constant updates to stay relevant amid those trends. That doesn’t mean you should set a timer for three years and call a web design agency like Jacob Tyler as soon as the alarm goes off. Don’t get us wrong, we’d take that call — but we also know every company has its own goals, and the three-year mark may not be right for you. So in the meantime, keep in mind these telltale signs that you might be due for a site overhaul.

Your Bounce Rate Keeps Bouncing Up

A “bounce rate” is marketing-speak for the percentage of visitors that look at one page on your site before leaving — the digital equivalent of someone poking their head into your store and going, “Meh.” Use Google Analytics to track the number of visitors dropping by your site. If that number’s been dipping, your potential clientele might be telling you (or Meh-ing you) that your design is in need of a makeover. 

Your Business Model Has Changed

In site design, form follows function. Imagine you’re a personal trainer who wants the world to know you’re for hire. That business model is simple, so you may just need a brochure site to get your message out there. Now imagine you’ve grown into a global network that connects personal trainers to gyms. That business model is way more complex, so you’ll need to add new functionality to your site like a dashboard, a member login, a CMS that routs payment — the list goes on. Your business goals have evolved, so your site needs to evolve along with those goals.

Your Site’s Not Compatible on Mobile

Your current site may be a magnum opus of clever headlines, sumptuous layouts, A Beautiful Mind-caliber code, but if it doesn’t work on mobile, it’s mostly an invitation for users to seek services elsewhere. About half of all users scroll the web on their phones, so if they have to keep whirling their wrists around and squinting at their screens to check on when their pizza’s being delivered, they’ll probably order a 12” pepperoni through another restaurant’s payment portal. We can’t stress this enough: If your site isn’t compatible on mobile, you, dear reader, need a new site.

Your Site Doesn’t Match Your Brand

Another way to gauge if you need a new site is to ask yourself whether it matches your brand. Let’s say you sell caviar. The layout of your site should be simple and svelte (and maybe a tad salty). Now let’s say you’re in cryptocurrency, a field that’s only been around for a few decades. Consider redesigning frequently to reflect the real-time changes in your industry. With that said, some users dislike change as much as others delight in it. So know thy brand. And when you do decide to refresh that brand, make sure your colors, fonts, and voice stay consistent across your site, logo, social media, and marketing (omni)channels.

You’ve Violated the Three-Second Rule

Let’s face it: We’re all impatient. We want WiFi to always be available, the Chevy in front of us to realize the light’s green, and the website we’re on to load in a few seconds. A slow-loading site smacks of dial-up, a squall out of the ’90s, business lost and opportunities squandered. So if clients mention or visitors kvetch that your site takes more than three seconds to load — permit us a Jeff Foxworthyesque setup here — you might be ready for a new website.

It’s important to hire a web development company to audit your content types, research competitor analysis, customize UX, and make relentless love to their keyboards as they sling code for you. Whatever new website you’re envisioning, you can always set that timer and give Jacob Tyler a call. Or, you know, just check out our site.

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