Imagine this. You’ve spent endless hours building your brand – refining your offering, crafting your marketing strategy, and growing your customer base. But you’re still not seeing the results you expected. Why? Because your website looks like it’s from 1989. And it’s scaring people off.
This scenario, while unpleasant to think of, is unlikely to be a far stretch of the imagination. When it comes to conversion rates, the user experience (UX) of your website can be make-or-break. According to Forrester Research, a well-designed user interface can increase your website’s conversion rate by up to 200%, and an improved UX design can increase conversion rates by up to 400%. In a competitive market that is mobile-first and always-on, it’s vital that your website is as frictionless and engaging as possible. You have to give your customers a clear reason why they should choose your brand over another – and you have to do it fast.
If you’re worried your website isn’t giving your brand, products, or service the very best chance at conversion success, then you’re probably right. But don’t panic! Instead of descending into a world of WordPress pain, all you need to do is identify the issue, and see where those lost opportunities are hiding.
So, what are the key reasons you should redesign your website and UX? To help you out, we’ve created a checklist of the 10 tell-tale signs you need a design refresh – including some of the main challenges and objectives that come with the process.
1. It’s Been A While Since You Launched Your Website
Technology moves fast. It might be that there are new competitors in the digital space that have set a new benchmark for customer experience and UX. Or it might be that your website pre-dates a functionality or feature that users now expect.
You can try to patch your website’s existing templates, but this will likely bloat your code – and if your old templates don’t scale or integrate easily with the latest functions, it’s probably time to redesign.
For example, the “You May Also Like” section is a highly popular function for e-commerce product pages, providing customers with suggestions on items relating to the main product of interest. In fact, it’s become so popular that it’s now an expectation, so if your outdated website can’t support this kind of basic feature, you could be missing out on sales.
2. You Want To Rebrand
Starting afresh? Rebranding may require a design upgrade – or even a full website redesign – in order to match your new image. Today, 90% of people haven’t made their mind up about a company before beginning their search – and a poorly designed site can be a killer for your brand perception. Here are some things to consider:
- If you want your brand to be regarded as a premium one, your website needs to reflect that – not only in terms of how it looks but also in the user journey and purchasing process.
- Your purchasing process should meet (or exceed) customer expectations – up-to-date, frictionless, mobile friendly, and at the very least on par with competitors.
- If you plan to improve the user journey, we recommended you conduct a full audit of the current journey, followed by a redesign in order to address all touch points.
3. You Have Inconsistent Templates That Don’t Align With Your Brand Style
Over the years, your website has gone through small design changes here and there, causing inconsistencies across your templates without a clear style guide. This can create a few different challenges:
- Inconsistent templates increase “user cognitive load”, making it harder for users to process information as they navigate your site.
- While one kind of template will put users in a specific mindset, the structure of a different template will require users to process information differently, thereby creating friction in the navigation experience.
- Small changes can still affect the overall aesthetic look of your website, which can in turn negatively affect customer perception. Build loyalty by being consistent.
4. Your Website Design Isn’t As Trendy As It Used To Be
What customers deem as aesthetically pleasing changes with time, meaning the animations and interactions that were trendy in the early 2010s may not belong in today’s more refined design language.
The look and feel of your website is crucial to your brand image. As Peep Laja agrees, there’s a direct correlation between the value perception of your product and the design of your website – especially when it comes to your product pages. In other words, modern design makes your product or service appear more current, trustworthy and premium.
5. You Need To Re-platform
From WordPress and WooCommerce to Shopify and BigCommerce, re-platforming an existing website can seem like a daunting task. Will the functionality work as intended? Will the new platform support your business’ user journey successfully? What does this mean for the look and feel of the website?
Don’t panic. Take a deep breath. And redesign. Every platform has its defined templates, layouts, and capabilities, with plenty of choice to find the right combination for your brand. Businesses that take on a well-designed approach towards conversion optimisation have been found to drive twice as many conversions and sales, so instead of feeling overwhelmed, just think of all the opportunities you’ll soon be uncovering.
6. You’re Experiencing High Bounce Rates
If you’ve noticed low user engagement – often detected by those pesky high bounce rates – users are probably going “thank you, next!” across your site. This can mean your customers aren’t engaging with your content the way you want them to, and aren’t hanging around long enough to buy your product.
Low engagement is an indication of more critical issues related to bad user experience, from outdated functionality and design to a poor user journey and conversion funnel. These kinds of issues may often require a full redesign to solve.
7. Your Business Has Switched Lanes
You’ve got big ambitions that your website can’t match. Five years ago, you built your website in order to sell five boutique products. Five years later, you’ve expanded your target market and extended your product range from five to 50. Maybe you’ve even produced a whole swathe of thought leadership content that you’d now like to better categorise and feature on your site.
If you’re on a mission for riches, fame and glory, it’s likely you’ll need to rethink your website in order to ensure the design and experience will help you achieve your new goals.
8. Your Website Is Not Ready For The ‘Mobile First’ Era
From SEO to UX, being mobile-first is a must for brands – otherwise, you’ll be out of the game. According to Google, over 51% of smartphone users have discovered a new company or product while searching on their mobile, yet 61% of users will abandon a site right away if it isn’t mobile optimised.
The mobile version of your website is now the starting point for what Google includes in their index and directly influences how they determine search result rankings. If your website design lacks a mobile-friendly experience, it will negatively affect the SEO of your site – and give your competitors a chance to out-rank you.
9. Your Customers Moved From Pokémon To Poke Bowls
Over the course of months and years, your customers have aged and changed – their expectations and browsing habits are different now. Perhaps they’ve had children, have less time to shop, or are now seeking more health-conscious products.
Whatever the change, you now need to understand and cater to your customers from scratch, once again. The design and functionality of your website should reflect where your users are today and where they’ll be in the next couple of years.
10. Your Product Or Service Revolutionised The Market Place – Your Website Has Not
You had a good website selling a good product. In time, your product became more and more innovative and premium, and you’re now one of the market leaders in your industry – or building up to get there.
Your website, however, is like an embarrassing old haircut that’s seriously cramping your style. It should display your product or service in a way that aligns with your brand’s upgraded status in the market.
Designing For Maximum Results
If your site shows any of these signs, there’s no need to stress: a website redesign doesn’t have to be an uphill battle. At Yoghurt Digital, we live and breathe conversion rate optimisation and UX, so we’d be happy to help you get to the bottom of your digital marketing challenges – and we strongly believe there’s no point trying to fix a problem if you don’t know the cause.
Unsure what your website might need? We recommend starting with A/B tests based on insights from conversion research. This will help you understand your customer pain points, map out their journey, and identify issues like usability, functionality and clarity – validating the best choice of templates and designs for your brand.
The key is to make sure your new website design is based on real data insights, rather than just “looking good”. For a meaningful, sustainable solution, get in touch with the Yoghurt Digital team today to chat!