Cassandra Bryan Design is frequently asked by clients how often they should redesign or update their websites. Each organization is unique; however, we have questions and tips below to guide you to decide what timeline is right for your website.
If you answer “no” to any of the following questions, it is time for a website update or full redesign.
To stay competitive and relevant, we suggest updating your website or fully redesigning your website every two to five years on average. Technology changes rapidly online, and if your website is more than five years old, you are most likely missing out on providing the most user-friendly experience to your potential clients and customers.
Design trends also change rapidly, so it is a good idea to keep an eye on your competitors’ websites. If their site looks more fresh or modern in design, then website visitors will normally interpret that as a reflection of the company overall.
It is vital that you have the ability to update your website in-house for important, timely announcements and regular content changes. For example, in recent months, many businesses needed to add information about their COVID-19 working details for customers. Those who had a website that was easy to update in-house likely saved time and money being able to make these updates on their own.
All Cassandra Bryan Design websites include a very friendly Content Management System (CMS) that allows our clients to make these updates easily and without needing any coding knowledge.
A fully responsive website will be easy to navigate on a phone with a mobile menu, have buttons that are easy to click on and text that is easy to read without zooming. Pull up your website on your phone and try for yourself. Another great way to test your website on a phone is to ask a friend or family member that is not super tech-savvy to peruse, and then watch them interact with your website. If they are confused about how to find your contact information or have a hard time clicking from page to page, then you are in need of a website update or redesign to improve the mobile compatibility.
Your company’s services are likely to evolve, and it is very important that your website is an accurate representation of your services. Most website visitors’ first interaction with your company is looking at yours and your competitors’ websites. It is vital that you do not miss out on a potential new customer because they were simply unaware you offered a service they were looking for.
The area we see out-of-date the most are staff headshot and bio pages. We recommend reviewing your staff pages each year and taking new head shots every one to three years. Now, more than ever, people would like to connect with the company’s people when deciding whom to do business with. Adding friendly headshots and short bios will increase the connection between potential and current clients and your team.
It is important to update your photos on your website every one to three years. Adding new photos will refresh your website without having to do a full redesign.
SEO is an on-going battle with your website and Google. The more often you evaluate your rankings and competitors and update your website, the more likely your SEO will stay strong.
Google’s job is to provide the searcher with the most relevant results high on the page. If your website was updated years ago, but a competitor’s website is updated often, then Google will most likely rank the website that is updated more often above websites that are rarely updated.
We hope you found this article helpful in determining if the time is right for a website update or redesign. Please contact our team for more information on how we can build you a website that properly reflects your organization now and moving forward.
Give us a call at (316) 260-4989 to discuss our web design process and to request a complimentary proposal.
