December 13, 2022

Making the decision to redesign your website is never an easy one. I bet the second you start to consider it, your brain instantly thinks of the various challenges that come with a website project including:

• Time commitment
• Content and photography
• Budget
• Finding the right developer etc.

That being said, your website may be the introduction to your business for a lot of customers so it’s worth considering making 2023 the year it gets redesigned.

What many people still fail to understand is how much of a tool your website can be for your business. Websites are no longer simply an online advertisement. They can be built to be a community, a storefront, a lead generator and a source for valuable information. If your website is none of the above, it may be time to consider a redesign.

Let’s take a look at some specific signs it may be time for a redesign.

It’s Not Responsive/Mobile-Friendly

This particular sign has likely been on every “signs your website needs a redesign” list since 2013 and even still there are a ton of websites out there that are not mobile-friendly. According to Statista, over 58% of global internet traffic in 2022 came from a mobile device. That means if your website wasn’t mobile-friendly or built using responsive code, there’s a strong chance that the user experience when visiting from a mobile device was less than stellar.

It’s Not Built Using a Content Management System (CMS)

Raise your hand if you’ve heard of at least one of the following: WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace. Each of these are content management systems (CMS) which allow even the most novice of web users the ability to update their website using intuitive “What You See is What You Get” editors. Why is that important? Websites should be frequently updated with new products, services, information etc. and rather than hiring a web developer to complete these tasks, you can do it yourself and keep costs down. You may require a bit of training to understand where and how to make updates but in my experience, most clients are able to pick it up very quickly.

It’s Not Optimized for Search Engines

While organic search traffic may not be as valuable as it once was, it’s still important to make sure your website is optimized for search engines. That means not only should your website include keywords, backlinks etc. but also that your website is built using optimized code, proper URL structure and meets Google’s PageSpeed requirements. In many cases, websites built pre-2016 didn’t take many of these factors into account so if your website falls into that category, it may be time for a redesign.

It’s Not Aesthetically Pleasing

Quite frankly if your website looks like this, or like this. It needs a redesign. As I mentioned a few paragraphs ago, your website may be the introduction to your business for many customers and the last thing you want is to have them introduced to something that is not aesthetically pleasing. It would be like inviting company over for dinner and answering the door with your hair dishevelled and pasta sauce stains on your t-shirt.

It’s Not Designed Using the Full-Width of the Screen

This one may be debated by graphic designers but if your website is “boxed-in” the centre of the widescreen displays most of our devices have these days, you’re not taking proper advantage of all the real estate available. The reason graphic designers may debate me on this is that it seems we’ve gone so far away from “boxed-in” designs that when you come across a website that is boxed-in, it actually looks quite unique. These aren’t necessarily the websites I’m talking about though. I’m referencing websites like this and this which have a very dated “boxed-in” design that likely isn’t built with responsive code and isn’t very mobile-friendly.