Websites can start to date as soon as they’ve gone live. With new trends and tools being developed all the time it can be hard to know when to keep working on and developing an existing website and when it’s time to say goodbye to it and commission a new one.
A well built website will last you a good few years, particularly if you have a catch up session with your designer every 6 - 12 months to check the site still works well, represents you and to tackle any development work you may need. However, even the best built and maintained website will need a freshen up from time to time. Knowing when to start again is a great way to manage your time and energy as new websites take a lot of that!
Here are the signs that it's time for a new website:
It’s not bringing in leads or making you sales.
Your website isn’t a ‘shopfront’ or a nice to have while you do all your business on your Social Media channels, it should be working hard to appear in Google’s search results when people are at the point of purchasing and it should be independently bringing you in leads and making you sales, not just when you’ve sent someone there by giving them the URL.
If your website isn't appearing in search results when you Google terms you know you should be ranking for, then it could be that the infrastructure isn't right and trying to fix it could be more expensive in both, time and money, than starting again.
It’s not mobile responsive.
In 2022, 67% of all websites were visited on mobile devices and with Apple, Google and Samsung Pay meaning you can purchase pretty much anything with 2 clicks and Face ID, having a website which doesn’t respond brilliantly on mobiles and tablets just won’t cut it.
When we look at responsive elements on mobiles we’re not just thinking about a menu which collapses into a hamburger menu, we’re looking at how well the text fits the screen, if the images are displaying correctly, how close together clickable elements are, whether there are any hover effects on columns and images. Google looks at all these things before deciding whether to display your website in its search results. Currently Google are prioritising websites which have a great user experience for mobiles, above desktop versions.
It’s really slow.
Time = money and a website which is slow loading = missed opportunities.
People don’t stay on websites which are slow to load and therefore making sure your website is as fast as possible should be a priority. There are a number of factors which go into making a website fast. These include:
If your website hosting isn’t great you can move it to a new host and install a cacheing system but optimising your website content is going to be a much longer affair. Starting again with a new website may be a better option than trying to fix what’s there.
It's not accessible.
Websites should be accessible for all people, including those with disabilities. This means the site should:
Search engines are clamping down on websites which aren’t accessible and website owners are being fined if their website doesn’t meet accessibility requirements. Therefore, if your website doesn’t meet the current guidelines you need to prioritise fixing it or creating a new website.
The navigation sucks.
Bad website navigation turns people away, blocks sales, and harms your Google ranking.
Navigation doesn’t just apply to your main menu, it also applies to:
Getting the navigation right for the user experience is essential when it comes to keeping users engaged on your website, rather than bouncing off to your competitor.
Conclusion
If your website is affected by one or more of these issues then it's time to consider getting a new website. Reworking an existing website will only get you so far and can end up more expensive when it comes to how much time you need to invest to get the website fully functioning and Google friendly.
If you would like to discuss a new website, one which is accessible, mobile responsive and search engine optimised, book a free, no obligation call with me using the button below.
