Think about your website for a moment. Do you think that it genuinely meets all your needs? If it doesn’t, the chances are that it’s time to change things around a bit. And although it may sound scary, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Not all site redesigns happen because business owners want them to happen. More often than not, they do it out of necessity. And if your website feels old or doesn’t perform as well as you’d like, you’ll understand what we’re talking about here. But that said, how often should you redesign your website? Is there a simple answer you can use as a guide?
As it turns out — there is, but the things aren’t that simple. To get the full scope of the story, we’ll have to dig deeper.
The Rule of Thumb
Let’s keep it real here. The technology evolves, the internet expands, and your website needs to keep up with trends. So, no matter how cutting edge your new site is after a website redesign, it’ll have a ”shelf life.” As soon it runs out, you can’t consider it fresh or exciting for the users.
This time will be anywhere between 18 and 30 months for a typical brand. So, you can count on your website lasting for 1.5 to 2.5 years between redesigns.
However, take this with a grain of salt. Depending on what you do or your target audience, you may not need to refresh your site so often. On the other hand, it’ll make sense to shorten the timespan between redesigns for some businesses. Hence, the critical thing is to figure out your case and how often you need to do it. Sounds fun? Be sure to read on!
If you want to keep it safe, you want to redesign your site as often as most of us get new phones.
Redesign to Fix the Problem
Most business owners don’t keep a calendar on their desk crossing off days to that two-year mark to call a web design company to freshen up their site. On the contrary, they call in for help when they have to. In other words, they opt for the redesign to fix some problems on a site.
For example, they’ve noticed that fewer and fewer visitors stick around on their site, which causes a drop in sales. In a worse scenario, they might be dealing with a site hack or a competitor stealing their content or style. The problems are many, but the solution is the same for them all.
No matter your reasons for the redesign, you need to be upfront with the people involved in making it happen. As experts from Digital Dot explain, you must work out what you want your new site to do. Do you want to focus on gathering leads, driving sales, or putting your name out there?
Once you know where you want to get, you can plan how to get there. If you don’t have a web design team in-house, you can always outsource it. You can get the top-notch experts to work on your site, and you’ll only pay for the time they spend working.
It Looks and Feels Outdated
We’re trying to get to the bottom of how often you should redesign your website, so we can’t avoid talking about the looks and feel of your site. The aesthetics of your site play a significant role in how people conceive your brand, and good design will go a long way. It’ll show your visitors that you’re engaged, modern, and very much ”in the business”.
Think of a redesign as renovating your home before the sale. If all the pipes and light fixtures are from two decades ago, they’ll turn some buyers away. Similarly, if your website looks like it was made in 2008, users won’t like spending too much time on it. Instead, they’ll bounce back on the search pages and settle for one of your competitors’ sites. Luckily, as with the house remodel, you don’t have to change things from the ground to get the value up. If you pick a good web design agency to help you out, you can breathe new life into your pages in a matter of hours, and it won’t even cost you much.
If you don’t think about how often you should redesign your website, your visitors will find your site confusing and frustrating.
It Doesn’t Work Right
When you notice that your site doesn’t perform as well as it did in the past, that’s often a sign it’s time to invest in a redesign. Of course, there are many reasons why your site performance might drop, but we’ll focus on the ones related to web design.
For example, even if you write stellar content for your blog, it won’t bring you many benefits if it’s buried seven clicks into your site. It’s a textbook example of ineffective design, and you don’t want it anywhere near your pages. Furthermore, if your links lead to 404 pages, your site loading speed is slow, or it doesn’t look good on mobile devices, it’s most definitely time for a redesign.
On top of all that, think if your site works well for your visitors. Do they have a hard time finding the information they’re after? Can you make changes to your site whenever you need to keep them updated? If you’re unsure or the answer to any of these questions is ”no,” it should be clear what you need to do.
Adjust for the Future
Regardless of what makes you redesign your site, it would be best to do all in your power to make it future-proof. Focus on the seven S’s of web design, and relaunching your company website without losing rankings will be a breeze. Here’s what these are.
- SEO
- Structure
- Simplicity
- Sales
- Speed
- Scalability
- Social
Cover all the vital web design aspects when redesigning your site.
Conclusion
Sooner or later, you’ll need to bring your site up to date. Of course, there’s no definitive answer to how often you should redesign your website, but now you know how to figure it out on your own. Your site is a story of your brand, and it needs to evolve as the internet changes. So don’t get in the way, but help it get there. Work on your site, and it’ll work for you.
Meta: An outdated site could harm your business and drive customers away. Learn why and how often you should redesign your website to keep the edge.
