The top five signs your website needs an intervention
Is your business’ website working as hard as you are? Optimise your web presence and make sure you’re not making any of these website faux pas.
We understand that life happens and creating your dream website can take a backseat to all the other demands owning a business can throw at you. Website requirements change and adapt every day! You may find that your site feels outdated, glitchy or left behind. Take a look through our top indicators of a website begging for an upgrade and how we can help you level up.
You don’t know where to look
Clients often come to us with a basic website that has been tweaked and built onto over the years. A lack of strategic planning combined with mismanaged growth sees the site becoming disordered and confusing for the user. Some telltale signs of this issue is a cluttered homepage, menu links that seem confusing and large amounts of ‘add-ons’ that seem outdated (think multiple social media feeds, visit counters etc). With no logical structure, your audience may miss crucial takeaways about your business and not know where to find the information they came searching for.
HOW WE FIX THIS: To create a user experience that is easy to navigate, we define your website hierarchy through wire-framing and content mapping. By outlining the primary goals of your site (eg. building your newsletter mailing list, the customer making a purchase) we can structure your website to have the best chance of achieving these outcomes and making an impact with your audience.
Your website has a life of its own
Love autoplay features, pop-ups or parallax scrolling (when you scroll one way and the website reacts in an unconventional way)? Your user probably doesn’t. Hijacking the user experience disrupts your customer and potentially causes them to leave out of frustration. Pre-made themes often feature these elements to bump up the ‘wow’ factor but it’s not always the best approach.
HOW WE FIX THIS: While these features (used thoughtfully) can add finesse to your site, our approach is to always construct websites that deliver the best experience before adding cool or fun garnishes. We aim to have the base structure and architecture of a website primed for conversion-driven outcomes before thinking about the bells and whistles.
Your website looks great on desktop (but is a nightmare everywhere else)
If your website doesn’t have a dedicated design for mobile devices (or is the same across everything), it’s time to join the now. A responsive website fosters a great experience and is often ranked more favourably in search engines. We often find clients have makeshift websites that have become outdated with advances in technology. This projects an ‘old’ and unprofessional image to the user- associations you don’t want with your business!
HOW WE FIX THIS: Before redesigning your website, we consider how content needs of desktop and mobile users may be different. We adapt your content across responsive devices to ensure that your audience has the best experience no matter how they view your website.
Your contact form could be a short novel
We understand that you want all the information from a user interested in your business. However, for every non-essential field of information requested you’ll experience a proportional drop-off from those who won’t fill out your form at all. Having a detailed contact form that gives you a thorough snapshot of your user is useless if no-one actually uses it.
HOW WE FIX THIS: Limit the amount of fields to essential contact information and any essential qualifiers your business needs. Once your user contacts you, you can always ask more detailed questions.
Your Calls to Action are AWOL
A key purpose of a website is to give your audience all the information… but then what? An essential part of any website is to drive your user down an established path. This may be encouraging your customer to make a purchase, read important content or download one of your opt-ins. To ensure your user takes your desired action, you need to make sure your website makes clear calls to action. Your site should explain exactly where your user should go next and what they should do. Without including thoughtful CTAs you’re bringing the horse to water but giving it no way to drink.
HOW WE FIX THIS: First, think about the specific purpose of your website. Do you want people to contact you directly with an enquiry? Should they sign up for a free trial of your product? Is signing up to your newsletter a core business goal? Once you’ve outlined the goals your website should be serving (inline with your digital strategy), infuse your site with direct CTAs with clear outcomes.
Need a hand overhauling your website? Contact us now for a chat about how a fresh website can help your business reach its potential.