expert's blog

When is it time for a NEW website?

We’ve all heard about the importance of keeping your content updated, but what about the design? Just like a well-dressed sales person, a website will speak of the professionalism of your organisation. Even if you are ‘preaching to the converted’ and the content is being maintained, if a site isn’t aesthetically pleasing it may put some people off all together.

It’s not only about colour and graphics, good design involves clarity of information, logical navigation, clear links and a well thought through hierarchy of content.

Questions to consider if you need a web site redesign:

Does your website reflect your organisation’s image, or the image you wish it to portray?
Has your customer focus shifted? Have you rebranded? Is it messy or does it look old? Websites, like anything else, show their age and people will judge them by their first impression.

Have you had any feedback from customers about not being able to find something?
Listen to your customers! If one person can’t find something, chances are they are not the only one. Ask someone that isn’t familiar with your website to find something and take note of where they go. Is it in a logical place, or is it there but they can’t find it because of the layout?

Do you lose customers to your competition?
You are not the only one offering the products or services you do. If people judge a book by its cover, then so they will judge your organisation by its website. Remember they have the choice, and if your website doesn’t look as appealing as the opposition’s then they may just go there instead.

Is your website lost in web searches?
Sometimes it’s not just your content that needs to be changed to move you up search engine rankings, changes can also be made to how a website is built to help you rank higher in web searches.

Is your website narrower than other websites?
A few years ago websites were designed for a screen resolution of 800 x 600 pixels. Now with the advances in widescreen TVs, computer monitors are being rapidly replaced for new models. More often now websites are designed for a minimum of 1024 pixels or some even 1280 pixels wide. A lot of the screen ‘real estate’ is wasted using a narrow design, and your site will be looking out of date.

Does your website work in the latest browsers?
The technology that websites are built in has changed over the years and many more web browsers are available. No longer is the market dominated by Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, people also have the choice of Firefox, Safari and Chrome to name a few. These browsers are constantly being updated and it’s important that your website works in those that are most commonly used.

Does your site work in mobile devices?
More and more people are working remotely, receiving emails and looking up information as they walk between meetings or wait for their lunch. The mobile device is another way people will communicate with you via your website, order products, or just look up your contact details – so make sure it works.

Does your website utilise the latest technology?
No longer is your website a one-way conversation where you talk about how great your products/services are. A website needs to have interaction with the customer with the use of blogs, feedback (or comments) and social media. More people are buying (or not) on recommendation of others than ever before because of social media. Think of social marketing as another arm to your website, having it is not enough, but if you don’t then you could be missing out on valuable sales.

Don’t know where in your site you should add that latest update?
If you can’t find where to put something, chances are your navigation needs a re-visit. Content needs to be well planned out using a site map, deciding where pages should be located and the path people will take to find the information they are looking for.

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you may need to consider a new web site design. If you’re unsure if you should invest in a new website, consider the missed opportunities – a website is your chance to shout out to the world how good you are, and never before has it been as easy and inexpensive to communicate with a global audience. However, because of this you are no longer just competing with the guy around the corner, your website needs to be appealing, easy to navigate and leading-edge – a simple brochure site won’t do anymore.

Contact us to discuss what expert can do for you.

Examples of expert’s website redesign work

Henry Hughes Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys:

This website was great for its time, it had good content, good news and articles and was being updated reasonably frequently. Apart from the news area it was a typical brochure type site, just an online presence – but not particularly engaging.

The redesigned website now engages with its clients by links to social media, subscribing to a newsletter, providing knowledge (for those that need some guidance), as well as having rearranged the news and articles more logically by topic. The wider template allows for more content which has meant that on the homepage they are able to introduce key staff members to give the website a warmer, friendlier face. On further pages they are able to add related content links to help the information flow, and lead visitors into contacting staff. Henry Hughes’ site is built in a CMS (MoST) so that updates can be made more frequently and easily.

Before

• Narrow template (800 pixels)
• Heavy background colour
• Minimal content on homepage, not engaging the audience
• No CMS used

After

• Wider template (1024 pixels)
• White background for a crisp, clean look
• Brief introductions to key areas of the site to draw visitors in, including news headlines as well as photographs and short bios of key staff members
• Social Media links, subscribe to newsletter added
• Edited in a CMS (MoST)
• Easy to follow navigation
• Links to related content or relevant staff contact

 

We have helped many of our clients refresh, rebuild and redesign their websites: myINFOSAFE, INFINZ, Marist St Pats Rugby Club, The Duke of Edinburgh's Hillary Award and HRINZ. Read what HRINZ have to say about refreshing, rebuilding and redesigning a website.

 

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