Trevor English
October 7, 2024 — 10 min
Your website is the face of your business or personal brand, and its branding is just as crucial as the content and experience it provides. Think of it like a retail store. The ways customers find your website—whether through Google, social media, business cards, or word of mouth—are like the greeters who invite them into your store.
Once visitors enter your website, the first thing they notice is your branding—a thoughtfully curated blend of images, color palette, typography, and logo—just as a customer would notice the interior design and layout of a physical store. If they aren’t immediately drawn in by engaging content or can't easily find what they're looking for, they won't stay long. It's the same as shopping in a store: a pleasant atmosphere and easy navigation are essential.
Your website’s goal differs from your overall business objectives, but it should support them. Your website should do two things well.
First, it should turn first-time visitors into loyal customers, leaving them with a better understanding of what you do, a desire to use your services, and a plan to purchase your products or services.
Second, it must allow returning users a seamless experience, simplify their access the products or services they rely on you for.
As businesses are increasingly paying more attention to their appearance on the internet, your competitors are too. It's crucially important that you take affective measures on keeping your website on the frontlines of the digital frontier.
Just because your website was made a long time ago does not mean it needs to be redesigned!
I've called quite a few businesses with websites that look out-dated, asking if they need a new website, and to my surprise, there are a good amount of businesses who tell me they don't need a new website because their current clients don't have any issues with their website.
User testing goes a long way. If you already have clients, listen to them, and be open to their suggestions. If you haven't already received natural feedback from clients, try creating a survey or ask them personally to see how their experience has been using your site. Take note on their criticism and advice. These will help you identify your website's key problems.
Issues that don't require a redesign
You have a couple of broken links throughout your site.
You want your website to show up on Google.
You want to add new content (blog posts, images, body text).
You like your theme, but you want to change a few elements.
Issues that do require a redesign
Your website doesn't work (scale responsively) on mobile.
Your business's branding doesn't match your website's theme.
Users report unnecessarily long loading time.
Your website content structure scaled in a disorganized manner and difficult to update.
60% of global internet traffic is through mobile devices. It is extremely important to consider the mobile experience before the desktop experience when creating a website. So how do you know whether yours works well on mobile or not?
Try navigating around your website on your phone using Safari, Google, or your preferred browser (Arc gang!). Notice how load times differ, how your menu logic differs, if forms work as expected. Do some user testing! If your website structure breaks given your phone's dimensions, it may be time for a website redesign.
I'll let you in on a little industry secret:
Sorry, I don't make the rules.
If you've determined that your website needs an overhaul, it may feel like a stressful process, and you may be asking where to begin. You could either do it yourself using a platform like Squarespace or Wix, or you could hire out a web designer to do it for you. It's important to consider how your company might scale before picking a platform or a designer. If you know you're only going to need a couple of pages and don't want to put much thought into it, I'd recommend using one of the services above.
If you have bigger dreams of making something that stands the test of time and can grow with your business's growth, its worth it to invest in a website designer.
If you're looking for a website designer, or want to talk about an idea for your website, I'd love to talk it through! You can contact me here.
A redesign can future-proof your website by integrating scalable technologies, allowing for easy updates and new features as your business grows or your audience’s needs change.
Some of these features include security measures like pass-keys and 2FA, CMS, retail stores, subscription services, analytics tools, tracing tools to see where errors occur throughout your site, and generative AI.
Creating a cohesive online identity is also key for longevity. Think of your favorite shoe brand. Mine is Altra. It's more than likely that you could find the brand's online identity consistent throghout all platforms where they have a presence. Their goal and style is clear, no matter where you look. Don't let your business neglect the website when implementing your online identity.
Let's get your brand out there.