Yes, we had a facelift—a much needed one.  Or at least one of the two of us did!

Can you go to my website and find it?  Hint, it’s not on the Career Coaching page.  You also shouldn’t have to look hard to find it.

If you guessed, “all over” you’d be right!  My website had a facelift—a much needed redesign.  After almost four years, it was time.  In fact, I like it so much that I’d like to give me one!  I don’t know if I’d be bold enough to share that!  Then again, it would depend upon how much I had to pay for it.

What Are Some of the Reasons That Your Website/Blog Might Need a Redesign?

We’ll explore each of these in more detail, but here are some of the reasons:

• Your target market or audience has changed.
• Your company has grown and you need more bandwidth.
• You want your brand to look and stay active.
• You need to add features and more plugins.
• You want your website to load faster.
• You are just plain tired of the same old design.
• You want more security features.

Your Target Market Has Changed

Sometimes this happens in a business.  We see it all the time in retail chains.  However, it is important, even for what your business does to stay on top of any changing demographics.

Based on your own market research, you will want colors and aesthetics which will appeal to your customers—not someone else’s.  Also, pay attention to your backgrounds too.  One of the worst things I see is red text on black backgrounds.  Do you know how difficult that is to read for more than a few seconds?

Your Company Has Grown and You Need More Bandwidth

What is bandwidth?  Bandwidth is the amount of data transfer between you and your audience.  Bandwidth can slow your website’s performance depending on how many graphics, videos, and plugins you are using. 

Also, it will depend on how many hits your website gets on a daily basis, because large numbers of hits can cause crashing and a slower performance.  Sometimes you will need more bandwidth, but sometimes you only need to reduce some of the things we have already discussed.

You Need to Add More Features

Features can be plugins to add popups or they can be special features.  An example from my website, is the Accessibility Helper Sidebar (the little wheelchair button) in the upper left hand corner.  This feature can accommodate those with disabilities that might not otherwise be able to navigate the site.

You Want Your Brand to Look and Stay Active

Nothing says “old” or “cyber cemetery” more than a website that looks outdated.  Do your brand a favor and give it a tweak or whole new design every four years.  Your own two eyes will also thank you.

You Want Your Website to Load Faster

Now, some of this problem could be the bandwidth, which we’ve already discussed.  However, don’t assume that bandwidth alone is the problem.  A slow loading website could just as easily be a browser issue, personal computer or laptop issue, firewall issue within the website’s security or a number of things. 

Certain plugins will also make a website load slower than expected.  According to Hubspot, did you know that 38% of users will leave a slow loading website?

When in doubt, test it out for free.  Go to Pingdom.

You Are Just Plain Tired of the Same Old Design

Enough said!  The website’s design is starting to blend into the wallpaper.  Let me rephrase that.  The website’s design is starting to blend into the wallpaper or screensaver on your laptop.

You Need More Security Features

This is also an important thing to consider, especially if you have a shopping cart installed on your site.  You want your website to be secure and for the users to feel secure using it.

One way to tell if your website is secure is if you can type in https:// along with the three w’s or without the three w’s.  If it comes up in the URL field “not secure” then you are still using http:// and do not have an SSL Certificate.  SSL Certificates can easily be purchased and loaded into the site.  SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, and if you can understand that then you are much more technically gifted than me.

Again, never put the security of your website at risk.  Find a web designer to help you or take these matters into your own hands.

In Conclusion

If you can identify with any of these seven reasons for redesigning your website, then maybe it is time.  Don’t wait for a cyber attack or a number of upset customers to tell you your website redesign was past due.

Have any of you recently redesigned your website?  If so, feel free to comment below.