Did you know? Almost all businesses need a new website at some point – or points – along their journey.
Even a quick look at the ever-evolving world of website design, user experience and the huge revenue they facilitate confirms that consumers have come to rely on and expect quality websites.
So, does your business need a new website?
After building, rebuilding, revamping and revitalising websites for 100+ clients across Australia, we’ve summarised common reasons why you may need a new website
ONE: Negative customer feedback
Naturally, if customers complain about something, management addresses and fixes the issue and websites are no exception.
- “The page won’t open”
- “It’s not loading”
- “I can’t find any details on your website (but I can on your competitor’s)”
These are just some of the complaints that suggest you need a new website.
Since websites act as a face and hub of a business, functionality and user experience is crucial for reputation and revenue.
Take load times for example.
Noting a Yahoo Finance article, 70% of people are willing to wait up to 15 minutes in a physical line for an item or service before abandoning.
Online, there’s much less patience; 40% of consumers will wait no more than three seconds for a web page to load before abandoning the site. Our own data suggests that just under 10% of people are gone unless the page loads instantly.
As a sign of the importance of functioning websites, it’s easy to find large organisations having dedicated contact information just for website issues.
TWO: Your team makes negative comments about your website
On the back of customer complaints are team complaints. If your team doesn’t like your website, it’s a strong indication that it’s time for a new one.
When the people behind a business aren’t proud of or confident in their most important online asset, they sure won’t be referring to it.
You don’t actually own social media profiles, but you do own your website.
Business websites should contain information like staff bios, product and service details, processes and the story behind a business, aka the ‘about us’ section.
And most importantly, ways to book services and buy products.
THREE: You and your team hesitate or avoid directing people to your website
You’ve likely phoned a large organisation, the ‘big 4’ banks are classics, only to be met with a pre-recorded menu selection that directs you to their website.
This is for good reason.
When businesses invest in bespoke, on-brand websites that deliver a great user experience and showcase their offerings, there’s a big incentive to direct people there.
Converting visitors into customers is something that always-evolving, always-delivering websites maximise.
If you and your team hesitate directing people to your website, perhaps due to its poor functionality, lack of content or not knowing what resources it even has, it’s time for a new website.
FOUR: Your current website is an off-the-shelf template
This means a website that simply uses a pre-built template with copy-pasted details and images.
Template websites often hinder business performance as they lack uniqueness and lead to a generic, forgettable online presence. In turn, more effort, aka budget, is needed when attracting customers with ads and SEO.
Custom built websites on the other hand, deliver on-brand personalised experiences.
Custom websites are tailored to specific needs and branding and help a business stand out from competitors while creating a more memorable online presence. This provides more options when aligning social media profiles and other marketing material too.
Generally speaking, the more customisable a website is, the more worthwhile SEO efforts can be.
A common and damaging scenario
At HeartBeat Digital, we find many SMEs using basic copy-paste template websites purchased during the business’s conception, only to forget about it as the years go by.
Put another way, as a business grows over years of operation and upgrades things like plant, equipment and staff, they simply set and forget their website.
When prospective customers search online, they’re met with tired images and an outdated experience, not reflective of the actual thriving operation behind the website. This is often exacerbated with poor mobile responsiveness.
FYI, 97% of Aussie consumers go online to check out new local businesses.
FIVE: Your current website suggests you’re stagnating
Similarly to the point above, this means when your business moves faster than your website.
For example, your website might
- List ex members of staff
- Not list newer ones
- Not detail newly added products and services
- Advertise obsolete products, services and processes
- Contain old mission statements
- Show irrelevant blog articles from years ago with no new ones
- Displays old logos, colours and branding
Other than having to tell people ‘we don’t offer that anymore’ and miss opportunities from prospects looking for unlisted offerings, these old websites suggest a business is stagnating.
Social media can have the same effect when a business hasn’t posted anything for months, or even years in some cases.
SIX: You’re not making money from it
Like pretty much all investments and business assets, revenue is the ultimate goal of a website.
Well-designed modern websites funnel visitors to convert, which typically means
- Ordering/purchasing a product or service
- Making a phone call
- Requesting a call back or appointment
- Downloading something (like a pricelist or product details)
- Filling in an online form
If your existing website is not converting, aka making money, it’s time for a new one.
Is the answer always a new website?
We mentioned ‘rebuilding, revamping and revitalising websites’ above, as some businesses may not need new ones.
This could be due to an existing website having the right fundamentals and foundations, but stopping there.
Options include updating designs and interfaces, new and updated content and imagery, decluttering, moving to a more favourable platform and mobile optimisation, and other things.
Don’t forget the data
Knowing, understanding and choosing the right path to a profitable website can be tricky, and where professional help comes in handy.
Professional help means accessing numbers around an existing website to help make data-backed decisions, rather than decisions on whim—which often have consequences.
This ‘data’ we speak of means 👇
Make your website the profitable face and hub of your online presence
At HeartBeat Digital, we’re proud advocates of data-backed decisions, and that means reviewing necessary metrics to dictate the right path forward.
If your website is feeling (and looking) a little old or not seeing the returns you’d like, get in touch with us.
We help businesses of all kinds and sizes around Australia build the online presence their goals align with.
