Website Makeover: 7 Things To Check Before Website Makeover

Coming across a website in dire need of a makeover is more common than we think.

What’s even worrisome is discovering your own website no longer fits your company’s brand identity and goals.

As it happens, your website is this modern age’s virtual business card or portfolio.

It is where people first go to learn more about your work, helping you increase business status, reputation, and hopefully a long list of clientele.

The stakes are significantly higher when you’re working in a visual medium.

A poorly designed or defective website will likely limit your exposure, cost you irretrievable opportunities, and drain your bank account.

So, do you need to give your website a makeover, or consider a burial?

Allow us to offer you some guidance with these 7 signs that indicate an upcoming facelift is in order.

What Are the Warning Signs that Your Website Needs a Makeover?

Indubitably, your website should be benefitting your business. Sometimes you can spend a lot on its development, only to find that it is not working in your favour. But we’ll get to that later.

1. It hasn’t been updated for a while.

Have you been in business for years?

Props to you!

However, owning a website that appears to be built in the 2000s is not the most appealing.

Like updating business models to suit the latest trends, you must do the same for your website’s structure.

You can keep tacking additional links on your site, but it won’t help if the design, navigation and overall feel aren’t contemporary and professional.

Plus, imagine the message you’re sending to customers by neglecting your main attraction.

What would they think about you handling other areas of business?

2. It is not generating leads.

The point of perfecting your website and content marketing strategy is to generate leads, converting visitors into potential clients.

If your site is not doing its job, you fire it and hire a new one.

An optimised website can assist you in winning new customers and track the kind of people visiting.

Let’s go over some vital factors to crafting effective web content that will generate leads:

• Optimise your landing pages to milk as much as you can from your target audiences.
• Include informative content that allows your readers to feel they’ve learned something.
• Use relevant and catchy banners to capture attention.
• Provide clear and concise contact forms for good communication with business inquirers.
• Ensure excellent user experience.
• Include benefit-oriented copies that highlight your company’s strengths.

This way, you can create a sales opportunity (subtly) on every page on your site.

3. Social media profiles aren’t visible.

Like it or not, social media communication is the way of the world today.

Without an online social presence, you’re missing opportunities to interact with your customers.

Thus, a website without any visible social icons is long overdue for an update.

You want to ensure all your social media handles are easy for audiences to find on your website.

4. There’s no SEO web traffic or CTA.

SEO is the key to people finding your website. Plus, listing your services in Google search and seeing your website rank front page is a feeling like no other.

If your pages aren’t popping up for your targeted keywords, it may be time to update your website.

Firstly, ask yourself:

What can I do to get the most from search engines?

Do I have Google Analytics or another SEO tracking software?

Once you’ve figured that out, you can start your strategy to optimise your site for its pages to improve rankings.

Of course, it is also critical to check that your links are up-to-date and not broken.

Another thing is call-to-action (CTA). The primary role of your site is to entice your audience to act, not read and leave, landing somewhere else.

For this reason, your homepage should include a conspicuous CTA that tells visitors what to do next.

So if your website doesn’t have a CTA button, i.e. for joining an email list, it’s time for an immediate makeover.

READ MORE: How does SEO Boost Sales? Let us Show You Some Real Examples

5. It is not mobile-friendly and responsive.

Consumers access over half of all websites on a mobile device.

This means that a mobile-friendly site is no longer a bonus but a need.

If visitors try to skim your website—except the images aren’t loading, the links aren’t clickable, and the content is all out of frame—best believe they’ll find an alternative.

On the other hand, a site that is navigable and adaptable to screen sizes will make visitors stay, make purchases, and even return.

Mobile-friendliness is an integral component in user experience. Your new site should be optimal on multiple devices and have a responsive layout.

Unsure about whether your website fits the criteria?

There’s a Mobile-Friendly Test from Google to analyse this, and if you’re not happy with the results, start planning for a facelift now.

6. Its homepage is cluttered.

Today, clean and minimalist designs are the new preference.

Jamming everything into one page only makes it harder for your audience to find the information they’re seeking.

Simpler designs with white space will be easier to navigate and are also more visually appealing. Always opt for that.

Keep in mind to remove unnecessary links, create concise content, and incorporate high-quality images that are quick to load.

As a result, users can see the options on your site without any distractions. 

READ MORE: Web Layout Design: Top 3 Tips To Design a Visually Appealing Website

7. Your blog is a morgue.

Is the blog section of your site decomposing since last year?

Your most recent post should never be older than a few weeks.

If it is, you’re sending the message that you don’t attend to your website, and why should anyone else, let alone search engines?

Search engines favour fresh content.

So, don’t hold back on quality information that will help establish your company’s credibility and detectability.

Moreover, perpetually updated content shows visitors that you’re still active in your industry.

You can generate “how-to” and other informative topics to deliver an educational experience and make visitors feel like you care.

READ MORE: Blogging Benefits: Top 10 Blog Benefits for SMEs Malaysia

Should You Hire a Professional or Redesign the Website Yourself?

Some people are willing to put in the work and patience themselves, which of course, is possible.

Platforms like Squarespace allow us to develop modern websites even for non-technical users.

However, those who aren’t keen on expanding their technology skills or don’t have the time will benefit from outsourcing.

Stick to your top business priorities and leave the intricacies to an expert who can strategise the flow of your website.

If you’re feeling resentful about the money you already spent on the current site, let us alleviate your pain.

We understand that pouring money into a project and yielding disappointing results can be disillusioning.

What if it happens again?

Still, it’s never smart to base future business decisions on sunk costs.

Never let sunk costs stand in the way of new opportunities and ventures.

Starting over can be tricky, but the outcomes of a makeover will make you forget the pain soon enough.

What Walk Production Can Offer You

Walk Production is a website agency in Malaysia that offer a full corporate website package.

We’re here to boost you to the top of the search list with a beautifully designed website tailored to your company’s goals.

READ MORE: How to Plan an SEO Campaign that Works?