If you’re reading this, you’re probably thinking about your current website and whether it needs a redesign. A website redesign isn’t always something that a business wants to do, but often it is necessary.
Time is one of the factors that can tell you it’s time for a redesign. Technology is constantly changing, and many older website designs are now obsolete. Your website has a life expectancy before it is in need of a refresh. It is no small task or investment, but it’s one that will give you a strong advantage in the long run.
Website life expectancy
The average website lifespan is 2 to 3 years, businesses that are the most active and the most successful online tend to shake up their website every 2 to 3 years. The life expectancy of a website redesign can vary from 6 months to 5 years.
Here is a rough timeline:
6-12 months old – If you are a market leader then you need to be continually refreshing your website to keep things exciting and engaging for customers.
2-3 years old – In a competitive industry, it is time for a new website. In a non-competitive environment, you should start planning.
3-4 years old – Analyse your current website and plan for immediate upgrades or plan a brand-new site.
5 years old – You should consider a new website design
While there is no set timeframe for how a long a website should last, if your site is older than three years, then there is a good chance you are due for an upgrade.
Reasons you need a website redesign
Age is only one indicator that you need a website redesign, there are many other factors that you should consider. The following 6 factors should help you to determine if your website is no longer fit for its purpose. You should consider a website redesign even sooner if one of the following applies.
1. Redesign to tackle a problem
The main driving factor behind most website redesigns is the need to solve a problem that you are having. For some companies, this may be a decline in your business or a drop in visibility in search results. Another problem could be security issues, sadly many businesses only realise the true value of security following a difficult or costly episode.
2. Your website just doesn’t work
If your website doesn’t perform well, that is a sure enough sign that it’s time to invest in a website redesign. Your website not working the way you imagined can be for a few reasons. It could be that your website load time is too slow or that the navigation on the website is confusing to the users. A redesign will give you a great looking site that runs smoothly and converts customers.
Whatever problem you may be having or want to prevent, discuss the challenges you want to overcome with the team involved in designing your new site. A professional web design company can create a functioning website that runs smoothly, is optimised to rank in search engines and will convert viewers into customers.
3. Your current website isn’t mobile responsive
In today’s world of fast pace technology and gadgets, your website needs to look great across all platforms. It is extremely important to have a responsive mobile design.
More than 50% of all web traffic is on mobile, and people have very little patience with sites that don’t work on their phones. If your website is hard to use on phones and tablets, then it will have an impact on both the user experience of your site, and your Google rankings.
4. You need to re-align your website with your marketing goals
Another reason that you might need to redesign your website is because your business might be undergoing a major change. When a business is purchased, merged with another company, rebranded or selling a new product or service, that business might need a website redesign.
5. Your website design is outdated
As design trends are constantly changing, websites are becoming outdated. Even people with no experience in web design can tell they’re outdated. This is one of the reasons a websites life expectancy is an average of 3 years. What looked good in 2018 may not look so good in 2021.
6. To create a better user experience
Lastly websites that utilise the latest design trends and understand users’ behaviours tend to be far ahead of the game. Web designers can really help you get the best out of your site, not only by implementing new and innovative functionality but, providing the best possible user experience and potentially converting them into customers.
When is the right time for a website redesign?
There isn’t any right or wrong time to go between website redesigns and overhauls. Many factors go into the decision, you should continually strive to improve your website. It is recommended to give your website a good redesign every 2 to 3 years, mostly because of the constant changes in design and technology.
There are several ways to tackle a redesign based on urgency and severity, but you will likely take one of two paths; incremental changes or a complete overhaul. You can choose to tackle a website redesign in baby steps by making incremental changes or choose to get a brand-new redesigned website, scrapping the old one.
Future-proof websites
Is it possible to avoid the constant stream of changes, upgrades and redesigns?
A website redesign today will last you a few years because current design trends tend to follow a fairly minimal approach and they are built to work well on any kind of device. Therefore, minimalist designs are less likely to go out of style in the next year or 2.
Also, our use of the platform WordPress means we can update software versions, add security updates, build new sections and update technical SEO factors without the needs to start from scratch every single time.
But it is still impossible to predict future trends, google algorithms, user preferences and the growth of your business. You can extend your average website lifespan by upgrading your web design to a professionally designed WordPress website today.
To Conclude
At Reactive Graphics we understand the importance of designing a website that stays up to date and gives you the best experience for your users for years to come. We deploy the latest CMS systems enabling your website to be easily managed and updated. You will be able to update content and elements on your website yourself after the redesign, so you can make changes keeping your website fresh for longer.
If you would like Reactive Graphics to upgrade your web design, please do get in touch.
Or to view our portfolio of work here.
