How do you know when your business needs a new website?

But how do you know when it’s time for a change?

Your website’s too slow

We’ve all been there: you visit a site because you’re interested in what it might offer, but it takes so long to load that you shut it down and move on to another one providing a similar service. Tools like the Google Speed Check can give your website a speed test, so you know for sure whether it’s lagging (if it’s not already obvious).

It doesn’t look quite right

Is your website design outdated, or failing to accurately represent your brand? Since your site will be the first stop for most potential customers, you need to make sure it communicates the type of business you’re running, and the quality of service you offer. If it’s clunky, poorly put together, or is failing to attract your ideal customer type, it’s worth having a rethink.

It won’t work on mobiles

Designing for desktop-only just doesn’t cut it any more. Smartphone usage is on the rise (the global smartphone audience hit 1.75 billion in 2014), and businesses are having to adapt. If your website doesn’t work on mobiles, you risk being left behind. There’s no need for a separate site, though: it’s better to have a single responsive website that looks good, and runs smoothly, whatever device it’s viewed on. To read more about the importance of being mobile ready, download our free factsheet.

You can’t update it when you need to

Some websites don’t let you access and change your content unless you go back to the original designer. But this makes it impossible to alert customers to changes to your service or product. If your site has a content management system like WordPress built in, you have the power to update the content as and when you like. WordPress also makes easy work of different media – so you can put up images or video content to showcase your work.

You don’t have a blog

According to marketing group HubSpot, businesses that blog get 67% more leads than those that don’t. Putting out quality content regularly, based around your area of expertise, can establish you as an expert in your field and build trust among your customers. So make sure your website allows you to do this, and that you have someone you trust to produce content.

It’s not very sociable

Make it easy for people to keep up to date with your activities, share any of your content they like, and to spread the word about your business. This is where social sharing buttons come in. These little buttons link to social networks – such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Pinterest, for example – and they look nice, too. Planning them into your website design allows people to follow your updates, or tell their networks about you, with a simple click of a button.

• We have a team of experienced and qualified digital designers who will immerse themselves in your brand and your audience needs to come up with a website design that a) attracts customers, and b) actively encourages them to convert to your services.

• All our websites are hosted on dedicated servers and we run frequent updates and checks on your site so you know that your visitors are getting a quality experience every time.

• Our in-house content expert and team of freelance journalists and content creators can provide website content that’s on-brand, engaging and keeps customers coming back.

• We build our websites to be mobile ready, accessible and shareable.

Want to find our more or talk to us about your website requirements? Email us at hi@makeagency.co.uk or call 0203 567 0860.