As the first port of call for a lot of your potential clients, it is important that your business website stays fresh – it’s a reality that appearances matter, and putting your best face forward online can help set you apart from your competitors.
Even in the fast-moving world of the web, there are a lot of things that can help future-proof your website, including incorporating simple, timeless website design principles, avoiding unnecessary trendy technology and making sure your site is easy to update.
Sometimes however, like a beloved and well-worn pair of bell-bottom jeans, it’s time to say goodbye to your website, remember all the good times you had together, and move on to something new and fresh.
If your business website is in any of the following categories, it’s probably time to upgrade your website through a redesign.
1. Your website uses Flash
In the early days of the web, Flash animation was used by companies wanting to appear technologically advanced and hip, and make their website “pop”.
Homepage videos, flashing text, sparkly menus – the novelty soon wore off and users were cursing the excessive colour and movement as they searched desperately for the “mute” button.
These days we understand that a business website should primarily be about communicating information, presenting content in a simple and easy-to-find way that is accessible to a wide range of users, without having to download external software such as Flash to view your site.
Another drawback of Flash is that it won’t render on the majority of handheld devices. Which leads us to our next point …
2. Your website is not mobile responsive
Did you know that in 2014 mobile web browsing accounted for over 15% of total Internet traffic, and that 90% of smartphone owners accessed the web on their device daily? Those numbers are huge – and more importantly, that is a lot of potential customers that might leave your business website if they are unable to view it properly on their phone.
As smartphones and tablets drop in price and mobile Internet speeds pick up, the number of people browsing the web on their handheld devices is only set to increase.
A mobile responsive website means that your customers can access your website on the go, ensuring that your website adapts fluidly to different screen sizes including desktop, laptop, smartphones such as the iPhone and tablets such as the iPad.
Online Quality Printing are responsive website design experts, whether you are building a new site from scratch or converting your existing website for mobile devices.
3. Your website is static
A static website is a thing of the past – content management systems are the future.
Rather than your site consisting of a series of hard-coded pages, a CMS makes your website content dynamic and easily editable. This means you can quickly and easily log in and update your website content yourself, hit “Save” and have your changes live instantly, without having to rely on a developer for updates.
At Online Quality Printing we are huge fans of the WordPress CMS for business websites, which is estimated to power over one-third of the web.
Using an existing framework means your site is up and running faster, and the amazing range of add-ons available for WordPress mean that we can extend your website functionality enormously – online stores, event calendars, blogs, newsletter subscriptions … the only limit is your imagination!
WordPress is also structured to be easily indexed by Google, which is essential for search engine optimisation.
If your website is guilty of one or all of these, it’s definitely time to consider a business website redesign to ensure your potential customers can easily access your website, and your site has all the functionality needed to effectively promote your services.
For a quick chat on website redesign, give us a call on 571-225-8481
