Boost your website and expand your reach with these website upgrade tips.
The World Wide Web is constantly changing, which means that website owners need to be ahead of the game and always on the lookout for ways to keep your website looking its best, and functioning optimally. There are countless factors to consider when designing a website, from its look, content, and user experience, to its responsiveness to the algorithms of search engines.
If your website hasn’t changed over the last few years, then it is definitely time for you to refresh it. Refreshing involves a multitude of factors, from making sure that your content is relevant and up-to-date, to designing an engaging website that entices your audience to stay and have a look around, and – perhaps most importantly – generates business.
So, what are the best ways to upgrade your website in 2021? Read on to find out!
Why You Should Upgrade Your Website Now
There are a few indicators that signal the need for a website overhaul. If you notice any of these issues, it’s probably time for you to upgrade your website. Here are five of the most compelling reasons to do so in 2021:
1. Low Search Engine Rankings
The ultimate goal of every website is to show up on Google’s first page as soon as a user enters the website’s target keywords. After all, your search engine ranking is the best indicator of your website’s organic impact – which is how well your content meets the keywords people use when searching for the products or services you offer.
If you haven’t started curating your website’s content to place higher on search engine rankings, 2021 is the time to begin! If you’ve been using relevant search engine optimisation techniques but you’re not getting the results you had hoped for, then it’s time for you to re-evaluate your SEO strategy.
2. Low Conversion Rates
Successfully leading your target audience to your website using organic content and paid ads will mean nothing if your conversion rate is not increasing. Your conversion rate increases when your audience performs your desired objective – be it signing up for a subscription, purchasing an item from your website, requesting a quote, or even just contacting you for more information.
If you are getting dismal conversion results from your website, then it means that your current set-up is ineffective. You need to find a way to encourage your audience to take action, and that’s where our website upgrade tips will come in.
3. Slow Page Loading Speed
When it comes to the World Wide Web, everything should be instant. When people click on website links and they wait longer than a few seconds before it starts loading, they are likely to lose interest. Your content may be relevant and your website’s design might look nice, but if your target audience didn’t stay long enough to look, the work you’ve put into your visual design and content essentially amounts to nothing.
If it takes forever for your website to load (and that means anything more than 5 seconds on the Internet), then you need to re-design your website to make it faster and more responsive.
4. Low Aesthetic Value
It goes without saying that websites need to be visually appealing. If your website isn’t aesthetically pleasing, or it looks “budget”, chances are your audience won’t bother exploring it. Poor design and low aesthetic value can be attributed to many things – from cluttered navigation, to too much information on one page, to tacky or garish graphic design, but it can also be the result of typographical or grammatical errors, links that don’t work, or the dreaded “404 – page not found” error. Most people are unlikely to want to do business with a company whose website doesn’t look professional, so if your website has a low aesthetic value it needs to be redesigned and upgraded to entice your target audience to stay and do business with you.
5. High Level of Bounce Rate
Bounce rate refers to the percentage of website visitors who navigate away from a website after only viewing a single page. Having a relatively high bounce rate can be perfectly normal if your objective is simply leading your audience to single-page content, like a blog, media item or news article. However, if you have a retail website and your visitor closes the window, or hits the back button, after viewing a page, it means that your web design is not hitting the mark, or your content isn’t good enough to encourage conversion.
The Most Effective Ways to Upgrade Your Website in 2021
Now that you’ve reviewed the signs that point to the need for a web redesign or upgrade, it’s time to review the top ways to boost your website this 2021. Here are some of the most effective ways to increase the quality of your website:
Upgrade Your Website’s Design
1. Always keep branding in mind.
If you own a brand, then you probably have a branding guide already. Read through your branding guide and make sure that it effectively communicates your company and objective to your audience. Once you have your branding figured out, you can apply it to your website.
2. Make your website visually appealing.
Although there’s no one-size-fits-all rule when it comes to visual quality in web design, the trend nowadays is to make everything simple, intuitive and easy to look at.
Remove media that are not directly related to your website (that means you should minimise the use of stock photos where possible). Also, don’t be afraid of having white space. It gives people’s eyes a break and draws them to essential page elements like your call to action or even promos.
3. Design graphics that communicate ideas.
Graphics should not only look good, they should also be a tool for communication. Play with colours and contrast and draw attention to your highlight elements like calls to action. Use icons that are simple and straightforward.
When creating illustrations, try to align them with your branding guide (branding colours, illustration type, etc.). That way, your graphics won’t just look nice; they’ll also serve their purpose in relaying a message.
Improve your audience’s user experience
4. Make navigation easy and intuitive.
The easier your navigation is, the longer your audience will stay on your website. This is because good navigation makes it easier for users to find what they’re looking for. Your website’s navigation should only include the most important pages.
For example, if you’re an interior designer, your navigation should only include your About Us page, Portfolio, Contact Us page, and Services page. If needed, you can also add a FAQs page. Adding more would confuse your potential client and could drive them away from your website.
5. Consider the customer journey.
Imagine being a customer visiting your website for the first time. They don’t know how to navigate your website, and they have no idea what they might find. Your goal is to create a website that will make their customer journey easy. That means they’d be able to easily find what they need and close the transaction with a subscription, a phone call or a purchase.
To do this, your website needs to have a clean design, be easy to navigate and understand, and it needs to be fast. Don’t make them scroll too much, but don’t limit their page movement either – try to find the right balance, so that they won’t be inconvenienced while browsing through your website.
6. Make sure that your website is responsive.
Most website owners only think of the desktop layout of their website, neglecting the fact that more than half of the internet users worldwide access websites through their mobile phones. Since the mode of access to websites has evolved, it makes sense for websites to adapt as well.
This means that, apart from making a desktop-friendly website, you should also ensure your website is responsive and mobile-friendly. Your audience should have the same quality of experience and customer journey regardless of how they access your website.
Integrate social media into your website.
7. Make it easier for customers to sign up on your website.
One of the top reasons customers do not sign up for websites is because they find filling out forms tedious. If you remove this barrier, it becomes easier to invite people to sign up for an account. Having a social login system can help with this issue.
With the help of a social login system, users only need to sign in using their active accounts like Google, Facebook, or Twitter and their information is immediately transferred to your website. In addition, it also allows you to authenticate users easily.
8. Let your clients know where else to find you online.
If you are serious about building your brand, your website should not be your only online asset. Social media accounts are important platforms that you can use to reach a broader audience. Try to include links to your social media accounts on your website so that your potential client can follow you for promo announcements or customer service-related concerns.
9. Use social media content to encourage conversion.
People are encouraged to purchase items or seek services when they know that others have tried it as well. Feedback is one of the most important factors that customers look at when reviewing their next purchase. If you have an active social media account, use that to your advantage.
For retail websites, show how other customers have used your products with the help of User Generated Content. For service-related websites, find glowing feedback that others have provided to your business online. By consolidating this social media content, you’ll be able to further encourage your potential customers to seek your services or buy your products.
Let Jezweb Help You Upgrade Your Website in 2021
Smart web design leads to good conversion – the ultimate goal of all business owners online. Jezweb has a team of professionals that can help you get the best results from your website.
We take into consideration all aspects of web development, from design, to user experience, and social platforms. With years of experience in the industry, you can be confident that we will do our best to make your website stand out.
Contact us now to find out how we can help your business to upgrade your website in 2021!
Sources:
https://www.red-fern.co.uk/blog/insights/37-ways-you-can-upgrade-your-website.html https://www.johnnyflash.com/5-ways-to-refresh-your-website-for-2021/