How Website Redesign Can Boost Traffic and Increase Leads

From Then to Now

The evolution in web design and development technologies over the last few years is plain to see if you’ve been using the internet for the last couple of decades. So, if you’re wondering “why a new website”, it’s basically to keep up with changing times. 

In the early 2000s, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) led the charge by giving web designers high levels of flexibility. It was also during this period that color psychology started playing a role in web design, and the use of garish colors saw a quick decline. 

During the mid- and late-2000s, design started focusing on content, which, in turn, relied heavily on search engine optimization (SEO). Interactive content soon started finding favor with consumers and marketers alike.

Web design in today’s day and age focuses on creating a great user experience (UX), and one can now find highly effective websites with single-page designs as well as ones with infinite scrolling. This is also the age of minimalism, where the use of simple color palettes and bold visuals is all too common. 

9 Reasons to Redesign Your Website

The only constant about life, the wise say, is change. Much like you need to reinvent your brand now and again, or train your staff to keep up with the latest trends and technologies, you need to ensure that your website delivers on all counts when it comes to creating positive customer experiences. For example, if you experience higher bounce rates when people access your website on mobile devices than on desktops, making it mobile-friendly might have the desired effect.

1. Better Search Engine Rankings

The crux of just about every digital marketing strategy is to attract traffic. One of the best ways to do this is by improving a website’s search engine rankings. Bear in mind that SEO continues to remain crucial when it comes to making sure that a website appears on the first page when users conduct relevant online searches.  

You need to focus on SEO to ensure that search engines find and rank your website. While a large number of old websites don’t follow modern SEO practices and rules set by major search engines such as Google, some relatively new websites falter on this front too.

 If you have an old website that’s not optimized for search engines in the right manner, a redesign could address this aspect in an effective manner. For example, a website redesign project plan can use metadata, images, animations, videos, and internal/external links to make your website more search engine-friendly. Once your website achieves better search engine ranking, it’s safe to say you may expect increased traffic.

Bear in mind that one of the biggest website redesign mistakes you can make is not paying enough attention to SEO and the effect it has on rankings.

2. Revised Business Goals

Businesses from across sectors experience different types of paradigm shifts. While you might have a specific priority, a new trend might require that you rethink your strategy, and you might come up with new goals. For example, cloud applications and social media integrations were not an integral part of web design a decade ago, but they are now.

In addition, businesses with physical locations may now give their customers easy means to find directions to their stores by integrating their websites with maps. When it comes to what to consider when redesigning a website with the aim of increasing traffic and leads, looking at your present and future goals can help you determine which path to follow.

3. Out-of-Date CMS and Tools

If your website’s existing content management system (CMS) can’t perform as well as the latest version of WordPress, or if you built a website using an old platform that no longer receives updates, your website might be prone to cyber attacks, it has to make do with limited features, and there’s a good chance that it offers a poor user experience. A modern CMS like WordPress comes with in-built SEO as well as voice and visual search readiness, both of which bode well for attracting traffic. A CMS that offers blogging functionality can not only help drive traffic, it can also help generate leads. 

If your website makes use of tools such as shopping carts, translation support, store locators, or request forms, you need to ensure that they provide the best functionalities possible. Start by looking at how the tools work and then check if updating them is possible. If not, you may choose to replace them with newer alternatives.

4. Results Not Up To the Mark

Irrespective of how aesthetic or appealing a website might look, its main aim is to attract the right type of traffic and convert it into leads. If it fails on this front, it has not served its intended purpose. So, if your website does not attract enough traffic, you might benefit by looking at what professional website redesign services have to offer.

If you’re not sure about the results, start by looking at your website’s visitor-to-lead and lead-to-customer conversion rates. These may help give you an indication of the adjustments you need to make as part of your website makeover project.  Answering a few simple questions might also aid in the process.

• Does your target audience feel like learning more by visiting your landing pages?
• Do your calls-to-action (CTAs) convert visitors to leads, and leads to customers?
• Does your website include a lot of technical language?
• Is your website text-heavy?
• Does your website reflect your brand’s value and speak its language?
• Do visitors spend adequate time on your website?

5. Outdated Design

Once your website gets the desired traffic, creating a good first impression is crucial. This is especially true in the business world where brands rarely get second chances. When it comes to websites, you have no more than a few seconds to attract and retain a user’s attention. Consider this – if you’re meeting a client to discuss the possibility of setting up a manufacturing unit for cars, would it help your cause if are averse to looking at what electric vehicles have to offer? 

In the same vein, it’s crucial that your website makes use of the latest web design tools and trends. The last thing you want is a mobile-unfriendly website with poor graphics to cast aspersions about your business in the minds of your target audience. Most consumers will start questioning your products and services based on how outdated your website looks and feels. To give it a boost, a redesign is the obvious way to go.

6. Content Still Remains King

Your website serves as an information center for your target audience, where it gets to learn more about your brand, its products, or its services. Given that search engines give a lot of priority to good quality content, the information you provide can boost traffic to your website. Consequently, one of the things to consider when redesigning a website is ensuring that you provide all the information you feel your target audience might need. 

It’s equally important to structure the information you want to present in a manner that makes it easy to find. You also need to make sure that there is a smooth flow of information from one page to the next, linking to other pages that provide more relevant information in a seamless manner. Another benefit of going the website redesign way is that you get to refresh your content by using a new perspective.

Offering great content helps address various aspects that include SEO and customer retention. Besides, implementing a good content strategy gives you the means to keep up with ongoing algorithm changes that search engines implement.  A website design might be the order of the day if you plan to make significant changes in your content strategy and make use of different types of media. 

A website redesign also gives you the means to incorporate a blog into the scheme of things, which you may update regularly with textual content as well as videos. Statistics shared by OptinMonster show that websites with blogs have 434% indexed pages, which basically means they rank higher than websites that don’t have blogs.

Even if you provide relevant and useful content for your target audience but are unable to attract traffic because it can’t find your content, a website redesign might help. This is also the case if search engines cannot find and index your website’s content.

7. The Mobile-Friendly Aspect

Data released by Statista shows that there were 4.67 billion active mobile internet users in the world in 2021. It also indicates that mobile internet users account for 59.72% of the global internet traffic. So, if your website does not work as well on mobile devices as it does on desktops, you’re missing out on a lot of traffic.

If you have a website that’s been the same since the early 2000s, it’s definitely time for a makeover. Bear in mind that there have been major changes in mobile phone technology, and these devices have surpassed desktop computers in some aspects. Given that a significant number of people now use their mobile phones to access the internet, it’s more important than ever to make the necessary changes to your website.

Modern-day consumers use their phones to access social platforms, for entertainment, to watch the news, to shop, to keep track of the weather, and more. If your website is not mobile-friendly or responsive, it’s only fair to expect that users will move on to other websites very fast. A website redesign can help ensure that you’re not losing out on traffic and sending potential customers your competitors’ way.

8. The Need for Calls-to-Action

In the past, it was common for websites to not have CTAs on all pages. However, this is no longer the case, and you cannot expect people to browse through your website before making their way to the contact page. While your website needs traffic, it also needs to be able to convert traffic into leads, and leads into customers. As a result, your website needs an effective CTA on every page. 

Having a CTA on each web page ensures that your visitors know what action to take after they complete reading or watching any given content. This could be making a purchase, subscribing to a newsletter, requesting a quote, or downloading an eBook. No matter what action you want people to take, they need to know just what path to follow. 

9. Improved Leads and Sales

If you look at any website redesign case study that involves a successful website makeover, you’ll see an increased likelihood of the revamped website having better conversion rates. This is because the outdated architecture of old websites is usually unable to produce high conversion rates. If the primary focus of your website redesign is to increase conversion rates, it’s important to equip the new site with a flow of information that funnels visitors to buy, subscribe, or request more information. 

Conclusion

There might have been a time when your target audience was attracted to your website because it looked innovative and professional. However, it now fails to attract enough traffic, and even the people that visit your website don’t convert into customers. Alternatively, maybe you have a relatively new website that’s not produced desired results since its launch. In both cases, a complete website makeover might be the order of the day.

Since there are numerous web design agencies from which to choose, it’s crucial that you select one after comparing the best of the lot. Ideally, you should get website redesign proposals from two or more agencies and then choose the one that feels right for your project. Bear in mind that your website serves as your online backbone, so it’s imperative that you partner with a digital agency that understands your requirements well.