When it's time for a website redesign

There are a lot of websites out there that, just do not look very good and by 'good', I mean attractive and functional.

We've all gotten a good laugh when we come across a truly horrific design but what if that site was your business's? Not so funny now. The ever increasing of quality websites, plus our decreasing attention spans, make web design more important than ever. Here are a few signs that you might want to think about a website redesign.

Your site does not engage the visitor

Your site is just text with no updated information. One-way information flow is outdated and boring. Great social networking and bookmarking sites are available to use (Digg, Stumble Upon, Twitter and Facebook — just to name a few) people are connecting in new ways every day. These users will often become frustrated if they can’t interact with your website. Blogging is a great way to make your site feel more social and up-to-date, as long as the blog is relevant. An added bonus is that the consistent new content will attract a crowd of “regulars” and will also improve your search engine ranking. At the very, very least make sure your contact information is easy to find.

Your homepage makes people shudder

You’ve got a cluttered first page. Too many graphics, links every other line, ads on every side, not to mention the text content, etc. The goal is NOT to make the visitor’s head hurt! The most up to date advice is to KEEP IT SIMPLE.

Your site makes any sort of noise

Music, unless it coordinates with your topic (such a record label) to your site content is most likely not a good idea. Keep in mind where people may be when they come across your site…at work, school, in a library, etc. – all places where a loud burst of music may be less than welcome. Another factor to keep in mind is that not everyone likes the same type of music.

Your site has content no one can read

No one can read your content. Having too many colors on the page or choosing bad color palettes/backgrounds can lead to a site that is very hard for a user to read. The same goes for using really tiny text or a hundred different fonts. Anyone can get carried away during the design process, but let’s remember that first and foremost your website must be readable. If people can’t read the information you want to give them your website is essentially useless – no matter how pretty you think it is.

Your site involves teh use of a hozirontal scroll bar

The site has horizontal scrolling. We’re all used to scrolling up and down, making us scroll sideways is awkward and annoying.

Your site is ugl-IE

Your site works and looks great in Firefox, Chrome and Safari, but is a train wreck in Microsoft Edge. Make sure your design and code works well with all browsers, you don’t want to lose people before you even get started.

Your site leads people to nothing

There is no focal point to speak of. It's important to know how people's eyes read a page and factor that into the design. You can influence how people view your site by creating a flow that is ordered and makes sense.

Your site loads with a ridiculously long intro

You have a long intro. In theory its a great idea – it looks great, fun to watch unfold, unique – but in reality it can go very wrong. These designs are now commonplace and people won't sit through long intros, especially without a skip button. Granted, some flash intros can be very cool, but a common opinion among the best designers is that the intros are just another obstacle for potential visitors to overcome. Deciding to put in a skip button itself can be a catch-22, you allow the visitor to get right to your site but you are also effectively saying ‘my intro isn’t important why don’t you skip it’. In that case why do you have an intro in the first place? Its a debated issue and it basically comes down to personal taste. An intro is not an inherently bad design technique, but when abused it can hurt you. A general rule of thumb is any more than a few seconds and you start losing people.

Your site's navigation confuses visitors

The absolute #1 sign it is time for a new web design is if your site has unclear navigation. How users get from one page to another on a site should be obvious. Make sure you have some sort of menu on every page – people get frustrated when they have to hit the back button a thousand times. But be careful, let them hit the back button if they want to, there is nothing more annoying than getting redirected to the page you are on when all you want is the page you just left.

There will certainly be many more reasons that could be considered as important to rebuild a website. Request a quote for a website redesign and enjoy the benefits!