There are certain times when it’s obvious that a website update is necessary, such as if your business name or branding has changed.
But what about other reasons for a new site?
From age to responsiveness to sales and more, there are a number of important reasons that it could be time to have a website redesigned and developed.
Curious if it’s time to update your seafood company’s website? Here are the top 5 reasons you’re ready for a new website.
Your website is too old.
It takes web visitors .05 seconds to develop an impression
(Source)
of your website, determining whether to stay or to leave.
Websites have a shelf life, and even the most modern website will eventually need an update.
User experience expectations change. Modern design elements change. Technologies change. It’s up to your seafood business to keep up.
If your website isn’t functioning properly, it’s taking a long time to load (more on that in a moment), the user experience is poor, or the design feels stale, it’s high time for an update.
To be more exact, your seafood company website will be approximately 3 – 5 years old before needing an update. Since that’s on the high end, it’s important to note that if your website has an eCommerce element or another unique design element, it will likely need an update sooner.
Your website is too slow.
47% of web users expect a maximum site load time of 2 seconds.
(Source: Kissmetrics)
Think of the last time you went to a website that loaded too slowly. Did you stick around and wait for it to come up, like we did in the age of dial up? No, of course not. You left for a website that could come up quickly and answer your query.
We’ll keep it simple: you don’t want your seafood company site to be the one that causes visitors to get frustrated and leave.
While there are several ways to lower the site load time on an existing website, there are plenty of instances where a complete overhaul is the best option. Most often, images are the culprit for bogging down a website and increasing load time. In fact, 39% of people stop engaging with a site if the images won’t load or take too long to load, according to Adobe.
If you still need some convincing, page load time is also a factor in SEO. Your Google rankings will be negatively affected by a slow load time.
Your website is overrun with errors or backend issues.
70% of online businesses fail because of bad usability.
(Source: Uxeria)
If you can no longer access the backend of your website to edit what you need to….you need a new website.
If you can no longer afford the costs of updates to your site because it’s so difficult to manage….you need a new website.
If your CMS (Content Management System) is getting bogged down and can no longer support you….you need a new website.
If your website is so overrun with errors that making updates will cost you as much (or more) as building a new site….you need a new website.
In short, there are times to save a website with updates, and there are times to start fresh and cut your losses with an entirely new website. When your seafood supply website simply isn’t working how it should, then it’s time to start over with a brand new one.
Your site isn’t responsive (or mobile friendly).
Mobile devices now account for nearly 2 of every 3 minutes spent online.
(Source: comScore)
When was the last time you went to a website on your smartphone or tablet and had to zoom in, couldn’t click on phone numbers, and generally had a difficult time getting anywhere on the site? That website wasn’t responsive (or mobile friendly) and, like many web users, you probably didn’t stay very long on that site.
As the primary way users currently access websites, your seafood store has no choice but to have a user friendly and responsive website. If you currently don’t have a responsive website, you could certainly have a mobile site developed; but it will likely be more cost efficient to have the entire site redone. (Chances are, there are plenty of small elements that could be improved for a better mobile experience for your users!)
And if all that’s not enough, a mobile friendly site will also factor into your search engine rankings. Google will actually drop your rankings if your website is not responsive for all devices.
Your site isn’t attracting business.
The Food and beverage industry has the highest
(Source: Yotpo)
average eCommerce conversion rate: 4.95%.
If your website is no longer – or never was – driving sales to your seafood business, it’s time to consider a new website. You’re in business to make sales…and the job of your website is to drive leads (and then sales). If your website isn’t effectively doing its job, it’s time to figure out why.
While your website may have other underlying issues – like problems with SEO – it’s also likely that your current site isn’t engaging potential customers in the right ways.
From poor design use to imagery that doesn’t fit your customers’ aesthetic to your site’s user experience to no eCommerce capability, there are plenty of reasons why it will benefit your seafood restaurant or business to relaunch the site. Talk to a reliable web design company like OSC to get a better sense of where your site is missing out.
Don’t let these five reasons be the cause of your website to fail online. To get help creating a website that represents your seafood business and reaches your target market, contact us at OSC Web Design.
