How Website Redesign Can Boost Traffic and Increase Leads

Web design has come a long way in the last few years and if you continue to rely on a website that’s been around for a while, it’s probably time to think about a complete overhaul. The reason is fairly simple. The world, as we know it, is subject to constant change. Some trends stay with us for weeks whereas some carry on for years. However, as with all other things, they become outdated at some point in time. Consequently, if you’re not satisfied with the results of your online presence, a complete or partial website makeover might work well for you.

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.

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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 singlepage 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 SearchEngine 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. RevisedBusinessGoals

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 finddirections 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-DateCMSandTools

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 voiceand 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