Websites today are often outfitted with all the bells and whistles their owners can think of: from bolder, brighter graphics, fonts, and colours, to a proliferation of images and functions designed to attract visitors as well as provide a more interactive, user-friendly navigational experience.
First of all, you have to assess your website – not only for how it looks and feels, but for how it works. A website upgrade does not just involve the attractiveness of your website – it also involves your website’s functionality and overall design.
But if you have an existing website, when do you really know if it needs to be redone? Here, then are the top four signs that tell you when your website needs an upgrade:
How long does it take your website to load?
When you visit your website, see how much time it takes for it to load. Many web designers and developers would tell you that if your website takes more than 5 seconds in order to load, you may well end up losing visitors. Remember that people have a short attention span – and a site that takes more than 5 seconds to show up on a screen can result in disinterest. If it takes too long for your website to load, have a web designer or developer check it and see what causes this issue. It could mean a complete redesign wherein particular elements such as textures, backgrounds, and customised fonts will be created to allow for less loading time. The point is not to let your visitors download too much information from your site, such as scripts and imagery, so they do not lose interest.
Is it responsive?
Nowadays, people access the Internet through a number of devices, most particularly from smart phones and tablets. That is why there has been a notable push towards responsive website design. You need to make sure that your website is user-friendly for those who regularly use different devices to access the web. (www/sballergy.com) Your website needs to be accessible to various gadgets, and you can only accomplish this through responsive web design. If you would like your website to be responsive, you can enlist the services of professional (and experienced) web designers and developers who are in tune with the latest trends, such as those from massmediadesign.co.uk.
Does your website have features that are no longer functional or useful?
Whilst assessing the viability of your website, you also have to find out whether there are features or functions that you no longer make use of or that are no longer useful. These features could well be dragging your website down and resulting in a less user-friendly experience for your visitors. As your website grows and develops, it is only natural for some parts to not be entirely necessary or useful any more. One example of this is those Facebook (and other social media) boxes for fans of your site that show which of your friends like your website. If you haven’t used that feature for months, it may be time to just simply remove it from your site altogether.
When did you last have your site overhauled?
This could be a simple and obvious question, but surprisingly, not many of us consider this at all. We often think that once a site is done, that’s it – end of story. We fail to realise that websites are dynamic and should be adapted to the changing times. The general rule is to have your site’s look revamped at least every 3 years, and its functionality overhauled once every 5 years.
