What Impact Will a Website Redesign Have on my Business?

As a digital agency specializing in web design and development, we hear this question a lot.  And we get it – a website redesign requires time, money, and resources. Your company wants to be certain that your investment will have a tangible effect on your business--that the investment is worth it.

What impact will a website redesign have on my business? So, here’s our answer:

While it’s difficult to predict the precise ROI a redesign will yield your company, a new brand website (done well) will result a host of benefits, including an uptick in search engine ranking and the generation of interest from potential buyers, partners and customers. Prospects and customers will respond differently to an optimized website, and we often see a positive impact on an organization's bottom line due to the following factors (seen below).

Impact a redesign can have on a business

• Search visibility - Improved SEO can be a significant benefit to a website refresh. We often see an uptick in search ranking as a result of a website refresh. Search engines love fresh content and updated websites. Freshness is a factor in search ranking, and a website redesign often involves updating the content structure, value proposition messaging, frontend code, mobile responsiveness, and link structures. These changes can help accelerate growth in search engines, which can have a clear and tangible benefit in lead generation, brand visibility, and sales.
• Build trust with buyers, supporters, and customers - A new website shows growth and makes your constituency see your organization as viable, vibrant, and relevant. Although this impact on perception may seem soft, the change in perception will have an increase in trust, which can directly impact lead generation efforts, sales, and competitiveness.
• Accessibility and user experience - Technology and trends change rapidly. Websites will naturally fall out of sync with the advances in technology. Any organization that launched its website in a pre-mobile-responsiveness period understands this phenomenon. A website redesign helps modernize your brand's website and allows it to meet the needs and behaviors of users today. Mobile responsiveness alone can expand your potential audience, decrease the bounce rate and increase customer/lead outreach.
• Higher conversion rate - As you upgrade your website, your company has an opportunity to learn from the past. By studying web analytics, you can learn what content, calls-to-action, and pages help drive users to a conversion. Consider redesigning calls-to-action, changing the presentation of value propositions, and improving the alignment of offers. With a web design project, your organization has a chance to radically upgrade your conversion rate--allowing for increased leads, partnerships, sales, and revenue.

The key to ensuring an impressive ROI on your website redesign is to focus on the features customers care most about – because that is what will have the greatest impact.

To that end, here are four website redesign elements proven to enhance customer satisfaction and drive revenue:

1. Responsive design - accessing mobile users

"62 percent of companies that designed a website specifically for mobile had increased sales." – Econsultancy

"52 percent of users said they would be less likely to engage with a company if the mobile experience on their site was bad." – MarginMedia

We live in a mobile world, and users expect websites to function on all of their devices. They aren’t incentivized to stick with a mobile site that’s frustrating to use when they can very easily find another company whose website is optimized for their device.

Embracing responsive web design for your company website ensures that users have an optimal experience on any device – resulting in satisfied customers, an enhanced reputation, and increased sales. Additionally, mobile-responsive websites are favored in search engines.

"75 percent of users admit to making judgments about a company’s credibility based on their website’s design." – Stanford Univerisity

Credibility is important to customers, so we recommend prioritizing it during your website redesign. The first step is to adopt a design that’s updated and professional. Next, make sure the site is free of errors; provide authoritative content; list a physical address and phone number; showcase the people behind the company; and make it easy to verify the accuracy of the information on your site by referencing source material. All of these measures work together to enhance your company’s credibility and trustworthiness.

2. Authoritative content - the power of attraction and relevancy

"87 percent of buyers say that online content has a major or moderate impact on vendor preference and selection." – B2B Marketing Insider

 "52 percent of buyers say blogs have impacted their purchase decisions, and 57 percent of marketers have acquired new customers with their blogs." – LeadersWest Digital Marketing Journal

Content is one of your website’s most important elements, which is why we recommend investing resources in this area. When implemented correctly, your content can attract qualified leads to your company and establish you as an industry leader – resulting in increased sales and revenue.

When creating your content, focus on authoritative, relevant material that contains information the reader can use immediately. For example, if you offer an article entitled “6 Ways to More Efficiently Manage Your Mobile Workforce”, make sure those six tips are actionable and genuinely helpful to the reader. We recommend publishing at least a few times a week and citing research articles to further bolster your credibility.

3. Usability 

"76 percent of people say the most important characteristic of a website is ease of use." – Hubspot

"40 percent of people will abandon a website if it takes more than three seconds to load." – Econsultancy

Clearly, usability is essential to customers and needs to be important to your company. A usable website is quick to load, viewable on any device, and organized so that visitors can quickly find the information they need.

4. Testing

Proper testing is key to ensuring a usable website because your prospects and customers may find confusing what you find intuitive. Testing will reveal if users genuinely find your website easy to use or if they get stuck at certain points. For example, User Testing allows you to test your desktop and mobile website at any stage of development and receive video feedback from targeted customers on your website’s usability, navigation, and design.

SOURCES:

• Econsultancy, Site speed: case studies, tips and tools for improving your conversion rate, https://econsultancy.com/blog/10936-site-speed-case-studies-tips-and-tools-for-improving-your-conversion-rate
• Marginmedia, 10 Mobile Web Design Statistics All Marketers Should Know About - https://blog.marginmedia.com.au/Our-Blog/bid/87385/10-Mobile-Web-Design-Statistics-All-Marketers-Should-Know-About
• Standford University - https://credibility.stanford.edu/guidelines/index.html
• B2B Marketing Insider - https://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/b2b-content-marketing-roi-need-to-focus-on-the-basics-report
• LeadersWest Digital Marketing Journal, INFOGRAPHIC: CONTENT MARKETING AS AN SEO TACTIC, https://leaderswest.com/2013/06/09/infographic-content-marketing-as-an-seo-tactic/
• Hubspot, What Do 76% of Consumers Want From Your Website? [New Data], https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/14953/What-Do-76-of-Consumers-Want-From-Your-Website-New-Data.aspx
• Econsultancy, Site speed: case studies, tips and tools for improving your conversion rate, https://econsultancy.com/blog/10936-site-speed-case-studies-tips-and-tools-for-improving-your-conversion-rate