Is it time to redesign your website? If you haven't updated your website in the last year or so, it's probably worth taking a look at your online platform and decide whether it's working as hard as you are.
Improve SEO
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a marketing buzzword that has become increasingly important and common, even for traditional retailers. Once the guarded domain of online retailers, traditional businesses are increasingly forced to build and maintain an online presence that allows new and potential customers to find them. Maintaining an up to date website or blog is an important part of that puzzle. A properly developed website will determine how your content is viewed and how long your customers spend on your website. A well-designed website not only helps to direct traffic to your site but encourages customer engagement, all driving your website to the top of the search engine results page.
Improve Contact
Reimagine your website as an employee. What processes can be automated through your website? What can you learn about your clientele through your website's data? How can your website help you stay connected to your audience? By updating your website you can maximize its potential. Your website will often be the first point of contact for many clients. By keeping it up to date you can turn that first impression into a lasting one.
Improve Sales
An estimates 1.8 billion people shop online with more than 60% of all purchases beginning online. That means that even if most of your sales happen in-store, chances are your clients' first interaction with your business began with your website or social media pages. Even more impressive is that nearly half of all consumers shop more online than in-store. The truth is that you can't afford to ignore your online presence if you want to remain competitive. In the global crisis of 2020 we saw companies that invested in their online presence make adjustments more quickly than others. As social distancing became a global battle cry we saw companies that had not invested in their digital footprint struggle to stay alive while trying to find a way to reach their clients. While the crisis may have shifted some people's shopping habits it only seemed to speed up the inevitable and the likelihood that we will go back to the way things were is moot. in order to stay competitive, having an up to date website is a must.
Improve Customer Experience
Building trust is key in any business, even Ecommerce. An outdated website is less likely to make clients feel secure. They may be unsure of the accuracy of the information available or they may hesitate to make purchases online fearing that an out of date website has poor security. Clients that may have placed large orders with you in the past may not return if reordering on the website is complicated. By improving your web design you improve your overall customer experience and help to ensure that both new and returning customers leave with a positive impression of your business.
Improve Competitiveness
Right now there is a team of web designers and graphic designers who are working to make your competition look great. Most purchases begin online even if they are concluded in a brick and mortar store, which makes web design a key factor in any business's sales and marketing strategy. Money that might have once been used to put up billboards or hire a guy to twirl a sign is now being put towards upgrading and maintaining a strong online presence. If you want to stay competitive, build a cutting-edge website that allows your clients to engage with you with ease.
Improve Branding
Consistency across online platforms is important for an effective brand. This goes far beyond getting a great logo and a catchy motto. Everything from color schemes, fonts, style and layout should be consistent across platforms and on your website. More importantly, you need all of your pages to have a uniform feel. If every page on your site has a different look it lacks professionalism. Your clients are more likely to choose a company whose online presence looks more well thought out and stays on brand.
As Ecommerce accounts for larger and larger percentages of revenue, businesses of all sizes will be forced to view their websites the way traditional businesses once viewed their storefronts. They are as much a part of the advertising as they are functional. For the survival of the business, it is important that businesses give consumers options on how to interact with them. It is also a key component in allowing businesses to scale up and grow internationally. Perhaps its time that you revisited you website and invested in a new design.
