This post was last updated on January 27, 2022.
Let’s face it, a brand spankin’ new website can be somewhat of an investment (yes, investment…keep reading). And for a small business, may not be feasible in the short term. We get it.
So if you fall into that category, or just want to jazz your current website up a bit but aren’t ready for a complete redesign, here are 5 things you can do to update your website design:
1. Update Photos.
I cannot express this enough. Photos are everything. Below is an example of the same website: the first example is an image that had been used on the homepage for far too long, the second is a professional, updated photo. No comparison.
Finding new and relevant images is a great and easy way to update your website design. You should also make sure that your current and future images are optimized (correct size and quality) so that they look great and don’t slow down your website.
BEFORE
AFTER
2. Break up the text with headings and photos.
Our eyes are attracted to whitespace. Give your visitors a little breathing room by breaking up the content into bite-sized pieces. It’ll make it easier to scan and digest the information on your site. It’s a website after all, not a research paper. 😉
3. Use consistent branding and colors.
Black for this heading, a little maroon here, gray in some places…yikes. Consistency in design and color palette may be the second most important thing when it comes to updating your website design, next to photos.
If you haven’t gone through a brand discovery process and implemented a Brand Style Guide…it’s time to do so. This will ensure brand consistency wherever your brand is used and determine the why behind everything your brand does.
4. Simplify.
In my opinion (and tons of studies), a website redesign can be one of the best moves you can make for your company. Quite often, the first impression a customer has with your business is your website. And if it doesn’t look professional, is hard to navigate, or just plain ugly and outdated, people will leave and you will lose that business and not to mention, credibility. A simple, streamlined website design will provide everything your user wants (while looking dang good).
5. Update content.
I’ve seen both extremes – too much content on too many different pages and the polar opposite, websites with pages that hardly have enough content to span one line. So whether it’s consolidating and updating the copy or simply expanding and improving the quality of content, it is going to make a difference to your visitors! If you’re ready to update your web design, this always includes your content (and SEO).
At the end of the day, updating your website design isn’t just another cost. It’s an investment and should be considered as one. A very wise investment that generates incredible ROI. When done right, a new website should increase your customer base, lower your bounce rate, and provide a professional online presence for your business. After all, 46 percent of people claim the design of a company’s website is the number one criterion for discerning the credibility of that company.
Website redesign = increase in visitors and trust in your company = more customer conversions
Ready for a website overhaul or just a facelift? Get in touch, we’d love to chat.