Blog Post | Dec 20, 2022
Easy Website Refreshes That Can Boost Performance Without a Redesign
To refresh or not refresh your website! A refresh—rather than a redesign—can be all that's needed to improve your website's overall look and performance. Here are a few simple changes that are easy and affordable to implement.
An engaging, well-designed website is a critical piece of your marketing: in fact, it may be the central piece that all your other tactics drive to. Chances are, it's probably one of your organization's most significant marketing investments. But that doesn't mean it will live forever. There's no “hard and fast” rule for how often you should switch it up, but the average lifespan of a website is just over 2 ½ years.
At the bare minimum, you should be keeping up with security updates. And if you're not sure you’re ready for a full redesign, we have a few simple changes that can help your site look new and perform better.
Reasons to Refresh Your Site
To change or not change your website: that's the question. Even though most customers want a reliable, predictable web experience, you've got to balance that with changing your site up enough to keep repeat visitors engaged and intrigued.
Two of the top reasons marketers give for refreshing their website are for better visual appeal and to improve overall performance. As explained below, the two concepts are closely linked—so when you improve the form, you'll also improve the function.
Switch Up the Hero Image/Header
It's the first thing users see when they get to your site. One of the simplest ways to give your site a new look is to update this image.
Depending on how your site was built and if it's easy to make changes, you might consider switching up the content. For example, if your current header uses a static image, switching to a carousel or a video header can make your site look more modern and create meaningful interactions that keep users on your page longer.
Use Color in Unexpected Places
Color is one of your most powerful tools for evoking emotion and stimulating interest. Strategically adding small pops of color throughout your site can make a big difference. Even something as subtle and simple as changing the color of your CTA buttons can increase conversions. You can also try adding a striking color tint to your images, page highlights, or changing the color of your headlines and subheads.
Optimize Your Content
If your website is underperforming, it might not have anything to do with the aesthetics. A host of sneaky little issues may be tanking the user experience. A common culprit is content that takes too long to load—such as having too many overly large or unoptimized images or too much Flash content. Today, the expectation is that your website will load in 1-2 seconds, and 40% of consumers will bounce after three seconds. Furthermore, that high bounce rate tells search engines that the page content isn't useful, which can cause that page to rank even lower.
There are other reasons why your site's search engine ranking is low: perhaps your content doesn't use the right keywords—or, to put it another way, there's a mismatch between what a customer types into a search engine and the content on your page. You can learn a bit more by exploring Google's free keyword planning tool, but we can also take you through some of the latest on keyword strategy, search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM) and more.
Let's Look at Your Site Together
This list is far from comprehensive; it's just some of the more simple fixes that you or one of your designers can quickly implement. If you'd like to make more substantial changes or just learn about current trends (AI chatbots and nixing stock photos in favor of all-original photography are hot right now), contact us. Your website refresh may be simpler than you think, and we can do it beautifully and possibly for less time and money than you expect.
At the bare minimum, you should be keeping up with security updates. And if you're not sure you’re ready for a full redesign, we have a few simple changes that can help your site look new and perform better.
Reasons to Refresh Your Site
To change or not change your website: that's the question. Even though most customers want a reliable, predictable web experience, you've got to balance that with changing your site up enough to keep repeat visitors engaged and intrigued.
Two of the top reasons marketers give for refreshing their website are for better visual appeal and to improve overall performance. As explained below, the two concepts are closely linked—so when you improve the form, you'll also improve the function.
Switch Up the Hero Image/Header
It's the first thing users see when they get to your site. One of the simplest ways to give your site a new look is to update this image.
Depending on how your site was built and if it's easy to make changes, you might consider switching up the content. For example, if your current header uses a static image, switching to a carousel or a video header can make your site look more modern and create meaningful interactions that keep users on your page longer.
Use Color in Unexpected Places
Color is one of your most powerful tools for evoking emotion and stimulating interest. Strategically adding small pops of color throughout your site can make a big difference. Even something as subtle and simple as changing the color of your CTA buttons can increase conversions. You can also try adding a striking color tint to your images, page highlights, or changing the color of your headlines and subheads.
Optimize Your Content
If your website is underperforming, it might not have anything to do with the aesthetics. A host of sneaky little issues may be tanking the user experience. A common culprit is content that takes too long to load—such as having too many overly large or unoptimized images or too much Flash content. Today, the expectation is that your website will load in 1-2 seconds, and 40% of consumers will bounce after three seconds. Furthermore, that high bounce rate tells search engines that the page content isn't useful, which can cause that page to rank even lower.
There are other reasons why your site's search engine ranking is low: perhaps your content doesn't use the right keywords—or, to put it another way, there's a mismatch between what a customer types into a search engine and the content on your page. You can learn a bit more by exploring Google's free keyword planning tool, but we can also take you through some of the latest on keyword strategy, search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM) and more.
Let's Look at Your Site Together
This list is far from comprehensive; it's just some of the more simple fixes that you or one of your designers can quickly implement. If you'd like to make more substantial changes or just learn about current trends (AI chatbots and nixing stock photos in favor of all-original photography are hot right now), contact us. Your website refresh may be simpler than you think, and we can do it beautifully and possibly for less time and money than you expect.