9 Signs Your Website May Need Improvements

Creating and maintaining a website is the first and foremost thing that you should do if you want to establish yourself as a business or brand online. Even if you are not in the eCommerce industry, you still need a functional website if you are a content creator who gains income from ads and clicks. A well-designed and functional website is the key to online success. With more visitors, you can gain more sales or income. 

However, it’s tough to compete for attention online, given that users have a lot of options and distractions. Not to mention, people’s attention spans these days are getting shorter. A clunky or disorganized website is the last thing they need. In addition, considering the increasing number of internet users who have accessibility issues, it is highly recommended to conduct an accessibility audit on a regular basis and discover all the issues.  With that said, the very first sign that can tell you that your website is up for a revamp is a decrease in traffic.  

It’s easy to track the views and visitors that your website gets. You only have to use a website traffic checker that can show you detailed numbers of your page views. This tool can help you keep track of your daily, weekly, or monthly page visits, making it easy for you to spot patterns and possible problems on your website.

A sudden drop in views or visitors is a sign of a more alarming problem. Such problems are most likely on the technical side, like server issues. It may also have something to do with a new Google algorithm update. A steady and consistent decrease in visitors, however, is a sure sign that your website needs improvement in some aspects. To be sure, you must also check for other signs listed below:

Your Website Is Loading Too Slow 

slow site and speed

Internet users will navigate away from a website that won’t load in three seconds or less. That could mean a huge drop in traffic and consequently, you will lose potential viewers, readers, or customers. Worse, these users are more likely going to jump back to the browser and find a competitor instead. 

There are a few reasons why your website is taking forever to load. The most common are unoptimized high-resolution images or videos that eat up a lot of bandwidth and JavaScript issues.  

Link building is an essential part of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). If your website has articles that link to other pages, then you already know how link building generally works. Unfortunately, you may not realize that some of the websites you have linked are not existing anymore. These are called broken links, and it harms the user experience of your site. To find broken links on your website faster, you can use a link checker tool that can also help you remove such links quickly.

Google Can’t Find Your Site 

Are you sure that the largest search engine in the world can find your site? Many website owners utilize SEO strategies to rank high at Search Engine Result Pages (SERP). However, if your website is not SEO-friendly, your shoe business website won’t appear on the first few pages when a potential customer types in “best dress shoes for men” on Google. 

So, you might need to update your content and use appropriate keywords to make it easier for Google to pull out your website. Utilize both on-site and off-site SEO to help your website rank high for particular keywords.

The Bounce Rate Is Too High 

Bounce rate refers to the percentage of visitors who land on your website and leaves immediately either by clicking the back button or exit button. You can check your bounce rate in the Google Analytics report. 

bounce rate traffic

If your website doesn’t have the appropriate content that a visitor is looking for, then they’re more likely to leave (or bounce). So, it’s important to have fresh and relevant content on your website. Aside from that, you must improve the design and readability of your page if you want to make it more user-friendly

Your Website Looks Outdated 

Web design has evolved throughout the years, and Internet users are quick to judge if they like what they see or not. If you haven’t touched your website in five years, visitors can tell just by the design of your page.

Cluttered websites don’t encourage much engagement, and they would only confuse visitors. However, you can make your website look clean and simple by using premade themes. There are various website creation platforms with aesthetically-pleasing templates that you can choose for your website. You can even tweak the design to make it look more unique.

Your Site Does Not Look Good on Mobile Screens

With the advancement and commercialization of smartphones, many people prefer to open sites and programs through mobile devices. Unlike a PC, mobile devices have smaller screens, and if your website is not optimized for mobile view, then that is a huge problem.

Mobile friendly
Ecommerce, internet shopping promotion campaign. Mobile media optimization, mobile SEO strategy, targeted communication channel concept. Pink coral blue vector isolated illustration

The majority of Internet users now use their smartphones to browse and search the World Wide Web. If your website is not optimized for mobile accessibility, it won’t load or look right on a smartphone screen. 

Broken images, long texts, and large fonts will likely appear when your website is viewed through a mobile screen. This makes it unappealing, and most users nowadays don’t have the time or patience to scroll or zoom in and out just to read your content. Needless to say, you need to updated and optimize your website to make it compatible and readable on mobile screens.

Using Low-Resolution Images 

With the creation of clear and advanced screens for viewing, low-quality images are more obvious. They look even worse on outdated websites. If your business is retail and service-oriented, it’s vital to have high-definition images so visitors will have a clear view of what you are offering. Low-quality images do not just affect the aesthetic of your website, but it will make it look amateurish as well.

Your Competitor Is Doing Better 

If you’re not tracking what your competitors are doing, you could be behind of the game already. If your competitor is more active in terms of engaging users, creating fresh content, and growing followers, then you are at a disadvantage. To keep up, you must start to look for ways to improve the online presence of your brand. So, consider redesigning, optimizing, and marketing your site to keep up with the competition.

Competitor

Your Brand Has Outgrown Your Site 

Your business might have taken a new direction, but your website has not been updated since. It must be revamped to show a new logo, theme, and convey content that lets people know about the new features, products, or services that your company is currently offering. Your brand and personal direction should be reflected on your website so that it stays relevant and useful for visitors.

In Conclusion 

Nowadays, websites are generally considered as representatives of brick-and-mortar businesses and personalities on the Internet. Just like in the real world, your website has to entice potential customers to gain views and profit. 

Your online business can’t take off if customers won’t look your way. Aside from that, you cannot gain viewers and readers if your website is difficult to read and navigate. Managing and maintaining a website takes a bit of work, but some tools and professionals can make the process easier for you.


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