A lot of hard work goes into planning and creating a website, and rightly so! It’s essentially the online storefront for your business, and you want it to be appealing to your virtual passersby. Your website is an opportunity to connect with your audience, provide information, and begin to build a customer relationship. No pressure.
With that in mind, you don’t think twice about maintaining your physical storefront, right? You keep things clean, maintain functionality, prioritize security, and seek the latest features to stand out and enhance customer experiences. That is the bare minimum of standards for a reputable business.
So, why do so many businesses put their online storefronts on the back burner? Whatever the reason, our advice is to bring the same energy and expectations to your website that you would a physical location. How do you do that?
What is a Website Refresh?
Our friend, the website refresh, has entered the chat. In simplified terms, a website refresh is any update you make to your site, aesthetically or functionally, that doesn’t require a complete redesign or structural rebuild. A refresh is like when people pepper bumper stickers all over the back of their car. It drastically changes the way your vehicle is perceived, but it still runs the same. Except with websites, the goal is to declutter.
If you do want to make changes to the structure or theme of your website, then you should be looking into a website redesign instead. For instance, let’s say you want your website to be responsive, meaning it will accommodate the user experience regardless of the size or orientation of a device screen. A feat like this will be a bit heftier than a simple refresh because it involves a change in the structure of your site. Just something to keep in mind!
So, assuming your foundation is solid, when should you consider refreshing your website?
When You Have New Branding
First things first, the extent of changes made to your branding matters. If your business is planning to introduce a new or modified logo that utilizes the same fonts and colors as before, a refresh should get the job done just fine.
On the other hand, a drastic logo change with fresh colors and fonts might call for a new website theme entirely. Trying to accomplish this on an existing structure might be a larger undertaking than simply starting from scratch.
Regardless, your brand is at the core of your business, and you want to reflect that on your website. Going through and ensuring that your website reflects your brand standards is simply best practice, and you will want to schedule this to be completed before announcing your new branding on social media or other platforms.
When Your Seasonal Promos or Events Change
Many businesses use the home page or other pages of their website to promote relevant deals, seasonal events, or other time-sensitive announcements. Depending on where promotional items are located within your sitemap, you may benefit from a small refresh when changes occur.
This might look like updating slider images, embedding new campaign videos, updating icons and blurbs, or re-organizing a few pages in your navigation bar. For instance, if you have a major fundraising event or anniversary, it’s not a bad idea to showcase this on your website. If you use a temporary logo or like to incorporate the event branding onto your site, a refresh is a great way to get that across.
Not only does this ensure your information is accurate, visible, and helpful for users, but it also boosts your SEO rankings behind the scenes.
When Your Analytics Are Slacking
For some, the least favorite of the A-words is “analytics.” However, these pesky stats and metrics hold the keys to your website’s success. If you notice low traffic, lack of conversions or high bounce rates on certain pages, it might be worth refreshing them.
“Remember, you only have 10-20 seconds once a user lands on your page to show them what they are looking for and engage them so they stay longer,” points out Brooke Ruckdaschel, one of our expert web developers and designers. “With that in mind, you may find that removing and cleaning up what is there may be just as, if not more, effective than adding to it.”
Compare the pages that are performing well with the ones that aren’t. What can you add, change or take away to help the underperforming pages? Do you need to update the copy for better SEO or to better cater to your audience? There is a lot that can be tweaked and tested when it comes to analytics—don’t give up! A little bit of strategy and A/B testing can work wonders for your site.
When Your Recruitment Efforts Pay Off
The job market is something fierce right now, which makes it even more worth your while to showcase the employees that make up your business. Whether you aren’t currently featuring a staff page, or you need to add some new names and faces—a refresh is a great way to do this.
It’s possible your new recruits are in need of some high-quality headshots or enticing bio copy to highlight expertise and build familiarity. While staff content might not seem as relevant to your business as a blog post about your services, it’s just as relevant for SEO and the customer experience.
When You Want to Show Off Your Hard Work
Let’s face it, you work hard and want to brag a little bit. We support your right to a tasteful flex. Maybe this looks like a landing page that features work examples and testimonials. From galleries to sliders and every clickable image in between!
Maybe you want to put your hard work front and center with a home page spotlight. Maybe you want to show the world that amazing campaign video that you partnered with de Novo on. A website refresh is a perfect way to add new content, incorporate a subtle brag, and keep your audience engaged.
Let’s Get Going
Are you ready to beef up SEO, grab some attention, and relish some conversions? Then let’s chat. Our expert web designers, copywriters and creatives can help you make informed website decisions, and when you’re ready—bring life to your website through strategic copy and engaging visuals.
Itching to learn more about websites or the process of creating them? Check out more of our other web-related blogs in the meantime:
