Be honest. When was the last time you gave your website a makeover? A refresh? The tiniest little update?
If you have to think hard about it, you’re overdue.
A well-designed, up-to-date website is no longer optional — especially for B2B companies. That’s because:
- Most customers’ purchase decisions start with an online search. (Forrester)
- Most B2B buyers are already 57% of the way through the buying process before the first meeting with a representative. (Accenture)
- 60% of B2B buyers don’t want to interact with a sales rep at all, and 62% say they can finalize their purchase selection criteria based solely on digital content. (Forrester)
In this post, we’ll discuss the following:
- The importance of good website design for your business.
- Why working with an agency to update your website saves you time, money and all the headaches.
- How to know when it’s time to redesign.
Why a Good Website Matters
As noted above, a website is the first impression customers — and potential customers — have of your business.
OK, you’ve convinced me. Website, good. No website, bad.
Almost. Here’s the thing: no website = bad. Bad website = worse.
If your customers take the time to seek you out online and land on a poorly designed, outdated, difficult-to-navigate site, they won’t just bounce; they’ll judge you as less credible, think twice about using your service and go out of their way to not recommend you to a friend.
Remember, the primary function of your website is to attract viewers and convert them to customers. Keeping your website up-to-date is every bit as important as launching it in the first place.
The value of regularly refreshing your website is clear. But for many B2B companies, whether or not a website gets the attention it needs comes down to the time, availability and qualifications of in-house IT or marketing teams. Basically, who has the time, energy and know-how to get it done?
Enter a digital marketing agency with a full slate of website development services. Here are six reasons to bring in outside help when it’s time to redesign your website.
1. You Get a Digital Strategy Expert
Agencies specialize in developing tailored digital strategies that align with your business goals. This includes a robust and engaging website. The right agency can help you identify target audiences, create user personas and establish clear objectives for your site, ensuring your redesign has a solid foundation and laser-focused direction.
2. Agencies Have Their Eye on the End User
Digital marketing agencies understand how user experience (UX) can make or break your website. They’ll ensure your website’s layout, navigation and content are optimized to drive conversions, engagement and other desired actions from your users.
3. You Get All the Creative All in One Place
Where you may have one person on staff responsible for maintaining the website and creating marketing materials and social media and going on coffee runs, a digital marketing agency has whole teams dedicated to each of those things. (Well, maybe not coffee runs, but let’s not rule it out.)
Having access to dedicated web designers, content creators and UX specialists means your site will be visually appealing and up-to-date with the latest design trends and technologies.
4. No More Project Management Headaches
Show me the business leader who has time to add “shepherd a web redesign project from start to finish” to their already jam-packed to-do list. Hint: This person does not exist.
With an agency, you’ll have a dedicated project manager who ensures your redesign stays on track and within budget. They’ll handle communication, coordinate with various team members, manage timelines and handle website maintenance. (Whew, did you just feel a weight lift off your shoulders?)
5. The Content Comes With the Site (and It’s So Good!)
Quality content is the lifeblood of your website. It’s what drives traffic (via SEO), and it’s what keeps visitors there and engaged. A content-driven digital marketing agency employs skilled copywriters who craft engaging, informative and SEO-friendly content across your entire site — including blogs, which have been shown to increase ROI by 13x when updated regularly.
An agency can also provide support with other content types, such as videos, infographics and images, to enrich your website and enhance UX.
6. SEO Expertise Is Baked In
Agencies are well-versed in SEO techniques and can ensure your redesigned website adheres to the latest best practices. They’ll optimize your site’s structure, content and technical aspects to improve visibility in search engine results and drive more organic traffic. And when Google updates its algorithm (as it does between 500 and 600 times per year), your agency’s SEO experts will be all over it and ready to adjust accordingly.
BONUS: An Agency Is Poised and Ready to Do It All Again in Two Years’ Time
A long-term relationship with a digital marketing agency means you have a partner ready to jump in for the next refresh when the time is right. In between website redesigns, they’ll be on hand to build and execute a comprehensive content marketing strategy that will keep traffic flowing and leads coming in.
Keep Reading: How to Know if Your Digital Marketing Agency Is the One
How Often Should You Redesign Your Website?
Ask yourself the following questions to determine if you’re due for a refresh:
- How are my conversion rates? If you notice a decline in your website’s conversion rate, it could be a sign your design or content is no longer resonating with your audience.
- Does my site look dated? Design trends come and go. What was once cutting-edge can quickly become stale. Not long ago, popups and giant sliders that took up half the front page were all the rage. Now those same things can negatively affect UX, loading speed and SEO.
- Is my site as good on mobile as it is on desktop? If you’re not optimized for mobile, you’re leaving traffic on the table. 57% of users won’t recommend a company with poor mobile web design.
- Have my business goals changed? If your business has undergone significant changes — such as new products, services or target audiences — it’s important that your website reflects that. A redesign can help align your site with your current goals and effectively communicate those to your customers.
- How hard is it to make small updates? If you struggle to make even the smallest copy edits or upload new blogs, you may be operating on an outdated platform. A clunky or outdated CMS makes it that much harder to keep your site fresh. Shifting to something more user-friendly will make it easier.
- Is your website slow? Visitors will leave a page if it doesn’t load fast enough. Walmart found that browsers experiencing average page speeds of 1-2 seconds are more than twice as likely to convert as those at 3-4 seconds. When it comes to web speeds, time is quite literally money.
For every $1 spent on a website redesign, you get a return of $100. That’s a pretty amazing ROI. With the help of agency experts, you can start seeing that ROI sooner with less stress on your already maxed-out marketing team.
Ready, Set, Refresh
No matter the size of your business, your website remains the cornerstone of your online presence. By partnering with an agency to update and redesign your website, you gain access to a wealth of expertise and resources tailored to your business goals. And in an era where first impressions are made online in a fraction of a second, investing in a top-notch website through an agency collaboration is key to unlocking your business’s full potential.
