8 signs you need a B2B website redesign
If you’re like many of our clients, you’re already busy launching a product, planning that next tradeshow, or enabling your sales team. But while you’re keeping up with your business’s demands, it’s easy to forget to give your B2B website the maintenance it deserves.
There’s never been a more important time for B2B brands to invest in their digital presences. Having a functional website can make or break your ability to communicate your message, shorten your sales cycle, expand your reach, and enrich your customer experience.
Curious if your website is working hard enough for your business? Check for these eight signs it’s time for a website redesign:
- Slow site speeds
- High bounce rates
- Mobile-unfriendly design
- Disjointed organization
- Outdated look
- Confusing navigation
- Lack of lead generation
- Difficulty updating content
Sign #1: Page load times are painfully slow.
With today’s technology, no one has the patience to wait more than a few seconds for a page to load — and every visitor who leaves means one less opportunity to reach a prospect.
In addition to annoying your visitors, load times of more than three seconds can impact where your site appears in Google search results.
The solution: In some cases, it’s worth identifying and targeting the specific issues, whether they’re large image and video files, unoptimized CSS and JavaScript, slow server response times, or unused plugins. But often — especially with older sites — it’s best to start fresh and reassess.
Sign #2: Bounce rates are through the roof.
Related to slow load speeds, high bounce rates (the percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing one page) usually signal that your website isn’t properly engaging guests.
The cause is often outdated or poor content, confusing user experience, bad design, or flawed functionality. You might also see that only certain landing pages or sources of traffic are causing higher bounce rates — for instance, traffic from Facebook vs. Google searches.
The solution: Make sure your content is resonating with your target audiences. Optimize your site for phones and tablets (more on this very soon), paying special attention to navigation, page hierarchy, and cohesion among interactive elements.
Sign #3: Your site isn’t optimized for mobile.
Though many B2B engagements still take place on PCs and desktops, we can’t ignore that we live in a world dominated by cell phones.
As consumers, we all interact with and evaluate brands through multiple media. Ensuring a phone-friendly experience will create consistency and positive brand associations — and boost where you land in search results.
The solution: Remove any excess content and ensure your site features responsive, intuitive design for a variety of devices.
Sign #4: Your B2B website looks like a grab bag of unrelated content.
It starts with one department asking for that new callout section — and before you know it, your homepage looks like a too-long takeout menu.
Trying to please everyone on your team often leaves site visitors sifting through the clutter — and your brand’s message getting diluted over time.
The solution: Keep new pages and content aligned to your overall site strategy. It may be worth reevaluating and reorganizing your site to better meet your company’s goals.
Sign #5: You’re lagging behind the industry.
First impressions are everything. Prospects will notice if your site looks dated compared to competitors’ online presences.
Even if your product or service outranks a competitors’ offerings, an inferior website can make your brand seem stagnant or out of touch.
The solution: Stay abreast of competitors’ marketing efforts and industry trends, keeping your site current and showing prospects you’re in tune with your industry’s ever-changing needs.
Sign #6: Navigating your site requires a compass and map.
If you’ve ever found yourself digging through your site for content you swore existed, or gotten lost returning to a page — imagine how your visitors must feel!
Your website should navigate users to the content they want most — in as few clicks as possible.
The solution: Ensure any new pages you add make sense as part of a larger experience, and keep links prominent. If your site is already a jungle of tacked-on pages and buried hyperlinks, it may be time to revisit your site strategy with an eye to simplify.
Sign #7: Conversions are little to none.
Your website’s job is to make an impact on visitors. While not every site needs to be a lead-generating tool, most B2B websites should move prospects further down the sales funnel.
The goal is to provide just enough content and credentialing about your company and services to entice visitors to want to know more — and move them towards a solution, such as scheduling a demo or submitting a contact form.
The solution: Provide new visitors enough information so they can understand your offering, determine if it’s a potential good fit, get inspired about your solution, and start a dialogue with you.
Sign #8: Updating content is a major challenge.
If you’re struggling to perform basic updates or having to rely on a developer, chances are your frustrations — and bills — are piling up.
As we’ve covered, all sites need to be updated eventually, so it’s worth establishing a system where you can make edits and additions as easily as possible.
The solution: At FVM, we use WordPress to create custom sites with user-friendly backends our clients can maintain — no coding or web experience required. We also provide the training and intuitive CMS design for clients to make changes quickly and independently.
Reaching a verdict
If you’re nodding your head “yes” to some of these signs — or you simply feel it in your gut — it’s probably time to consider a website refresh or complete redesign.
But before jumping right in, we advise you hit pause and think about where you are as a business, and where you’d like to be. What, if anything, needs to be caught up before investing in a new site?
At FVM, we like to take a holistic approach: aligning a client’s brand and their overall strategy first, then having that tactical vision come to life via their website.
The end result? A modern and consistent brand, a message that resonates with your audience, and a digital presence that stands out from the crowd.
Still have questions? Drop us a line here today.