WHY REDESIGN YOUR WEBSITE
Your website is the first impression many people get of your business , hence it's very important to keep it updated and clean. Old buildings that are maintained properly look nice, but what about those whose maintenance is not done properly, what would they look like?
Yes! You get the picture. You would feel awkward walking into such a building; you might even wonder how it could still be standing in such condition. Your website should have the same impact on your business; you need to maintain it as a building. Updating it regularly, using the new tools properly and collecting user feedback as you're ready to hear their opinions.
While your physical location may stay the same for 10 - 15 years, your website can't go this long without an update. You should be sure your website is re-designed at least revery five years, but most experts would recommend updating at least every year. With the technological advances rolling out almost daily, you need to follow the design trends that are in the market. You could even be the trend setter.
Technology Advancement: Remember the boom when everyone was trying to get the cool flash based website? It was the time when the market trend shifted to use animated images. After a while, it cooled down, as Google became the hottest thing and SEO experts suggested that Flash based website were a horrible idea that would negatively affect the website ranking. Old website designs use old technology and may not be user friendly or social as websites of today must be.
Design Advancement: The hard truth is that design is evolving each month (if not each week). You need to follow market and technology trends as the evolve. Most good designers borrow ideas from other designers in the industry. I feel odd when I look at the websites or applications I worked on just a year ago. The elements used in those are out dated and are pretty much becoming extinct.
Make Decision: It's true that when you think of redesigning your website, it feels like you just made a huge investment in it not too long ago. But you must do it again. Its design is the first thing your customer will notice. In today's fast-changing market environment you need to make this decision to redeisn quickly. Many businesses believe they don't need a redesign since they never received a complaint about it. Well, you would not receive complaints if people had stopped coming to your website.
Conclusion:
Experts suggest that website should be redesigned after a year. It's up to you to make the decision for your business and for your website appearance. We suggest that you solicit user feedback when you decide to re-design the website to better understand what your users want and need.