8 Signs You Need a New Website
Posted by Marketing Man in Marketing for Accountants,Online Marketing,Website Design | November 23, 2012
There comes a time in any company’s lifespan where they look at their website and decide it is just not good enough.
Building your own website can be a great cost saver when you are just starting out and you can get a fantastic sense of achievement from putting your own site together but there comes a time when your company outgrows that website and you need to call in a professional web designer.
Maybe you didn’t design it, maybe you went with one of the cheap template solutions offered by companies like Yell or Vistaprint. These are fine if all you want is somewhere to point people to when wanting more information but if you are actually wanting to use your website to generate and convert sales leads then you will have to call in a professional. In much the same way that it is not recommended for a business owner to plough time into doing their own accounts it is not recommended for an accountant to waste their time designing and optimising their website.
What are the warning signs that it is now time to get your website professionally designed?
When you look at your website it makes you uncomfortable, even embarrassed. If you are in a position where you feel uncomfortable directing people to your website because you know it is poorly designed then what are you waiting for? Get it properly designed so that you can show it off to your customers .
It is not easy to find information on your website. If you are repeatedly getting comments from people saying they were on your website but couldn’t find any information on the product/service they were looking for you have problems. For every person who decides to pick up the phone when they can’t find what they are looking for there are many many more who just hit the back button and go to your competitors sites.
Making simple changes to your site require you to get on the phone to a web designer. With modern CMS technology simple changes to your website content should be easy for you to do without involving a professional. Gone are the days where every little change meant a call to your web designer and a bill heading your way.
Your website has that “cookie cutter”, template feel to it so that it portrays none of your company image or personality. The sheer amount of businesses online these days means it is vital that your website helps you stand out from the crowd, this includes the visual design but also the content you provide. Make sure your business is remarkable and not just another business with a template for a website.
You cannot instantly tell what the site is about upon landing on the page. When landing on your homepage it should be instantly obvious what the site is about, i.e. what services you offer. If you can’t instantly tell what the site is about your website needs scrapping and starting over, it WILL be costing you conversions.
Your conversion rates being terrible is a clear sign that something is wrong. If you have managed to get some traffic to the site but rarely get anything resembling a sales lead you need to analyse the site and make changes. It is likely down to the fact that your site is not set up to convert visitors into sales leads.
You have a really high bounce rate and a really low “time spent on site” figure. This is a clear sign that people are landing on your site and quickly hitting the back button, your analytics software should be providing you with this information.
There is no brand consistency between your website and other marketing materials. The visual aspects of your website design should neatly compliment the visual design of your brochure, business cards, company letterheads etc.
If you would like to receive a quotation for a new website design from a company that specialises in websites for accountants then get in touch with us now.
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About the Author – Marketing Man
Marketing Man is a superhero marketer hell bent on a personal crusade to improve the websites and marketing of UK accountancy firms. Check him out on Google+
