Is Your Out-Of-Date Website Slowing Your Sales?
How to improve website sales, how to fix a slow website, graphic design facelifts: these might be the questions that most plague digital marketers. Coventry – our headquarters – is in this respect no different to anywhere else: as a web design and digital marketing agency, we see clients who are struggling with their sites all the time.
The good news is that sometimes the solutions aren’t as complicated as you might fear.
Like kitchens, websites benefit from periodic improvements. This doesn’t always require a complete refit: sometimes, a couple of new door handles can make a world of difference. The trick is in understanding which small details can have big positive impacts.
Assessing Your Website
If you’re looking to improve website sales, the first question you should ask of your existing asset is: how old is it? The age of your website will have a material impact on its capacities. Even a site that was top of the class a few years ago will be starting to show its age. Refreshing it will help.
Some of this is about aesthetics: a site that looks old-fashioned will not impress your visitors. We are all using the web all the time, and we have become sophisticated in our tastes: a website that hasn’t had some love for a while will fail to live up to these expectations.
Likewise, if a website isn’t performing as smoothly as before, visitors will not extend much patience. Understanding how to fix a slow website will make a big impact on your online sales figures: fast-loading pages, and super-swift transitions, reassure users and keep them with you.
And finally, think about how your visitors are finding your site. If your site isn’t optimised for search, it’s going to struggle to find an audience. Paying close and constant attention to how your customers can reach you will help you convert them more consistently.
Showing A Site Some TLC
It’s not enough merely to have a website. Today, your site also needs to stand out. We are all having digital experiences all day, every day – and that places a lot of demands upon a site that is seeking to sell.
The good news is that there is a lot that can be done without entirely redesigning and relaunching your site to ensure it does its jobs better. Think of your website as an evolving asset – not a fixed project that is done and dusted.
From our digital marketing HQ in Coventry, we’re always helping our clients to work on their sites regularly – and achieve consistently better results. In 2024, website design is all about crafting good experiences that encourage users to become regular visitors – and reliable customers.
When Is It Time For An Upgrade?
If websites need constant attention – new blog posts, for example, or tweaks to match a search engine’s new algorithm – what are the metrics you should be mapping to understand success? And how do you know when a particular part of your older site needs a bit of a boost?
We’d suggest five key areas that can help. When a client first arrives at the Electric Wharf here on the Coventry Canal, we help them understand their site as a sum of its parts – and develop strategies to assess and improve each element, until sales are sorting themselves again.
- Load-time.
Site-speed is key. It matters so much because, put simply, users simply will not wait for a page to load. They are used to the internet being convenient and quick, and if your site doesn’t co-operate, they will go elsewhere. In other words, you’ll lose custom. Figuring out how to fix a slow website is fundamental to improving your sales performance.
- Looks.
You don’t want to slavishly follow trends – your business should have its own consistent, unique visual identity. But nor do you want to be stuck in the past. Good design is about staying fresh while also remaining yourself. An old-fashioned first impression won’t inspire users to become customers – to look your best, you need also to look contemporary.
- Functionality.
Your site should be intuitive, its various functions easy to find – and even easier to use. Your menus need to be clear, your signposting straightforward. Clicking ‘buy’ – most especially – should feel like second nature to a customer. This is all about user experience – or UX. If you’re asking how to improve website sales, making your users’ lives easier is the answer.
- Content.
Content is king – still. Look and feel, functionality and site speed are all crucial … but they’ll only do their work if the content your customers are accessing is worth its salt. Make it relevant to your audience, and make it compelling: crisp imagery, convincing copy, impactful messaging. Good content builds trust … and helps your search engine performance at the same time. Great content builds trust … and trust inspires sales.
- Security.
Modern digital shoppers know that the internet isn’t always safe. This means they have become canny when looking to purchase online – and won’t buy if they don’t feel entirely secure. Keeping your site’s security up-to-date, and ensuring that your customers’ browsers won’t report that its unsafe or insecure, will help ensure they can buy with confidence. Think about your website hosting and maintenance packages – are your servers helping you sell?
How To Improve Website Sales? Improve Your Site!
A business’s sales should flow from its website. If your figures aren’t where you’d like them to be, starting by understanding how to fix a slow website, or how to improve your website design, is the place to begin: improving your site will enhance your sales.
For this, you might need the help of experts. If so, we can help: website design, web development, digital marketing … Coventry’s ImagePlus (that’s us!) do it all. We can help you understand what about your website is a little old-hat, and what about it is working just fine. The key is to focus on the upgrades you need – better sales don’t always require a complete redesign.
You can start improving your sales today: assessing your site is key so simply drop us a line and ask for a free consultation.
