It’s time for the hard questions. Is your website really working for you? Is it the shining beacon at the center of your business? Is it showing your business in its best light? Or is it more of a liability to your brand? Most importantly… how can you tell?

In today’s digital landscape having a tip top and fully responsive website is considered an essential rather than a luxury. Here’s 3 of the clearest warning signs that your website might be holding your business back.

You’re a cutting edge company who prides themselves on their innovation and forward thinking nature… So why does your website look like it belongs in the age of flip phones and blockbuster loyalty cards?

Potential customers rely on indicators such as website design, layout and functionality to determine how credible and trustworthy a company you are. A dated design can reflect badly on your brand, hobble your growth and even lead to potential customers turning away as they perceive your brand to be unprofessional and unreliable. Your website is your company’s window to the world, it’s your round the clock, hardworking brand ambassador and should always be impeccably turned out and managed with great care and attention.

You’ve grown over the years. You’ve become wiser, more experienced and your priorities and goals have changed. You’ve changed so much in fact that when you stumble across an old, dormant for years, social media account (here’s looking at you Myspace) you may be filled with embarrassment. You can’t believe it’s still up there on show to the world, that’s just not you anymore!

Now consider if your business and its website are having the same crisis of identity?

Do you feel like you’ve taken a trip back in time when you go to visit your business’s website? Are you still showcasing out of date logos and imagery? Are you describing products and services that have been a staple of your offering for 10 years plus as ‘new’? Does your website no longer sit in line with your brands current goals and values?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes it might be time to bite the bullet and bring your business back to the future. Don’t give visitors the wrong impression about your brand, put your best foot forward and keep your website consistently up to date. 

Nothing sends a customer bouncing away from your site quicker than broken links, a glitchy interface, buggy navigation and excruciating load times. You may have your branding up to date and in tip top form, you may even have blisteringly brilliant content and messaging, but none of that matters if your customers cannot use your website properly.

Now is the time for thinking ‘mobile first’ as the days of using the internet exclusively on desktop are long gone. It’s essential for your website to be responsive and work seamlessly across multiple platforms.

From convoluted, labyrinthine navigation, outdated SEO techniques and clunky plug-ins like flash, there are a multitude of reasons why your website could be underperforming. Is it time for a digital audit?