5 Ways to Refresh Your Website in 2024

If your website’s been around for a while, like a few years, it might be time to give it a bit of a makeover. This can mean changing a few things here and there, like the stuff you’ve written or how it looks, adding some new stuff, or going all out and changing the whole design.

But when do you know it’s the right time to give your website a new look, and how do you even start making changes? In this article, we’re going to talk about just that, so you’re all set to spruce up your website in 2024.

Here are some signs that your website might need a refresh or a redesign. If you’ve noticed any of these, it’s time to do something about it:

• Low conversions: If people aren’t buying or signing up as much as you want them to after visiting your site, your design might be to blame.
• Slow loading speed: Nowadays, folks expect websites to load super fast. If yours takes more than 2 seconds, it could turn people away. You can use tools like Pingdom to check how fast your site loads.
• High bounce rate: Your Google Analytics can show you how many visitors leave your site without checking out other pages. If it’s higher than average, a website update might keep people around longer.
• Low search engine rankings: Everyone wants to be on Google’s first page. If your site isn’t showing up for the keywords you want, it’s time to rethink your content strategy.
• Not-so-pretty website: Looks matter! Research says people judge websites based on their design, so if yours isn’t appealing, you could be turning people off.
• Security worries: If your site shows security warnings or looks insecure, customers might not trust it. Adding an SSL certificate can make it safer and boost your sales.

Now that we’ve talked about when it’s time to spruce up your website, let’s dive into five ways to give it a fresh look in 2024.

A simple way to jazz up your website is by telling a story. Stories grab attention and engage the brain. People love ’em! Use a story to take your audience on a journey, showing them how they can transform by working with you. Your audience should feel like the hero, with your business or nonprofit as the helpful guide. If you’re stuck, try using the StoryBrand framework for inspiration.

These days, folks visiting websites really want to connect with actual people. Research shows that seeing real faces boosts confidence and makes people more likely to buy stuff. So, it’s smart to show off the people behind your brand.

Cut back on using generic stock photos and swap them for real, relevant pictures. This makes your brand more transparent and builds trust. Share snaps of your team, your office, and even how your products are made.

Simpler designs are super popular right now. Think about Apple and Google – they’ve got it down from phones to home decor.

You can hop on the same train by cleaning up your website. Get rid of anything that doesn’t help your business. Make your text easy to read with clear headings, short paragraphs, and bullet points.

Cut down on the amount of stuff people see all at once. Instead, group things into bigger sections with plenty of space around them.

Also, ditch the homepage slider. Research says they’re more annoying than helpful for getting people to buy stuff.

Conversational forms are like chatting with your website visitors, which grabs their attention. You can check out the value of these forms and see how they work using the Conversational Form open source project.

Another option is to add a live chat tool to your site. This makes it simple for visitors to send you messages while they’re browsing. Drift is one free tool you can try out for this.

One big issue with many websites is they leave visitors guessing what to do next. This can frustrate them and make them leave instead of sticking around.

To fix this, make your main action easy to find. Put it in your main menu, at the top of your page, and all over your site. For less important actions, put them in the right places.

You can make your actions clearer by using buttons instead of plain text links or adding buttons in important spots like the top of your page.

If you use a form to get leads, make it clear what you want. Instead of “Name, Email, Message,” use terms your visitors will understand.

Refreshing your website design comes with several perks:

• Better SEO: Updating your content strategy can boost your search engine rankings.
• Fresh Content: Changing up your website copy adds new stuff for visitors to see.
• Enhanced Security: Reviewing security measures, adding SSL certificates, and backups keeps your site and visitors’ info safe.
• Proud Presentation: With a new design, you’ll want to show off your site everywhere.
• Faster Loading: Cutting unnecessary content and optimizing images speeds up your site.
• Mobile-Friendly: Optimizing for phones and tablets makes browsing easy for visitors.
• Simple Navigation: Streamlining your menu helps visitors find what they need quickly.
• More Leads and Conversions: All these improvements add up to more business for you.

Looking to spruce up your website in 2024? If a simple touch-up won’t cut it, it might be time for a full redesign. Reach out to us today for assistance with refreshing or redesigning your website. Ask for a free quote!