Outdated web design trends and how you can improve your website!
Your website is one of the most important assets your business has. It is your 24/7 salesperson who lets your potential customers who you are.
First impressions count, and if your customer sees a website that looks old and outdated, you could lose customers before you even know they’re there!
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How do you know if you have an outdated website design?
1. Your website doesn’t represent your brand well
Your website needs to represent your brand and communicate who you are and what you offer. It’s vital to integrate your brand and its colours on the page.
If you’ve given your company a refresh by updating the logo and changing the colours, and you haven’t updated your website to align with your brand, it makes your brand look inconsistent.
It can even lead customers to think that the website isn’t legit or isn’t the most up-to-date one used.
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2. Using a design that isn’t full-width
Having a website that isn’t full-width is an obvious sign of an outdated web design. A website with a full-width design helps create some breathing room for the content and makes it much nicer to look at.
Fixed-width websites used to be normal, but with technological advances and screen sizes got bigger. So fixed-width sites now stand out for the wrong reasons. They make the website design feel outdated, even if it’s fairly new.
3. Your website design isn’t responsive
Technology is advancing at a fast pace and it’s not just the screen sizes that are changing, it’s the devices that people are viewing your website on.
A responsive web design makes your website look good regardless of the browsing device used. And when you consider that around 92% of internet users will use a mobile device to browse at least some of the time, it’s a must-have for websites.
As well as making sure you don’t have an outdated website design, it has many other benefits. Like making your website faster, more accessible, and easier to navigate.
It makes it easier for users to find the information they are looking for and typically encourages them to stay on your site. This helps your SEO improve, as Google favours mobile-friendly websites.
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4. Your website is cluttered with unnecessary content and features
If your website is cluttered and filled with content or images, it can add to an outdated website design. It can also add to confusion for people using the site. This is why most modern websites are now created with a clean design with well-placed features.
Ask yourself, is your website cluttered and if it is, does everything on your website show your potential customers what they need to decide if they want to make a purchase? If the content serves no purpose, consider removing it from the website to achieve a modern, uncluttered experience.
It’s not just content and images that can give your website a cluttered feel, too much text can also give make it harder for your visitors to find what they’re looking for.
In a digital world where accessibility is important, too much text and clutter can make it harder for users with visual impairments to browse and identify key content.
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5. Your website has a long loading time
Does your website take a long time to load its pages? If it does, then it’s a sign you should optimise your site!
The digital world today is extremely faced paced, how long do you think users will wait for the page to load? 3 seconds. For every second that the page takes to load, more and more users will drop off. Users may end up visiting your competitors instead.
There are a number of ways to help reduce your site’s loading times. Optimising your images and compressing your website files can help improve loading speed. If you use video on your website, use a third-party video service such as YouTube or Vimeo.
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What’s the easiest way to keep your website design from being outdated?
We hope this article helps you to understand what makes a website outdated and how to improve it.
However, the easiest way to keep your website looking fresh and modern is to regularly optimise and improve it. Websites aren’t static tools and shouldn’t be used as such.
Working with a digital partner like Copper Bay Digital makes it easier to keep your website fresh. Regular updates and revamps of your website stop it from having an outdated web design.
Want to improve your website? Contact us today.
