During the early days of the Internet, a web page is nothing more than just a place for basic information. The design was not much of a concern, back then.

Nowadays, though, there are thousands of well-designed websites on the Web, as it can impact your business’ reputation. In fact, a post on Kinesis Inc. revealed that 75% of users judge a company’s credibility based on its website’s design.

So, if you are contemplating whether it is time to update your site’s design, here are eight signs to look out for:

1. Your website is slow

According to Google’s 2018 study, 53% of the mobile user leaves a website that takes more than three seconds to load.

So, to speed up your website without compromising aesthetics, here are some tips to remember:

• Resize and compress your images, and save them in a more appropriate format (e.g. JPG instead of PNG).
• If you can, improve your JavaScript and Cascading Style sheets (CSS).
• Use a cache or consider having a Content Delivery Network (CDN).
• Check and simplify your redirects.
• Leverage Accelerate Mobile Pages (AMP)

2. Google can’t find your site

A search-engine friendly content can help improve your website’s ranking. However, poor web structure can hinder search engine bots from crawling and indexing your website.

For one, your website’s design can impact your user experience. Sure, the aesthetics like graphics and typography can engage your site visitors. However, elements such as site navigation ensure good user experience.

Mind you, search engine bots examine how your website is structured. And as Jia Wertz puts it, “If your site design is clumsy and outdated, the search engine will rank it low on SERPs.”

Hence, great web design and structure can tantamount to better Google rankings.

3. It lacks a SERP presence

In relation to point #2, outdated web design can hurt your search engine ranking. That’s because search engines will have a hard time indexing your website.

Search engines, especially Google, change and update their algorithm from time to time. So, if you notice that your rankings are dropping, you may want to consider web design as part of the equation.

4. Your web design looks outdated

As mentioned earlier, internet users judge a company’s credibility based on its website’s design. After all, your site acts as your brand ambassador online.

In an infographic by Mine what, it was revealed that about 81% of buyers conduct online research before making a purchase. This is too high of a number to risk losing business just because your website is outdated.

To update your site’s design, you need to map out your buyer’s journey. That way, you are sure that every element on your website effectively meets their needs. In relation to this, remove anything that can distract them from getting your message and doing what you need them to do on your site.

You may also take a look at how your site’s color affects site visitors’ behavior. According to Sytian Productions, a web design agency in the Philippines, “Understanding color psychology will significantly impact day to day human decisions in terms of your company, products, services, and especially your company website. As a business owner, you must have a deep understanding of how each color will affect your target market.”

5. It has a poor conversion rate

Let’s face it: You put up a website to help build brand awareness to a wider audience, generate leads, and boost sales.

If all of your marketing activities are driving results consistently but not your website, it could be a sign that there is a disconnect between your online presence and your audience.

But first, you need to understand why your website is not bringing in ROI as expected. Is it because your page load speed is slow? Is your site navigation confusing? Are you putting your calls-to-action on the right places?

Before changing your website’s look altogether, it is best that you analyze your site’s poor conversion first. That way, you will know whether it is about time to update your website’s design.

6. It has a high bounce rate

John Lincoln defines bounce rate as “the percentage of visitors who come to your site but leave without visiting any other pages.”

So, if you have 80% bounce rate, it means that 8 out of 10 people leave your site without doing anything on the page where they landed. And that is a big deal.

A high bounce rate is an indicator of poor user experience and site usability. This can raise a red flag to search engines, especially Google, of whether your website is a helpful resource.

But similar to conversion issues, it is best to analyze why you have a high bounce rate. Is it because of the page speed? Is your web page ranking for a lot of irrelevant keywords?

Depending on your findings, weight in whether what you need is just a tweak on your website or a complete overhaul.

7. It’s not delivering enough traffic

According to Jim Kirk of Goldmine Media, “A structured and organized web design will allow search engines to scan or ‘crawl’ on your website.”

That said, good web design can hinder a search bot from visiting and indexing your website. When that happens, you are less likely to appear on search results. As a result, you will not get enough traffic.

Keep in mind that there is a correlation between web design and traffic. Your site’s design has an impact on your search engine optimization efforts. Kirk also added that “SEO-oriented web design is also a user-friendly one.”

8. Your site is not mobile-friendly

Back in March 2018, Google announced about mobile-first indexing. Meaning, the search giant will be using the mobile version of your website for indexing and ranking.

This is in response to the growing number of mobile internet users. Thus, it is important that your website is mobile-friendly.

Doing so is more than just ensuring that your website will rank on Google. It is also about providing great user experience to your site visitors regardless of screen size.

So, if your site is still non-responsive, now is the best time to overhaul your website and make it mobile responsive.

When should you redesign your website? It is time to overhaul your website’s look when it hinders your visitors from making any online transaction with you. Add to that the fact that your current design may prevent search engine bots from crawling and indexing your website, which can negatively impact your business’ bottom line.