Let’s talk a bit about a topic that I’m sure many business people in Nairobi and other Kenyan towns would find a bit uncomfortable, but factual.
The discomfort comes from the fact that it might involve not only money but also a significant amount of resources and time.
What is the elephant? Website redesign.
There are several reasons why you may want to redesign your website. One major reason for a website redesign should come from your vision for the business and the investment plans you are willing to implement.
If you are satisfied with what you have, well, ride on! If you are looking for something more efficient, beautiful, and rewarding, then, you should consider redesigning your business website.
A website is a sales representative for your company just like your Twitter, Facebook or Instagram page. The job of a salesperson is generating leads and converting those leads into actual customers.
In the same way, your website should possess the aforementioned qualities – it must take the role of your most faithful sales rep.
How do you tell if your website is serving its purpose? By now, you should have done some analytics to assess the quantity and quality of traffic passing through your website.
- How low or high is your bounce rate?
- How many shoppers complete a purchase on your e-commerce site?
- Do you have an idea of the number of prospects that visit your site per time?
These and other business-related questions should guide you on the need for a website redesign.
To make you better understand the essence of a website redesign, we will discuss a few reasons here. In the end, you will be at a vantage point to pick out the facts that match your business goals.
1. Web traffic – get people to see your website
Your website is as good as dead stock if web visitors cannot access it. The quality of content you create directly impacts the number of people likely to see your website.
I am talking about optimizing your site for SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). Most people look at the blog page of their websites with a bit of contempt. Beginning now, look at your blog posts page with a lot of respect. People will find your company and its products through the blog page.
If you want to attract traffic to your website, blogging must become one of your great content master plans. Look for the relevant keywords in your geographical location and industry. Complement your website content strategies with an aggressive social media campaign for outstanding results.
Keywords are the guides to Google bots on what most people are looking for as they type in their search phrases and words.
Do not forget to repeatedly, if possible, include these key phrases and words in your headings, titles, body, and page URLs.
It is worth reiterating that the blog section on your website is the key to unlocking the flow of traffic to your website.
Consistently make posts with clear content and keyword strategies to get the best out of your virtual point of sale – your good-looking website.
2. Give your customers a breezy experience
Visiting a business website need not be akin to sitting a CAT or preparing for the national exams in our Kenyan schools. Remember, you are not testing the user’s IQ, you are welcoming them into your shop. They have all the rights in the world to have an enjoyable experience (UX).
Do not give your visitors the run-around on your website, make their journey through your site as easy as unpacking a box of wedding gifts. The same mentality should apply to your backend team.
Avail the unavailable and remove the unnecessary. For instance, you may want to include highly precise and smart sorting and filtering capabilities to your website. You will have done a great job at assisting your website visitors find the items they are looking for with amazing ease.
At KoaMedia Kenya, we recently redesigned our website to align with our UI/UX quality standards. We realized the need to put our money where our mouth is, and the results are outstanding.
3. Is your website beautifully designed?
Please allow me to make one scathingly honest opinion: some websites look downright boring to visit and navigate.
Why? Average design decisions and lack of artistic creativity and inspiration.
Your website should make your prospects wish they could stay longer. A well-designed user interface will advertise your brand on your behalf.
Visitors must never get the feeling that something is not right with the page they just clicked on. Inconsistencies in the color palette and font face may send the wrong message to your prospects.
For example, a user may click on the start shopping button on your e-commerce site, only to find a completely different set of brand colors. They are most likely going to mistake it for a malicious website.
Perhaps your brand colors have been here for more than too long. It is time you took another look at your color palette and did some rebranding.
4. Redesign your website for responsiveness
What’s a responsive website? A responsive website looks super cool on both desktop and mobile devices.
If you are a CMS person, you will be happy to know that websites designed using WordPress are very responsive and easy to navigate on both ends.
Most people in Kenya browse the web and do their product searches on their mobile phones. Search engines are alive to this fact.
If, for example, you Google a phrase or a word using your mobile phone, Google will bring up mobile-friendly websites at the top of its result pages. Search engines give priority to mobile-friendly websites on mobile devices.
5. Website conversion rates
Out of all the people that click on your website, how many of them turn into customers? This question is answerable in this manner: A website is like an elevator pitch.
Briefly and precisely tell your clients what you do, who you are, what you want, and what they should do.
Make your customers get a rough idea of what you are offering and what they need to provide, so you can allow them to drop it into their shopping bag.
Most businesses and companies like the use of carousels in the design of their websites, but they can be a turn-off in some instances. Some users mistake them for ads and decide to steer clear of the ‘monsters’.
If you must use sliders, place them on areas they will not be mistaken for a distraction.
Do you feel like you should redesign your current business website?
It is not too late. You can start by making a few changes here and there. In the end, you will be happy that you took the first step in the right direction.
The main reason for a website redesign is to give you an edge in competing for leads, customers, and online space. In the end, the returns will be visible, and you will have KoaMedia Kenya to thank for giving you, well, wise counsel.
