Deciding whether to hire a web design company to make some small changes, or throw out what you have and start all over, isn't always as easy as it would seem. Sometimes, there are pieces or elements of your existing small business site that work quite well; other times you would just rather put off the time and expense for a few months.
So how do you know if your business website needs a minor tune up or a major overhaul? There's no easy answer, but here are a few straightforward signs you should probably give some serious thought to working from scratch:
Your small business website has lots of missing pages and broken links. Those problems could be easy enough to fix by themselves, but they also probably point to a lot of coding, search engine optimization, and content elements that have been neglected for quite a while.
You are getting declining amounts of visitors, online leads, or purchases. However you measure results on your website, if you're getting less of them than before, it could be a sign that the search engines – not to mention potential customers – are seeing your site as stale and not that relevant.
Your existing website has poor functionality. This is simple enough; if it doesn't do the things you'd like it to, or that your customers would like it to, then it's not having as much of an impact on your business as it could.
The look isn't doing much for your company's reputation. Sometimes, there's nothing really "wrong" with the website except that it's past its expiration date. By that, we mean it is just plain ugly. For most businesses, an online presence is an important part of every marketing activity they try. You don't want yours to tell visitors you haven't kept up with the times.