Statistics overwhelmingly show that your website is very likely your customers’ first impression of your brand or store. That being said, keeping your site up-to-date and relevant is definitely in your best interest. An upgrade may mean a new site, but in some cases may be just mean fixing up what you already have. Here are 10 signs that it might be time to make some changes to your website:

1. You cannot update your website’s content. The content on your website is the reason why people visit your site and also why they choose come back again or why they may lose interest. Not to mention the affect that out-of-date or irrelevant content has on your site’s SEO affecting the ability for search engines to find you. And, accordining to PR Newswire study, 89% of Consumers Conduct Their Product Research Using Search Engines. (Source: PR Newswire). Having the ability to update content or add new content is a must and some content management platforms, like WordPress, are as easy to use as editing text in a Microsoft Word document. So, if you cannot add content, you could be missing out on traffic.

2. Your website does not link to your social media sites. Did you know that 78% of Consumers Say That the Posts Made by Companies on Social Media Influence their Purchases. (Source: Forbes). The conversations that are had on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are beneficial to your website visitors as well. Linking the sites can open the gates for traffic to access your brand in more than one place online. This can give the user a deeper sense of your brand and your existing community.

3. Your website is not set up to convert visitors to prospects. When a user visits your website, this is your chance to grab them by the hand and give them a tour of your brand, products and services, much like you would if they walked into your brick and mortar location. If your website doesn’t invite them to look around or give them opportunities to interact, you may be missing opportunities to filter users into your sales funnel. Look at your homepage. Are there opportunities for one to sign up for a newsletter, watch a video, view products, shop or browse? Is the call to action clear?

4. Your website is not mobile friendly. If your website is built in Flash (which is not mobile or search engine friendly at all), you’ll definitely want to look into a new site. But, even if your website does not render well on a mobile device, or if you don’t have a mobile version of your website, you could be missing as much as 27% of your website traffic, according to Smartmetrics.

5. Your website is not user friendly. If one can’t figure out how to navigate through or use your website, why would they visit or ever come back to your site? When thinking of how best to organize your website, try to put yourself in the seat of the user. What do they want to know? In what order do they want to know it?

6. Your website loads slowly. If your site loads slowly, people are leaving your website without even giving it a chance. 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less.  Learn more about faster load times: http://www.rcpmarketing.com/faster-website/.

7. Your website is not as good as your competitors website. People use the Internet to shop and learn about the products and services they are looking for or are interested in. So, chances are if they found your website, they also have looked at your competitors sites as well. If their site is more user friendly, draws them in and looks better than yours, you might be losing more money in missed prospects than it would cost to upgrade your website.

8. Your website is more than 3 years old. The world of web development is ever-changing and in three years, the options have exponentially increased and changed.  There are so many new options, widgets, apps and integration opportunities that make your website more user-friendly and appealing to your audience more than ever before. Sometimes this means an upgrade to what you already have and sometime this can mean a completely new website.

9. Your website is an online brochure. People expect more than just text about your offerings and brand when they come to your site. In fact, they need more to take full advantage of getting to know you. A website no longer benefits you or them if it doesn’t encourage and facilitate interaction.

10. The purpose of your website has changed. If your marketing strategy has changed, it may be time to change your website to match the new plan. For example, at the time that you built your website, your goal may have been to sell products. Now, your goal may be to increase repeat business. In order to keep your website relevant, you may want to evolve your website navigation and options to match your goals.

Source: Carly Crow – RCP Marketing