A professional, top-quality website can be a major source of lead generation and revenue and if it isn’t, you may need to think about redesigning your website or starting from scratch entirely. There are many signs that indicate that your website may need a redesign, some are painfully obvious from an outdated web page to a 10+ second load time, however, there are some you might not notice at first glance. In this blog, we discuss the of the most important reasons to update your website and how we can help you with our Umbraco and Sitecore solutions.
Your website is out of date and confusing:
One of the most common reasons companies update their website is because they have outgrown their existing design and brand. This was the case with Baker Tilly International, an international accounting firm, who wanted to deliver a unified brand and a clearer layout across their main site and all of their member sites (around 60 of them!). This was achieved with one of our favourite CMS platforms Umbraco’s impressive scalability and power meant we could assemble a simple, yet engaging website layout for Baker Tilly’s International.
As websites are a potential customers’ first impression of the company it is important that it has a clear layout, and importantly a clear message about brand identity and personality. Thus, it was important that we got the sites up and running as quickly as possible, which our ClerksWell experts managed in just 3 months with great results ! Check out more details about this work here.
The reason we work with Umbraco and Sitecore are that :
Umbraco is a completely customisable platform free from predesigned and preconfigured templates, meaning companies have complete control over design and functionality.
Sitecore’s CMS goes one step further providing visitors with a personalised experience making the website even easier to navigate.
Your website is not mobile-optimised:
Mobile devices are the primary way that people use the internet today. According to Google, nearly 75% of users prefer a mobile-friendly website, whilst 50% said even if they like a business they are less likely to use them if the website is not mobile-friendly. Therefore, it is essential for your business that you have a mobile-friendly website.
In order to achieve this when building new websites companies need to consider using responsive web design. A responsive website is one that automatically adjusts to fit on large and small screens making it easy to operate on desktops, tablets and smartphones. Luckily we have your back as a responsive website is a standard feature of our design and build process. This means your website’s content is easily able to be rendered and function across multiple devices from day one. The grid editor settings on both Umbraco and Sitecore platforms mean there is no need to develop a separate mobile website. Phew !
3. The site speed is slow
When potential customers visit a company’s website, they are not only looking to find accurate, and useful information but to find it quickly. Nearly half the customers that visit a given website expect it to load in less than 2 seconds and 40% of users will think about leaving a site if it takes more than 3 seconds! Thus, fast site speed is essential in keeping and converting customers. Slow load time can be caused by multiple factors, including too many redirects, slow server response time, too many plugins and too large image files...
For Great Western Railway we created a rich and personalised website on the Sitecore CMS platform that saw a more stable, engaging and faster website than its previous one. Take a look at our case study about it here.
4- Easy to update ?
Content is the most important thing on your website, it’s the main thing people come for, and it’s what people (will hopefully) stay for. Unfortunately, one of the problems we constantly hear about from clients when we first meet them is that their website is outdated and unyielding and they want a website that is easy to update, so it is relevant and engaging for their customers. The best way to manage your content effectively is to use a content management system, it’s all in the name!
The Pensions Regulator is a prime example of a company who came to us complaining about their old site. They complained that their old site wouldn’t let them create content easily and reliably, that they had to rely on someone with a high level of technical skill. With our talented developers and the brilliant Sitecore CMS platform we managed to migrate all of their content effectively and set them up with a CMS that allows you to update and manage your content on a day-to-day basis
Take a look at our previous blog post about our other favourite CMS - Umbraco and how it is a “Content editors dream.”
Summary
Do any of these problems sound familiar? Then you should probably think about updating or getting a new website. Here at ClerksWell, we have partnered with Umbraco and Sitecore to create innovative, robust and functional websites that suit our client’s digital needs. Our experts have been developing websites since inception, and we pride ourselves on our technical expertise in solving business problems.
So if your website is out of date, hard to navigate, unresponsive or slow and you are thinking of creating or redesigning your website and want to talk to the experts about it don’t fail to contact us here.
ClerksWell recently hosted a virtual panel discussion with the ABPI and Umbraco on the topic of multi-sites, and how organisations with multiple brands can effectively use them to enhance their digital presence. Read the transcript of the webinar here.
While sustainability is a top priority for companies across the UK and the rest of the world, an area of emissions still neglected across all industries is website development and hosting. In this blog, we'll walk you two of the most significant considerations for increasing your digital sustainability: your website and hosting.
Penetration testing, also known as pen testing, is a crucial component of a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. It's used to evaluate the security of a computer system or network by simulating an attack from a malicious hacker. Learn why pen testing is important and how it works.