Is It Time to Redesign Your WordPress Site?

by Brenda Barron on Jan 31, 2019 Reader Disclosure

We’re about a month into the new year and that means a time for reflection and goal-setting for a lot of people. Have you decided to set new goals for your business?

If you’ve decided that you want to accomplish more in your photography business for 2019, or you think it’s time that you had a better presence online, one of the best things you can do right now is to redesign your WordPress site. Although redesigning a website isn’t exactly a small task, it is something that delivers plenty of return on investment in the long-term.

However, if your budget and free time are limited, how do you know if it’s definitely the right time to redesign your website?

Today, we’re going to look at a few clear signs that your site needs an upgrade, such as:

• You want to improve the user experience.
• Your site and marketing strategy doesn’t align.
• You want to optimize the buyer journey.
• The branding is outdated.
• You need to make your site mobile responsive.

So, why should you redesign your WordPress site?

Reason 1: You Want to Create a Better Experience

There are few things more important than a great user experience when it comes to developing an effective photography website today. A site that’s slow, difficult to navigate, or simply doesn’t have the features that your users are looking for will send your potential customers running in the opposite direction. With around 88% of online customers saying that they wouldn’t return to a website that gave them a bad experience, UX is one of the best reasons to redesign your WordPress Site

Think about what you can do to make browsing your website feel more comfortable for users. For instance, could you speed up the page loading times by caching your content and using a CDN? Can you get rid of any clunky plugins that are just cluttering up your page?

Maybe you could even look into optimizing the way that you showcase your pictures with a gallery like Envira. That way, your customers will have an easier time looking through your photos.

Reason 2: Your Site Doesn’t Support Your Marketing Goals

Another reason to redesign your WordPress site is that your current solution isn’t supporting your marketing goals. As your company evolves, you might find that you start to offer different services and products that require a change in direction for your site. For instance, when you started, you might have just sold photography services, but now you can also offer stock photos for commercial customers, or beautiful prints.

Review your site every 6 months or so to see whether it’s doing its job as a tool in your marketing strategy. If you’re not able to convey the benefits of your products or services properly, it’s time for a redesign.

Reason 3: You’re Ready to Improve the Buyer Journey

Speaking of marketing, the more you work on growing your photography business, the more you’ll learn about your target audience and what they need from you. For instance, you might discover that you’re more likely to get sales if you can share video content as well as blogs on your website, which could mean re-designing your site to allow for video embeds.

The next time you’re thinking about whether you should redesign your WordPress site, look at your user personas and ask yourself whether you’re doing enough to give your customers a great experience online. If your site isn’t mapped to your customer’s preferences, then make a change!

Reason 4: It Looks Old or Outdated

Your website is one of the most important tools in your promotion strategy for your photography business. If you can’t make your site look great, then your customers are unlikely to trust you in taking their wedding or commercial photos.

Keep an eye on your competition and see what their websites look like over time. If you notice that your design starts to seem a little dated or unprofessional, make sure that you take steps to redesign your WordPress site as quickly as possible. Remember, you don’t want to just copy what other people in your space are doing, but you do want to ensure that your site looks just as attractive and compelling.

Reason 5: Your Site Isn’t Responsive Enough

Finally, keep in mind that many of your potential customers are going to be coming to your site through their tablets and smartphones these days. That means that you can’t afford to take risks with a site that isn’t mobile responsive.

Make sure that your design, theme, and anything else on your site appears just as well on a small screen as it does on a computer. That way, you’re more likely to capture your audience’s attention wherever they are. Remember, Salesforce studies have found that 83% of customers feel that a seamless experience across all devices is crucial when they’re deciding on who to do business with.

There you have it! 5 great reasons to redesign your WordPress site for the new year. Check us out on Facebook and Twitter for more advice.