A website can look fine to the person who owns it and still be quietly costing them customers.
Most business owners don’t visit their own website very often. Customers do, usually on a phone, often in a hurry, and frequently while comparing you with someone else.
So how do you know when a website needs more than a quick update? These are seven of the clearest signs.
1. It is awkward to use on a mobile phone
Open your website on your phone and try to do what a customer would do.
Can you find the phone number straight away? Can you read the menu, prices or services without zooming in? Are the buttons easy to tap? Does anything run off the side of the screen?
Many local searches happen on mobile, often when someone is already out or deciding where to go. If the mobile experience is frustrating, people simply go back to the search results and choose someone else.
A website that was designed for desktop first and adjusted for mobile later often shows it.
2. It takes too long to load
If your pages are slow to appear, visitors notice before they have read a single word.
Common causes include very large images, outdated software, cheap or overloaded hosting, and too many add-ons built up over the years. Some of these can be fixed. But if the website was built on an old setup, a rebuild can be simpler and better value than patching it repeatedly.
3. Updating it is difficult, slow or expensive
Your website should keep up with your business.
Opening hours change. Menus change. Prices, staff, services and offers change. If every small update means waiting weeks, paying for each change, or logging into a system nobody understands any more, the website will drift out of date.
An out-of-date website can be worse than no information at all. A customer who turns up during the hours listed on your website and finds you closed is unlikely to trust it again.
4. Customers can’t see what to do next
Every page should make the next step obvious.
For a restaurant that might be booking a table or ordering food. For a gym it might be enquiring about membership. For a salon or barber it is usually booking an appointment. For a local service business it is often calling or requesting a quote.
If those actions are hidden at the bottom of a page, buried in a menu or missing altogether, visitors have to work too hard. Many won’t.
A good website doesn’t just describe your business. It helps the customer take the next step.
5. It no longer reflects your business
Businesses change over time. A website built five years ago may still show:
- An old logo or colours
- Photos of a venue that has since been refurbished
- Services you no longer offer
- Missing services you now rely on
- A tone that no longer fits your customers
When the website doesn’t match what customers find when they visit, call or walk in, it creates doubt. Your website is often the first impression, so it should be an accurate one.
6. It’s missing things customers now expect
Customer expectations have moved on. Depending on your business, people may now expect to:
- Book a table or appointment online
- Order food for collection or delivery
- See current menus or price lists that are easy to read on a phone
- Find directions with one tap
- Message you quickly
- See recent reviews
If customers have to ring during opening hours to do something they could do online elsewhere, some of them will choose the business that makes it easier.
Restaurants in particular benefit from planning menus, bookings and ordering into the website from the start. Our guide on what a restaurant website should include covers this in more detail.
7. You can’t tell whether it’s working
Do you know how many people visit your website? Which pages they look at? How many enquiries, bookings or orders come from it?
If the answer is no, it is very hard to judge whether the website is helping the business. A redesign is a good opportunity to set up clear contact forms, track enquiries properly and make sure the important actions can be measured.
You don’t need complicated reports. You just need enough information to see whether the website is doing its job.
What about security and hosting worries?
Sometimes the warning signs are behind the scenes: browser security warnings, a website that has been hacked before, software that hasn’t been updated for years, or nobody being sure who controls the domain and hosting.
These are worth taking seriously. They don’t always require a full redesign, but they are often a sign that the website hasn’t been looked after for some time.
Redesign or refresh?
Not every problem needs a brand-new website.
A refresh may be enough if the structure works and the website is easy to update, but the content, photos or design details are dated.
A redesign usually makes more sense when:
- The website is difficult to use on mobile
- It is built on outdated or hard-to-maintain technology
- The structure no longer suits your services
- You need new features such as booking or online ordering
- Several of the signs above apply at once
If you are weighing up the cost, our guide to what affects the cost of a small business website explains what to compare.
A quick self-check
Ask yourself:
- Would I be happy for a new customer to see this website on their phone today?
- Is every piece of information on it correct?
- Can a customer book, order, call or enquire within a few seconds?
- Can I get changes made quickly?
- Do I know whether it brings in enquiries?
If you answered no to two or more, it is probably time to look at it properly.
Final thoughts
A website rarely stops working overnight. It usually becomes a little less useful each year until it is holding the business back.
At SMBL Digital, we design, build and look after websites for UK small businesses, including restaurants, takeaways, gyms, salons and barbers, with online ordering, table booking and managed hosting where they are needed. If you think your website might be due a redesign, get in touch for a free proposal, with no obligation.
