It’s hard to imagine modern businesses surviving without a website. Given the extensive reach and visibility that websites offer, having a business website is a no-brainer. When building or revamping your website, quality is paramount as a business owner. Outsourcing the web development process to a web development agency is a great idea.
A website redesign is recommended every few years. Every three years or so, the differences in style, design, and performance are instantly discernable. Page load times grow longer, links begin to break, SEO rules change, and there is limited reach and integration. Here is a look at how those website issues can affect your business.
1. Page Load Time
When your business page has a slow load time, it negatively impacts your website’s findability and bounce rate. Google has a built-in tool for testing load times and a slow load time will affect search ranking. If your page load times are more than 2 seconds, it’s time for a website upgrade.
2. Broken Links
Links are an integral part of a website. They help guide your visitors through a desired ‘journey’ towards the ultimate goal. With links being this important, a broken link lowers your ranking on Google, impacting your business’s searchability. Broken links can also cause distrust amongst your customers. If a customer clicks on a link to learn more about the company and it leads to nothing, you’ve lost a potential conversion.
3. Limited Integration
If a business’s website lacks modern conveniences, such as click-to-call business numbers, it will leave a poor impression. It may even lead to potential clients leaving the website frustrated. If the business number on the website isn’t click-to-call, a visitor will have to write it before dialing. This seemingly small inconvenience can lower conversions. Limited integration will affect both sales and productivity on the business end.
To prevent your business from losing money through the ways stated above, one should hire a web development agency.
What Does a Web Development Agency Do?
A web development agency’s key responsibilities include conceptualizing, designing, developing, and maintaining websites and applications. The agency can create a website tailored to a business’s specific needs and preferences.
The criteria a web development agency will take to create your business site will depend on different factors such as:
- Your budget for the creation and maintenance of the website
- The audience age range that your business caters to
- The type of business that you are engaging in, i.e., B2B or B2C
- The industry that you operate within
- Your objectives and goals, both short-term and long-term
Importance of Web Development for a Business
Regular increase in traffic
A well-developed website can be a powerful marketing tool that helps you generate leads and sales. You can turn your website into a sales machine by including calls to action, contact forms, and lead capture forms. You can also use your website to build relationships with potential and current customers by providing valuable content, such as blog posts, ebooks, and whitepapers.
Full Design Control
When your business changes or adjusts your products or pricing policy, the company structure will need to reflect on your page. Owning a website allows for much more detailed customization.
If you are looking into partnering with a web development agency for your website, look at aspects like their project portfolio, experience, capabilities, process workflow, and pricing.
A Website is Often the First impression a Customer has of Your Company
When someone is looking for a product or service, the first thing they do is search for it online. If you don’t have a website, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to reach potential customers. Even if you have a brick-and-mortar store, people will still search for you online before visiting your store. That’s why it’s so important to have a well-developed website that accurately represents your brand and what you have to offer.