where to START.

REASONS TO CONSIDER UPDATING YOUR WEBSITE:

Approximately 75% of people will judge your business's credibility based solely on your website's design. This affects your visitors’ experience on your website. “Old school is cool” does not apply to design and functionality. The digital world is constantly changing and evolving. Web standards shift each year, dictating new tools and technologies for building a good website. Your potential clients’ preferences and tastes shift even faster. What was trendy yesterday, may not be next week. If you want your business to succeed, you need to be agile with your visual presentation and website design. 

If you built your website over 2 years ago, most likely it’s far behind in terms of looks and functionality. It probably has outdated code that can slow down its loading speed or the way it responds on different devices. It might also not be compatible with some of the latest popular browsers. Continue reading to see why you should consider an update.

USER EXPERIENCE

User Navigation

User experience is the single most important consideration of a site redesign. Your website should be visually appealing, easy to navigate, and offer a great first impression. Intuitive website navigation is an essential part of the user experience.

A user should be able to find the information they are searching for within three clicks. Navigation could mean the difference between someone staying on your site and having a look around or leaving straight away to visit a competitor’s site.

Responsive Design

Your website is responsive if it is able to accommodate all users, no matter which platform they are visiting your website on. A responsive web design easily adapts to the medium with which it is being accessed allowing a website to flex to the size of the screen it’s being viewed on. The number of people using smartphones and tablets to browse the Internet has skyrocketed, making it necessary to have a responsive website.

Brand Appeal

To be seen as a professional and credible business, your website must showcase a strong brand image that accurately represents your company. A well-defined brand helps small businesses stand out against larger competitors.

This includes everything from your slogan and mission statement to your logo, fonts, and colors. If your brand messaging has changed—or is unclear—consider a website redesign to keep it aligned and impactful.

SITE PERFORMANCE

Site Performance

A slow website usually means poor development or a slow hosting service—either way, it needs fixing. Users expect fast loading times, and delays can drive them away while also hurting your SEO.

Common causes include unoptimized images, weak hosting, or an outdated theme. Aim for a load time under 5 seconds. No matter how engaging your site is, if it’s slow, visitors will leave, increasing your bounce rate.

Analytics

When’s the last time you took a look at your website’s analytics performance? Your analytics can tell you a lot about how your website is performing (or underperforming). Websites that have low conversion rates will benefit from an analytic audit. Audit a user’s movement; ask yourself, where are typical users navigating to? The most common reason for high bounce or exit rates is related to users not finding what they’re looking for fast enough. Enhance your website with conversion tracking and analytic goals, then use these metrics to improve menu navigation and content.

Bounce Rates

A low bounce rate is a good sign—it means visitors are engaging with your site instead of leaving immediately. If you're driving traffic through blogging, SEO, and marketing but visitors leave right away, you're losing potential clients. A high bounce rate suggests issues with content, navigation, or design.

A bounce rate between 40-60% is generally acceptable, but it varies by industry. You can track yours using analytics.

MARKETING

Search Results

Search engines favor fresh, updated content. Every time you update your site, search engines crawl and re-rank your pages. Since Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is constantly evolving, outdated strategies may hurt rather than help.

A well-optimized site paired with great design attracts more attention. Having a blog helps drive traffic through keywords, internal links, and backlinks—making it a powerful marketing tool.

Fresh Content

Having news on your site that was last updated a year ago, or an outdated copyright date does not give users the greatest first impression of your company. A user may then think the rest of the information on your site is old and irrelevant to them as well. When redesigning your site, think about having it built with a content management system (CMS) which is a tool that can allow you to edit content and images on your site without a strong knowledge of HTML or other programming languages.

Social Integration

Social media is an important tool for content marketing. Are you on social media? If not, you need to think about incorporating your accounts into your site. This allows you to reach a wider audience.

If you don’t share your social channels on your main marketing channel (your website) how can visitors find you in the social sphere? Social media is an excellent tool for developing customer relations and promoting your brand.

Call to Action

Make it easy for visitors to know what to do next. If your site isn’t intuitive, they’ll leave and never return. Many outdated websites lack clear calls to action that turn visitors into customers. Can users contact you instantly? A well-placed contact button isn’t just an afterthought—it should be strategically positioned to keep visitors engaged and guide them toward your contact form.

TECHNOLOGY

Old Technology

If your website still relies on outdated technology like Flash or old plugins, it may be hard to access on mobile devices and unreadable by search engines. Updating to modern technology improves performance, efficiency, and user experience. Flash, once popular, is now obsolete—it’s unsupported on many devices and ignored by search engines. If your site isn’t user-friendly, visitors will most likely leave and choose a competitor instead.

Security

Cybersecurity is a major concern, and small businesses are just as vulnerable as large ones. Older websites that haven’t been updated are at a higher risk of hacking and malware. Google also prioritizes sites with an SSL certificate, ranking unsecured sites lower in search results. Any website can be hacked, but outdated technology increases the risk, making regular system updates essential.

Ready to

TAKE FLIGHT?

TOOL INTEGRATION

Integration tools are essential in today’s fast-paced business environment, enabling seamless connections between various software and platforms. These tools streamline workflows, enhance productivity, and ensure that data flows effortlessly across different systems. Whether it's managing customer interactions, automating marketing campaigns, tracking analytics, or simplifying financial processes, integration tools help businesses create a cohesive ecosystem. By connecting tools like Canva for design, Hootsuite for social media, and QuickBooks for finances, businesses can save time, reduce errors, and optimize operations, allowing teams to focus on what matters most—growth and innovation.

Tools to Consider:

  • A user-friendly design tool for creating graphics, presentations, social media posts, and more with customizable templates and drag-and-drop features.

  • Provides electronic signature solutions, enabling secure, fast, and legally binding document signing and workflow automation for businesses.

  • Clockify serves as a tool for tracking time and generating reports such as timesheets and project summaries. It assists both individuals and teams in managing their work hours and gaining insights into how time is allocated across projects, clients, and tasks.

  • An email marketing platform offering tools for creating emails, managing lists, and tracking campaign performance.

  • An online marketplace offering freelance services across various industries, allowing businesses to hire professionals for tasks like design, writing, and programming.

  • A tool that tracks and reports website traffic, offering insights into visitor behavior and helping businesses optimize their online presence.

  • A search engine and suite of productivity tools (Gmail, Docs, etc.) used for web browsing, advertising, and cloud services.

  • A social media management platform that allows businesses to schedule, monitor, and analyze posts across various social networks from one dashboard. 

  • A comprehensive marketing, sales, and customer service platform that provides tools for CRM, email marketing, automation, and lead generation. 

  • A tool for finding and verifying email addresses, used for outreach and lead generation in marketing campaigns. 

  • Offers online legal services, including document creation, business formation, intellectual property protection, and legal advice for individuals and businesses.

  • A platform for businesses to create targeted ads, sponsored content, and build professional networks to generate leads and increase brand visibility. 

  • An email marketing service that allows businesses to design and send newsletters, automate campaigns, and analyze results. 

  • Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, Slack, RingCentral Chat Service, Chanty, and Pumble: Instant messaging platforms serve as an excellent resource for facilitating effective communication and boosting productivity within your organization.

  • Technology company focused on building virtual and augmented reality experiences, connecting people through social platforms and innovation. 

    1.  Meta Business Suite: Manage all your business activity on Facebook, Messenger and Instagram from one place with Meta Business Suite.

    2. Meta Business Manager: Maintain control, security and privacy of your Facebook and Instagram assets by managing your Meta Business Account on Meta Business Manager.

    3. Ads Manager: Create and manage ads on desktop and mobile.

  • A cloud-based suite of productivity tools, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams, for collaboration and communication. 

    1. Copilot: An AI-powered assistant integrated into Microsoft 365, enhancing productivity by automating tasks and streamlining workflows. 

  • A cloud-based accounting software that helps businesses manage finances, track expenses, generate invoices, and run financial reports. 

  • A video hosting platform focused on high-quality video content, offering tools for creators to share, sell, and monetize videos. 

  • A video conferencing tools that enable remote meetings, webinars, and team collaboration with features like screen sharing and virtual backgrounds. 

    E.g., Microsoft Teams, Zoom, FaceTime, Google Meet, WebEx, RingCentral

  • Virtual phone systems help small businesses manage calls and messages with features like call forwarding, voicemail, and extensions.

    E.g. Microsoft Teams, Google Voice, GotoPhone, and Grasshopper

  • A printing service for creating customized marketing materials like business cards, banners, and promotional products. 

  • GoDaddy, Bluehost, Hostgator, Wix, SquareSpace: Platforms offering website hosting services, domain registration, and site-building tools for creating and managing websites. 

  • A video-sharing platform for creating and viewing content, with ad options for businesses to reach targeted audiences and increase engagement. 

  • An automation tool that connects apps and workflows, allowing users to automate repetitive tasks and integrate various services without coding. 

FAQs

  • A good website layout and design enhance user experience by making navigation intuitive and content easy to find. It boosts credibility, encouraging trust from visitors, and improves engagement, leading to longer site visits. A well-designed website is also mobile-friendly, ensuring accessibility across devices. Additionally, a clean, professional design supports brand identity and can help with SEO, improving search engine rankings.

  • Fresh content keeps your website relevant and engaging, encouraging visitors to return. It boosts SEO by signaling to search engines that your site is active, helping to improve rankings. Regular updates can highlight new products, services, or news, building customer trust and keeping your audience informed. Fresh content also enhances brand authority and positions your site as an industry leader.

  • Updated content improves SEO by signaling to search engines that your website is active and relevant. It helps your site rank higher by providing fresh keywords and new information that aligns with current trends. Regular updates also encourage more frequent crawling by search engines, leading to better indexing. This ultimately boosts visibility, drives more organic traffic, and improves your chances of ranking higher on search engine results pages.

  • For technology and processes to succeed, the people behind them must have the right knowledge and skills. This includes stakeholders, executive sponsors, and owners of the implementation, with senior leadership providing support throughout and after the change. It's essential that top executives and department heads inform those affected by the changes, as failing to do so can lead to frustration, confusion, and resistance. Effective communication is key to ensuring a smooth transition and acceptance of the new processes.

  • For successful change, processes must be defined and structured, starting with high-level activities that are broken down into detailed steps by analyzing dependencies, exceptions, and supporting processes. Stakeholders must be fully aware of and understand these processes, knowing their specific roles and responsibilities during and after the change. If the change is complex, a role-specific training program should be implemented to help employees effectively use the new system.

  • Technology should be implemented only after processes and people are in place, not the other way around, as trying to fit people and processes around new tools leads to ineffective and costly transformations. Every initiative should begin with improving processes and people, defining a "to-be" environment, and only then introducing technology to enhance effectiveness. Technology alone won't solve problems, but when combined with well-defined processes and informed, trained people, it can provide valuable insights and contribute to security and success.

  • StartingPointe can help clear a path.

  • Enabling technology refers to tools or systems that support and make other technologies or processes possible and more efficient. While they don’t perform the end function themselves, they serve as a foundation for the development of innovations. Examples include the internet enabling online platforms and smartphones enabling mobile apps. These technologies are essential for advancing more complex systems.

  • Having a website isn't enough on its own. It must be visually appealing, clearly present information, be easy to navigate, and make a strong first impression. Without these elements, you're just one of many businesses vying for the attention of the same audience.

  • Forming a Limited Liability Company (LLC) or S Corp legally establishes your startup as a bona fide business in the marketplace, building immediate credibility. Being a sole business owner or partners who file as an LLC gives you better legal protection and some of the business banking and tax benefits of a larger corporate entity.

    • An LLC’s separate tax ID number allows for business checking thereby increasing income tax deductions.

    • An LLC can file for S Corp tax filing status and further save on payroll taxes.

    • An LLC costs less to form and operate:

      • No board of directors’ fees or board meetings

      • No separate tax return costs for single-member LLCs

      • No legal costs to prepare corporate minutes

    • An LLC protects your personal assets against certain liable acts and debts of the business.

Learn more about what you can do…

does your website meet your intended purpose and goal?

There are several other strategies you can implement to enhance your online presence and drive more engagement. Redesigning your website can be a significant investment, but it often brings substantial benefits.