Updating Your Website vs Replacing It; How To Decide:
You wouldn’t go to a business meeting in gym shorts and a T-shirt, nor would you be rude to a perspective client.
As a home builder, you must present yourself as professional, so if you’re careful about how you present yourself to one or two clients doesn’t it make sense to be careful about how you present yourself to thousands of clients online?
With the ever-increasing centrality of the internet in our lives, it’s critical that you maintain a professional, easy-to-use website. Finding homebuyers online and keeping them engaged has never been more important. The world of web design moves rapidly and it’s critical to keep up with the latest trends.
On the other hand, you have a limited budget. This is important to consider when deciding whether to replace your homebuilder website, hiring a home builder website developer, make a few updates to your home builder web design, or leave it alone.
Here are 5 factors to consider when deciding to update or replace a website:
- Understand Why You Want To Change Your Website
- Your Website Should Reflect Your Goals
- A Website Needs To Be Mobile Friendly
- Navigating A Website Should Be Easy
- Make Sure Your Website Fits Your Business Model and Near-Term Plans
Understand Why You Want To Change Your Website
Do you want to change the look of your existing website? Maybe update the content writing for builders? Or, are you interested in major structural changes (like adding pages, removing navigation items, installing virtual tours and other features, etc.)?
The answers to these questions matter a lot because they can help point the way forward. It’s often easier and more affordable than business owners think to make minor improvements to a website. Over the long run, however, it’s cheaper to begin with a clean slate if you need major changes.
Your Website Should Reflect Your Goals
If your existing homebuilder website accomplishes the basics of what you need, then you probably don’t need a total redesign. Conversely, if you are embarrassed by the look of your site or it lacks important features like a shopping cart or a mobile-friendly layout, then you shouldn’t hold onto a design that isn’t working.
There are both strategic and technical elements to this issue. If your website and homebuilder logo isn’t helping you to attract homebuyers or creating a strong brand, it’s probably costing you money. And if it runs slowly, produces error messages, or is otherwise difficult to use then those issues need to be addressed promptly.
A Website Needs To Be Mobile Friendly
Being mobile-friendly is now more important than being desktop-friendly. Over half of internet traffic worldwide is from phones and mobile devices. Your home builder website should be mobile-optimized.
According to Quick Sprout, “mobile-friendly content just means that content appears well not just on desktop computers but also on smaller mobile devices. That means that the text is easily readable, links and navigation are easily clickable, and it’s easy to consume the content in general.”
If you don’t know whether your site is mobile-friendly, try this Google tool. There are plenty of excellent examples of mobile-friendly websites on the web if you need inspiration.
Navigating A Website Should Be Easy
Customers have short attention spans. People are used to instant access to information. If a customer can’t figure out how to navigate your site, he or she may leave. You probably know your website like the back of your hand, but they don’t.
- Make Sure The Navigation Is Easy and Clear
- Understand Human Behavior And What They Are Searching For
- Install Search Functionality On Your Site
Make Sure Your Existing Website Fits Your Business Model and Near-Term Plans
Although most homebuilders come to us for website redesigns because of aesthetic issues, error messages, and related problems, we believe these should be secondary concerns.
The best reason to talk to a business web designer is that you want your online presence to match your real-world business and development plans.
In other words, if your company is growing or changing, then your website should as well. Never forget that the goal of your online builder marketing automation is to support your business growth targets, not just to keep up with the competition.
Finding the Cost-Effective Web Design Answers that You Need:
If you’re like most of the homebuilders we work with, you probably wish you could afford to replace your website every year. However, the realities of timing, budgets, and other constraints mean that you must settle for smaller changes and improvements once in a while.
Our team of designers, programmers, and business growth experts can help you find a strategy that maximizes both your marketing budget and business opportunities. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation and see how we can help you find the best way forward!
Visit Power Marketing for a digital marketing plan that produces results.