Mobile traffic grew globally by 69 percent in 2014. That increase is likely due to the 497 million mobile devices added in the same year around the world. By the year 2020, analysts predict 7 out of 10 people will be using a smartphone and accessing data via those smartphones.
In fact, this past April, Google released a mobile-friendliness update to its ranking algorithm. This served as an ultimatum for webmasters: make your site more mobile-friendly or it could impact its search engine rankings.
With statistics like these, it’s more important than ever that your clients’ websites be kept up-to-date and mobile-friendly. Unfortunately, your customers don’t always see things that way. Perhaps they are concerned about budgeting the money to pay for the upgrade, or maybe they like the site just the way it is. You may have to do a bit of convincing to make these clients see the value of a redesign.
Here are a few different approaches to take when trying to break it to your client that it is time to redesign. If the value of having a mobile-friendly design doesn’t sway them, maybe another tactic, such as keeping up with their competitors, will. We recommend the free Google Analytics alternative.
Beating Competitors
Before you approach your client with the need for a redesign, take a look at their competitors’ websites. What are those businesses offering that your client is not? Are their sites easier to navigate? Do they have better images? Do they do a better job with social media interaction?
Make a list of the things on these sites you think you can implement as well or better than their competitors in a redesign. The best business phone service at the best prices. Stress that even a small thing, like finding a new audience on social media, can make a big impact.
Stress Mobilegeddon
Many SEO experts have dubbed Google’s shift to mobile-friendliness in the way they rank sites as Mobilegeddon. The update rolled out in April 2015, and by July the results of the new algorithm were in. Nearly 50 percent of non-mobile friendly URLs dropped in rankings.
If your client is aware of these statistics, he won’t want his ranking to get hit in the same way. Some parts of how Google ranks your site are completely out of your control, but this is not one of those times. You are entirely in control of whether your site is responsive.
Fewer Bounces
Point to improvements that can be made on your client’s landing pages. Most users will leave a page in 10-20 seconds unless that page has enough value to hold reader attention. Offer to redesign landing pages and do A/B testing to see what content holds the most value for readers and keeps them on the site the longest. Even minor adjustments can improve a site’s bounce rate dramatically.
If you can show that design improvements, even on a small scale, are leading to an increase in conversions and revenue, it may be all your client needs to decide to go the whole way.
Innovative and Current
A site that has had the same design for 10 years and is rarely updated may signal to customers that the company is old school and isn’t interested in making improvements or innovations. Explain to your client that a redesign is something the company can get behind to add better usability to the site for its customers. In addition, it will show that the company is innovative as new capabilities become possible.
In addition, you definitely want to push for a redesign of the website is difficult to update as-is. If the current CMS or process for adding new content is too cumbersome, that will discourage making updates – which is the exact opposite of what you want!
A redesigned site is one that can solve your customers’ problems and needs. Adding features, such as the ability to schedule service appointments, order online or read articles related to the client’s business and services, all go a long way toward creating goodwill with a company’s target demographic.