Coaches: 10 Signs You're Ready for a Website Redesign
Lori Young
Helping holistic wellness brands grow their business online with strategic business, marketing and operational support | Creating a Healthier World | Certified Master Marketer | Certified Online Business Manager
Recently, our daughter got married.? For her wedding, I treated myself to a professional hair and makeup appointment.? Of course, I could have done my own hair and makeup, but I can assure you, I would have looked completely different.? Like getting a fresh makeover, a website redesign is fun!? And just as we don’t go out everyday and pay $240 for a beautiful makeover, we don’t embark on a website redesign just for the heck of it.? There needs to be a very specific reason to invest in a website makeover.
Amazing OBM just completed a website redesign a few months ago.? And we are currently handling two website redesign projects for clients.? Each website project has very different goals and rationale for making the changes.? Your website is the foundation of your business and it shouldn’t be treated as an afterthought.? So if you’re asking yourself if it’s time for you to do a website redesign, here are 10 signs you might be ready.
#1: Do a website redesign if your original website was not professionally designed (aka do-it-yourself).
It is completely normal and common, when coaches first start their business, to cut corners financially and design their own website.? Heck, I’ve done it myself.? Although your first do-it-yourself website serves its purpose for a while, eventually you will want to invest in a professionally designed website.? It will look more professional and give your business a much needed facelift.
Professional website designers understand every aspect of a website and the importance of creating a website that functions and converts.? They are trained in copywriting, design, SEO, and the proper structure of a good website.? Trust the professionals to give you a website that represents your business.
#2: Your target audience has changed.
Your target audience can change at any stage of business.? But what I see most often with coaches is that their target audience is unclear at the beginning of their business.? Perhaps it’s too broad (like “women) and it fails to attract the ideal clients.? Or once a coach starts working with clients, they learn more about who they truly love working with. And their target niche becomes more clear.
I recently worked with a coach whose original target audience was individuals looking to accelerate their careers.? As we dug in deeper, we determined that her ideal audience is really sales and marketing tech professionals looking for career growth. So if your target audience has recently narrowed or changed, you will want your website to reflect these changes.
#3:? Do a website redesign if your messaging is not resonating with your ideal target audience.
Messaging is key.? Across all your content, especially your website.? When prospects land on your website, you want your messaging to speak directly to their needs and desires.? A recent prospect, when scheduling a free consultation with me, told me how much she resonated with everything she read on my website.? Everything she was feeling was portrayed in our copy.
If your messaging isn’t hitting the heart of your clients, you lose the risk of them leaving your website.? In some cases, this is good, if your messaging is spot on and is repelling the clients you don’t want.? But if your messaging lacks clarity or it’s not identifying the pain points and deep desires of your prospect, then it’s time to change the copy.? This will require a website redesign.
#4:? Your brand image has changed.
One of our new clients is changing her entire brand.? The colors.? The business name.? The logo.? Her current website is light blue and orange and her new colors are purple and green.? This is a pretty drastic change and of course, she needs to redesign her website.
While this is an example of a dramatic brand change, sometimes we have subtle brand changes that require us to make tweaks to our image.? Your brand is all encompassing and includes colors, fonts, messaging, design elements, logos, photos, custom graphics, etc.? Anytime you do a brand makeover, you will need a website redesign.
#5:? Your offers have been updated.
Offers and services change over time.? New courses are added.? Some offers are discontinued.? Our offer suite is an evolving entity.? And your website needs to be current and reflect these changes.? I have visited websites before, clicked on a current offer, and discovered the dates were several months in the past.
Don’t let this happen to you.? Make a point to regularly review your offer suite and ask yourself if you still feel aligned with your services and courses.? You can bring back offers you’ve put in the closet.? Take down offers that aren’t selling.? Introduce new offers that solve a problem for your target audience. But just a word of caution.? Don’t confuse your prospects with too much to choose from.? While you may be capable of delivering lots of different offers, it’s better to specialize and simplify.
#6:? A website redesign is good if you haven’t updated in a few years.
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A lot can change in two to three years.? Design trends change.? As we talked about above, offers can change.? Messaging may need to be updated.? Photos might need a refresh.? Updating your website to give it a fresh look is much like updating your wardrobe or trying on a new, more modern hairstyle.
A website left untouched can get stagnant.? In my marriage, my spouse and I often joke about our tendency, as we age, to fall into our comfort zone and forget about trying new things, dressing stylishly, or nurturing our once adventurous spirit.? We promised to check each other if we start getting “old”.? Don’t let your website get old.? Stay fresh, young, and new!
#7: Are you proud of your website?
Before I updated my website, I didn’t feel that sense of pride that I once did.? I was tired of looking at my website.? Ask yourself this honest question.? Do you look at other coaches’ websites and feel a tinge of envy?? Maybe you think, I wish my website looked like that.? Or do you feel a bit of embarrassment to give people your website URL?
This is a definite sign you need to do a website redesign.? You want to feel pride when sharing your website.? Your website is a reflection of you and your business.? It speaks volumes about your brand and there is nothing more exciting than hearing from your prospective customers or clients how much they love your website.? A well designed and functional website will keep your users coming back for more.
#8: Your website is not functioning properly.
A few months ago we built a quiz lead magnet for a client and discovered, during this process, that her website was running incredibly slow.? There were an incredible amount of factors contributing to the speed and we knew a website redesign was necessary before we could launch the quiz.? Nothing will stop a prospect dead in their tracks faster than a slow response rate on a website.
LinchpinSEO identifies several foundational issues that need to be addressed to optimize the functionality of your website:? speed, inability to implement basic SEO, not mobile friendly, difficult to use, overused or underused website widgets, and poor user experience.? Have your clients or your team complained about your website?? Or do you pull your hair out thinking about doing updates to your website?? If so, it’s time for a website redesign.
#9:? Changing platforms will require a website redesign.
There are a lot of reasons that coaches decide to change website platforms.? Sometimes we create our very first DIY website on a platform that isn’t the best.? It works for a little while but then we want and need something more robust.? Other times coaches decide to start adding online courses to their offer suite and they want a course platform like Kajabi.? And lastly, if you’ve been using multiple marketing softwares to run your business, it might make sense to choose an all-in-one website platform that includes everything you need to market.
One of our clients recently decided to move from SquareSpace to Kajabi because she needs a robust membership platform.? When you change platforms, it is the perfect time to do a website redesign.? Maybe not everything needs to change, but it’s an opportunity to revisit messaging, offers, colors, etc. to give your website a fresh, new look.
#10: You need a more comprehensive website.
Maybe your first website was a simple one to three page website that gave users the basic information they needed.? But now your business has grown, and you have outgrown your website.? It’s time for you to have a more comprehensive website.? More comprehensive may mean you have more pages, add features like a blog or podcast page, added funnels and opt-in pages, or introduced more complicated offers like memberships or courses.
Your website should grow with you.? But be careful not to make your website so complicated that you lose user friendliness.? Make it easy for your prospects to navigate around your website and always create an interface that is clean, simple, and pleasing to the eye.
Go right now and look at your website.? Is it professional and functioning properly?? Does the messaging speak to your target audience and make them want to work with you?? Is your brand and design fresh?? Are your offers clear to anyone who is visiting your website? And are you proud and excited about showing your website to people? If you can’t answer yes to all of these questions, then it is time for a website redesign.
Amazing OBM is a high-touch digital marketing agency that specializes in providing new or redesigned websites for coaches and course creators.? If you want our feedback on your current website, feel free to schedule a free consultation. We are happy to give you our input.