10. Your site has dead links

This might not be the sole reason you redesign your website, but might be the first step into evaluating the content, design and brand and how these play into your online reputation of your company. A free Microsoft tool to find dead links on your website is http://www.microsoft.com/web/Downloads/platform.aspx

9. Your website is not optimized for mobile users
Using a smart phone for phone calls is almost becoming a secondary feature. People are now using them more frequently to find information on the go and your website should take into account the way people will be viewing it. Below are some things to consider for mobile web users.

• Be conscious of font size – small text can be hard for mobile users to read.
• Have clear and concise content – people viewing your site on a mobile device are not usually at home. They don’t want to read a book, they want quick, useful information.
• Make sure your images are optimized for better loading time. Using Flash within your site can create slower loading time, thus decreasing the usability and experience for mobile users.
• Provide a contact number on every page.

8. Structure of the site – using Divs vs Tables

You may not think so, but the way your site is structured can affect how optimized your site is, your maintenance costs and limitations with functionality.  Using Divs instead of tables is becoming a best practice on how sites are coded and structured. Divs are HTML tags used to create containers around blocks of content such as images or body text. So if your site is built in tables rather than using Divs, then it might just be time for a new site. Below lists some of the positives of using Divs and the shortcomings of Tables.

• Using Divs reduces the file sizes within your website, which makes it easier for Search Engine Spiders to crawl your website.
• Coding a website with tables creates a lot of additional markup, making it not only more time consuming to make edits, but harder for search engines to decipher between code and content.
• Tables also reduce a website’s flexibility in accepting different media and design elements, and they often limit a website’s functionality.

7. Navigation is confusing to users

A user should be able to find the information they are searching for within three clicks. If not, then it might be time to examine your site structure and the paths needed to get to important information. Good navigation and organization will only make the user experience more enjoyable and increase their chances of them returning. Also, for better usability, have a search field on your site.

6. Content is dated
Having news on your site that was last updated a year ago 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. You should give users a reason to come back, whether it be in the form of keeping your site current or having occasional giveaways. So when redesigning your site think about having it built with a content management system or in other words, a tool that can allow you to edit content and images on your site without a strong knowledge of HTML or any other programming language. This will save money and time in the long run.

Reason 5-1: To be continued