Some of the reasons to redesign are more obvious than others. Here’s a short list of the things that make the choice clearer.

You may be considering investing in a website or product redesign and wonder when is the right time. You’re likely already thinking: Is my current site aesthetically unappealing? Is it failing to meet performance expectations, resulting in customer loss? Does it accurately represent my brand? Is the expense of updating it truly justified? Here are six reasons why now is the right time for a makeover.

1. You’ve recently rebranded

Aligning your online presence with your refreshed branding provides a consistent experience for your audience. You wouldn’t apply new paint to a car that didn’t run, would you? Redesigning your website or app when you rebrand is essential in conveying the changes and improvements to your business, not just overlaying new colors and a logo onto a preexisting site experience. Flaunt your hard-earned rebrand and let it shine through an entirely revamped experience.

2. Things feel more outdated than outstanding

Design is ever-evolving. Refreshing an outdated website or application involves updating the look, feel, and functionality to meet current design standards and customer expectations. Old-fashioned and dated-looking experiences can give visitors a negative impression of your brand. And it doesn’t always require ripping it down to the studs. Simple changes can make a significant impact. A strategic approach to updating colors, fonts, and layout can help you stay competitive and give users a reason to return by offering up a new and contemporary look.

3. People are complaining

A redesign is the perfect opportunity to address feedback from users and internal stakeholders about specific issues to create a better overall experience. At Spark, we typically gather these critical inputs as a part of our process, which always includes interviews and usability testing, ensuring any refreshed or redesigned product improvements go deeper than the pixels.

4. The experience is less than pocket-perfect

92.3% of internet users access the internet using a mobile phone. Mobile-first design puts mobile first for a reason. The best experiences aren’t just mobile-friendly but accessible and functional across every device. A responsive design is also essential for SEO, as search engines tend to prioritize them in their search results. Accommodating users’ needs across today’s diverse and mobile-driven user base will improve their satisfaction and provide a seamless and consistent experience.

5. The experience is feeling sluggish

Minimizing image sizes, leveraging browser caching, and using efficient coding practices can reduce loading times and optimize your website for speed and performance. Load times directly impact user experience. Studies have shown that users are more likely to abandon a website if it takes too long to load, which can increase bounce rates and potential loss of customers. Faster load times often increase conversion rates.

6. Accessibility was never considered

It is 2023. It is time to be inclusive of those with disabilities. When redesigning, Spark follows WCAG’s guidelines to ensure your experience is accessible to people with disabilities. These include providing alternatives for non-text content (images), providing captions, ensuring text is readable and resizable, accommodating dark/light theming, and ensuring the user interface is clear and understandable. By making these changes, businesses can comply with legal requirements and enhance user experience for all visitors.

At Spark, we’ve helped brands and businesses of all sizes undertake redesigns at different scales. So, whether it’s just been a while or your product has serious issues, a redesign can be the perfect catalyst to make it right.