Your website was meant to make life easier. Somewhere along the way, it became one more thing on the to-do list that never quite gets done. That’s often the moment people start wondering whether a web design agency should take it off their hands.
Maybe you built it yourself, or someone did it for you years ago. Either way, you’ve done well to keep it going. But there comes a point where looking after it yourself costs more than it saves. Here are seven signs you might have reached it.
Signs you’re stuck with it
1. You avoid updating it
You know the opening hours are wrong. The staff page still shows someone who left. That special finished months ago. But every time you think about logging in, you put it off.
That’s completely understandable. If the site is fiddly to edit, or you’re worried you’ll break something, avoiding it is a natural reaction. The trouble is that customers notice out-of-date information, and it can make them wonder whether you’re still trading.
A good website should be either easy for you to update or easy to hand to someone who will. If yours is neither, that’s worth fixing.
2. You can’t remember the login
If you’d need a password reset, a search through old emails and a phone call to someone you haven’t spoken to in years just to change one line of text, that’s a sign.
It’s also a risk. If you can’t get into your own website, you may not have control of your domain, hosting or email either. Those are worth sorting out before something goes wrong, not after.
Signs the site is holding you back
3. It’s slow
We’ve all left a website because it took too long to load. Your customers do the same. A slow site can come from oversized images, ageing software, too many plugins or low-quality hosting.
Speed often improves a lot when a site is rebuilt or moved to better hosting. JS Henderson, a North Coast builder, is one example: we gave them a faster website. Our managed Australian WordPress hosting, at $49.95 + GST per month, includes backups and security updates, and migration from your current host is free with no downtime.
4. It looks wrong on phones
Pull your website up on your phone right now. Is the text tiny? Do you have to pinch and zoom? Are buttons hard to tap, or does the menu not work properly?
Most of your visitors are probably on a phone, so this matters. Every Inversit site is mobile-responsive, which means it adjusts to fit phones, tablets and desktops.
5. It doesn’t show up on Google
Search for your business name and the service you offer in your town. If you can’t find yourself, your customers probably can’t either.
Nobody can honestly promise a top ranking. But many older or DIY sites are missing the basics Google looks for, like clear page titles, sensible headings and a properly set up Google Business Profile. Google’s own Business Profile help centre is a good place to check the basics. Every site we build includes on-page SEO foundations, and our digital setup service connects your Google Business Profile, Analytics and Search Console so they work together with your website.
Signs your business has moved on
6. Enquiries have dried up
If the phone used to ring from your website and now it doesn’t, something has changed. It might be a broken contact form, a site that’s dropped off Google, or simply a design that no longer makes it obvious how to get in touch.
Check your contact form today by sending yourself a test message. You might be surprised.
It’s also worth looking at your site the way a new customer would. Can they tell what you do, where you work and how to contact you within a few seconds? If not, a clearer layout and a more obvious phone number or booking button can help.
7. Your branding has changed
Businesses grow. You might have a new logo, new services, a new location or a different kind of customer. If your website still reflects the business you were five years ago, it’s telling people an old story.
When your logo, colours, photos and website all match, your business looks established and trustworthy. Our branding and logo design work and Bella’s brand photography are both built to sit naturally alongside your website.
What handing it to a web design agency looks like
If a few of these signs sound familiar, here’s what the process looks like with us, a small web design agency based in Lismore:
- A free consultation to talk through your business and what the website needs to do.
- A clear written quote before any work starts.
- Design and build. A standard build typically takes 21 business days once we have the content.
- Launch with your approval. Nothing goes live until you’re happy.
Custom WordPress websites start from $1,595 + GST. You own your website, and there are no lock-in contracts. You can see some of the sites we’ve built, including clearer websites for TankTrace and Connecting Matters and a new site for Styleside Plumbing, on our portfolio of recent work.
What if only one or two sound familiar?
That’s fine. Not every website needs a full rebuild. Sometimes a few practical fixes, like better hosting, a working contact form or an updated Google Business Profile, make a real difference.
The point isn’t to replace your website for the sake of it. It’s to work out what’s actually getting in the way, then fix that.
You don’t need to have it all figured out before you get in touch. Bring a list of what’s bugging you about the current site, and we’ll go through it together.
Want a second opinion on your website?
Book a free website health check. In about 30 minutes, we’ll review your site’s performance, design and SEO, then recommend practical improvements in plain English, with no obligation. Call us on 02 6610 9202, Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 4:30pm.
