Change is the only constant in life, right? That’s why technologies, trends, and goals always evolve over time, especially as your business grows. The website that really resonated with your brand and audiences a few years ago might seem out of touch today, especially if you’ve added new products, rebranded, or changed direction. Thankfully, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel and build a brand-new site from scratch—a simple website facelift will do! Our experts share 5 ideas for spiffing up your business site that your visitors will love.
1. Brand Refresh
One of the most effective methods for livening up your website is to undertake a brand refresh. When your brand identity keeps up with the times and with your business goals, it helps you stay relevant and engaging. As you revisit the visual content of your brand, here’s what to focus on an integrate into your site for an impactful website facelift:
- Logo. Logos often undergo subtle changes to appeal to new audiences or signal that a business is shifting its priorities. For example, Dunkin’ Donuts changed its familiar logo to just Dunkin’ in the hope that customers will start to see the iconic cafe as more than just a place for doughnuts.
- Color palette. The colors on your website go a long way to expressing a mood and inspiring emotions in your visitors. Clean, minimalist backgrounds with a simple color scheme are popular for a reason: they make navigating a site easier and they look modern.
- Continuity. It’s a nuanced point, but it’s important: every graphic design element on your website should be consistent with every other in style, mood, and tone. If your tagline, for example, is humorous or lighthearted, it would hit a false note if the about page is serious and authoritative.
2. Revitalize Your Images
Speaking of images, when was the last time you updated yours? Here’s our advice to make the most of the images on your page:
Be original
While crisp, custom, and high-resolution imagery is a great start, it’s also smart to use original images rather than stock photos that people have seen a million times. Sometimes, however, stock photos make the most sense for your business. Here are a few great places to find free excellent stock images:
- Unsplash. One of the most popular sites for free, high-resolution, and often beautiful images.
- Pixabay. Lots of photos, but also a great resource for music and vector graphics.
- Adobe Stock Free Collection. Adobe has tens of thousands photos, illustrations, and videos available for free business and personal use.
- Vecteezy. A newcomer to the stock photo game, Vecteezy lets users search by color, which is convenient if you’re also rebranding!
Be personal
When it comes to brands, authenticity and transparency are very big right now, and visitors want to know why they should trust you. Consider adding photos of your team members and workspace, or anything that gives users an intimate glimpse into your work culture.
Stay on topic
Images should always be relevant to your business, brand, and tone. While a beautiful image of nature is always a crowd pleaser, there are very few industries where images like that make sense. At the same time, unless you’re conveying an air of authority, there’s no reason to be cool or aloof with product images that completely lack any personal touch.
3. Add Industry-Specific Calls to Action
Browsing a business website should be a smooth and effortless experience in which visitors don’t have to spend time thinking about what they should do next—they just do it naturally. One of the principles behind Hick’s Law: less is more. An effective website facelift tip that makes the user journey smoother is including expressive and specific calls to action (CTAs).
For example, asking a visitor to “Shop Now” might be effective sometimes, but it’s also extremely generic. They’ve seen that prompt hundreds of times before. A CTA that’s specific to your industry is more unique, catchy, and helps orient users. For example, prompt visitors to “Shop the Spring Collection” or “Let’s Work Together.” Keep it brief while offering a helpful and tempting glimpse into what your business is all about.
4. Create a Client-Focused Landing Page
What makes a good landing page? Relevant information? Useful keywords? Eye-catching graphics? Yes, yes, and yes. It all comes down to focusing on the needs of clients.
When customers find themselves on your landing page, their primary concerns can be summarized with just two questions: who are you and what do you do? If your landing page doesn’t communicate that info clearly and effectively from the get-go, visitors are likely to get frustrated and leave.
An impactful website facelift involves streamlining your landing page so that it’s intuitive, effortless, and fun to navigate, enabling visitors to quickly find what they’re searching for. Here are our tips for creating a customer-centric landing page:
- One-page design. With all of your information on one page, clients can follow an intuitive, linear narrative through the conversion funnel before reaching a clear (and specific!) CTA.
- Address needs directly. Visitors are checking out your page for a reason: they’re looking for a solution to a specific need or problem. Address pain points up front and explain exactly how your product or service will benefit your visitors.
- Add testimonials. The reason that word-of-mouth remains the most effective marketing strategy is that human beings trust other human beings. To encourage openness and trust, include testimonials from happy clients on your landing page.
5. Use Design Inspiration
As you play around with a new look and feel for your website facelift, there’s no need to go it alone! The best designers often lean on design inspiration, which is a collection of reference points that made an impression on them, as they generate logos, artwork, and other design elements for a site.
Sometimes, it makes sense to scope out competitors’ sites or other successful websites in your industry that are getting it right. A less obvious place to look for design inspo is beyond your industry. For example, a visit to the modern art museum in your city might spark an innovative idea for a page layout, while picking up an architecture magazine can lend insight into combining graphic elements in a unique way.
Make Every Page Stand Out
It’s smart to keep your page fresh and relevant, and sometimes a quick website facelift is all it takes to see a welcome increase in visitors and customers while helping your site climb in search rankings. The team behind Buddy Web Design and Development takes joy in building intuitive, easy-to-use websites that delight visitors and express your brand identity. Best of all, we’re great to work with every step of the way. If you’re ready to chat about improving your business website for the better, you can browse our projects here or reach out to us here. We’ll be happy to hear from you!
