As a budding web design agency, we often encounter companies who've invested serious dollars into a new website, only to realize that their online objectives, business model and content have outgrown them - often in as little as 2 or 3 years. It's unfortunate, but the truth is we run into this scenario multiple times on a monthly basis.

Regardless of your advertising channels, the first place potential customers will seek you out is on the web - whether from a mobile device, desktop computer or tablet. Having a website that isn't inline with your digital and offline marketing initiatives and brand message can severely impact your bottom line, especially if your business is one that's product or service oriented.

If you're on the fence about investing into a redesign to improve your website's performance, here are 5 legitimate reasons why it may be the right solution for your company (in no particular order):

1. Your product or service offering has grown significantly and none of these changes are reflected on your website. This often results in a lot of phone calls from mislead prospects who had the wrong impression about what it is your company does.
2. Your website is simply out of date and suffers from multiple cross-browser compatibility and technological flaws. This can lead to an extremely high bounce rate (people leaving your site immediately) due to the site no appearing properly in their particular browser.
3. Poor user experience stemming from spotty navigation design and poor organization of information. One of the biggest contributors to a poor conversion rate is when the user is unable to find what they're looking for - which is why they came to your website in the first place.
4. Your content management system is prehistoric and limited. Though the CMS has more to do with web development, it often affects the design and functionality of on page, front-facing elements - ultimately hindering user interaction and performance.
5. Your website was optimized for search back in 2001. Massive lists of footer links, keyword stuffing and out of date SEO techniques are a good enough reason to consider a design/strategy/functionality overhaul.

Though we could easily add another handful of reasons to the list, this should be a good enough starting point to justify moving forward with a website redesign. Remember, you have less than 5 seconds to capture a visitors attention - what impression do you want to make?

Image courtesy of Sam Javanrouh