In today's world your online presence is everything! Your website may be the first interaction a consumer has with your brand, it speaks volumes about who you are and what you are offering. Consumers will make the decision to buy (.. or not!) based on their online experience and the connection they make with your brand.
This is especially true of the wine industry. For a consumer who has not yet sampled your wines there may be little that differentiates one wine offering from the next. This is why it is important to ensure your website provides an optimal user experience and continues to accurately represent who you are. Here are 5 signs that your website needs updating.
1. Your Content needs updating.
There are definitely trends that are apparent in website design. The current trends in design, particularly for winery websites, is to use carefully curated imagery and video that span full width and scrolls down single pages. Meticulously crafted content shares the story of the brand aimed at establishing a connection with the target audience.
In 2019 an outdated website will have too much text and not enough imagery. The imagery may be very small, poor quality and not contribute to the user experience. The pages may also be smaller so there is a margin on either side creating a lot of redundant space.
If this describes your website you may not have updated it since it was create 5+ years ago, it’s time for a website refresh. See our portfolio here https://wineworks.co/our-work/ and arrange a call, we’d love to hear from you.
2. Your website isn’t responsive or mobile friendly.
We are hearing the term “mobile-first design” more frequently when talking to clients. This means that the website experience shouldn’t be any different regardless of the device being used (particularly from the desktop experience) in terms of speed, performance, accessibility and usability.
The goal of responsive design is to build web pages that detect the visitor's screen size and orientation and change the layout accordingly. Your website should work seamlessly across all devices whether that be tablet, phone, laptop or desktop. If it doesn’t you are well over due for a redesign.
3. Your Website has a poor Conversion rate
Your online presence was created to serve a purpose. For wineries, selling wine or gaining sign-ups is typically a key priority. The conversion rate refers to how successful your website is in converting visitors to your site in to sales or sign-up’s. Most of you will be collecting data on how successfully you are doing this.
Conversion rates could be poor for a number of reasons. Fortunately there are improvements that can be made to your website to ensure you are making the most of every interaction with the consumer. The goal is to engage with the consumer long enough to achieve a desired outcome.
4. You have outgrown your website
This is a common reason for requesting a redesign. As your business evolves and you’ve added to your website it has become confusing and no longer flows as it should. Content is hard to find and the backend may have been subjected to numerous hacks over the years as you’ve bounced from one developer to another.
It may be that your website has fallen out of sync with your brand and no longer represents you accurately. Whatever the reason may be you understand the pain of a website you have outgrown, it’s time for a redesign.
5. Your site isn’t ADA Compliant
ADA (Americans with Disabilities act) requires that your winery website be accessible to people with disabilities. The terms that are used for ADA compliance are "guidelines", and "principles". They are not hard and fast rules. A website will fit on a continuum of compliance - from A to AAA.
As business and service providers, we are required to achieve ADA compliance and this includes websites and mobile app’s. If your website falls short you leave yourself open to litigation. For further information or to request a website audit contact us info@wineworks.co
