There are so many things to think about when you run a business that it can be hard to take a moment to really analyse what you’re doing. Until fairly recently, I was in exactly the same position, but I recently got in touch with Overthrow Digital , who showed me the benefits of having a new website, as mine hadn’t been touched in over six years and was looking pretty out of date. Of course, I had no idea that this was the case but it makes so much sense to me now that I can see the difference. So does it really matter what your website looks like? The answer to that has to be yes.

Can people find what they’re looking for?

The first thing to ask yourself is whether people are able to find what they’re looking for on your website. You might be able to remember some strange navigational structure, but people coming from a search engine won’t know about how you organise products and services. It’s all about making it as easy to find something as possible, preferably within three clicks on landing on the site. Test your out on your friends and family to see whether your site has a good navigation, structure and layout.

Do people trust you?

I’d never thought too much about trust online, but I should’ve put myself into the shoes of a customer. As a retailer, people want to know that their money is going to be received and properly handled, before they receive exactly what they wanted through the post (on time). Having an old website can make people feel that your company isn’t as legitimate as one of your competitors, and you won’t want to lose business to them! Another thing that is now on my site are a number of testimonials that are built in to the right hand navigation – I can update these whenever I like but it shows customers that my service is a good one.

Are you able to show special offers?

My old website was very blocky and didn’t really have any points of interest. Now, I am able to show off my products to the full. One element I especially like is a big banner area on my homepage that I can update with special offers. I usually get the creative agency to do a custom design for this area so it really captures people’s attention. By doing this you can persuade people to explore more of your website, and eventually buy something from you.

Will your website work on mobile devices?

With so many people using iPhones and similar devices, it’s also important to make sure that your website works on mobile. Having to pinch and double tap to zoom can be annoying for customers, and loading times can be a real issue when the internet connection isn’t the best. My new website is done using what’s called a responsive design, which makes it look good on mobiles, tablets and PCs alike.