A website built three or four years ago was designed for the business as it was then. Most of the signs that it no longer fits are visible before anyone complains about them.
1. The layout looks dated
Narrow content columns, small type, heavy borders and dense sections make a current business look like a past one. Visitors read this as a signal about the business itself.
2. The mobile experience is poor
Pinch-to-zoom, horizontal scrolling, tiny buttons or a mobile layout that hides half the content. Most of your traffic sees this version.
3. Navigation has become confusing
The menu has grown page by page until it no longer reflects what matters. If you cannot explain the order of the items, neither can a visitor.
4. Calls to action are weak or missing
Pages that end without an obvious next step, or a contact link that only appears in the footer, leave interested visitors with nothing to do.
5. The branding no longer matches
New logo, new colours or a new tone of voice used everywhere except the website. Inconsistency across channels undermines both.
6. Updating content is difficult
If changing a price or adding a service means asking someone for help, the site will slowly go out of date. Ease of editing is a design decision.
7. Services are presented poorly
Services added over time as afterthoughts — inconsistent depth, some with pricing and some without, a few buried inside unrelated pages.
8. The user journey is slow or indirect
Too many clicks between arriving and acting. Every extra step between interest and enquiry loses a share of visitors.
9. Trust elements are missing
No real photography, no named people, no credentials, no policies. Newer competitors showing all of these will feel safer to a first-time customer.
10. The site no longer matches the business
The clearest sign of all: you find yourself explaining what the site does not show. When the website describes an earlier version of the business, it is working against you.
You can see how these ideas are applied in practice across the case study archive, or read more in the journal.
