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7 Signs It's Time to Update Your Rural Business Website
Your website is often one of the first places a potential customer goes when they discover your business.
It might be after a recommendation from a friend, seeing your name at an agricultural show, finding you through Google or coming across one of your marketing materials.
And when they arrive, you have a very short window to make the right impression.
But how do you know when your website needs more than a few small updates?
Here are seven signs that it could be time to give your rural business website some attention.
1. Your website no longer reflects your business
Businesses change.
You may offer different services, work with different customers or have grown significantly since your website was first created.
Perhaps you've added new machinery, expanded into a new area or changed the way you operate.
If your website still describes the business you ran five years ago, it's not telling potential customers the full story.
Your website should accurately reflect the business you are today, not the business you used to be.
Take a look at your main pages and ask:
Would I describe my business this way today?
If the answer is no, it's probably time for an update.
2. You're embarrassed to send people to it
This one is surprisingly common.
Someone asks for your website and you hesitate before sending them the link.
Maybe it looks dated. Maybe the photographs are old. Maybe the information isn't presented clearly. Or perhaps it simply doesn't reflect the quality of the business you've built.
Your website should make you feel confident when you send someone to it. If your business has evolved but your website hasn't, there's a disconnect.
3. It's difficult to use on a mobile phone
More and more people browse websites from their phones.
If your website is difficult to read, navigate or use on a smaller screen, potential customers may simply leave.
Look at your website on your own phone.
Can you quickly answer:
What does this business do?
Where are they based?
Who do they work with?
What services do they offer?
How do I contact them?
If finding those answers takes too much effort, your website needs attention.
4. Customers keep asking questions your website should answer
Your customers can tell you a lot about your website.
If you repeatedly receive the same questions, it may be a sign that the information isn't clear enough online.
For example:
“Where do you cover?”
“What services do you offer?”
“How much does it cost?”
“How do I make an enquiry?”
“Do you work with businesses like mine?”
You don't necessarily need to publish every answer on your website, but if customers consistently need to contact you for basic information, there may be an opportunity to improve your content.
A good website should answer the questions your potential customers are most likely to have.
5. Your website isn't generating enquiries
A website can look fantastic and still fail to do its job.
The purpose of your website shouldn't simply be to exist.
It should help move potential customers towards taking action.
That might mean:
Making an enquiry
Calling you
Requesting a quote
Booking a service
Sending an email
Visiting your premises
Finding out more about a product
If visitors don't know what to do next, they may simply leave.
Look at your website from the perspective of someone who has never heard of your business.
Is it immediately obvious what you want them to do?
6. Your branding is inconsistent
Your website is only one part of your overall marketing.
Customers might also see your:
Brochures
Business cards
Advertisements
Email communications
Exhibition materials
Social media
Signage
Ideally, all of these should feel like they belong to the same business.
If your website uses one style, your brochure uses another and your advertising looks completely different again, your brand can become difficult to recognise.
A website refresh is therefore a good opportunity to look at your wider marketing and make sure everything feels consistent.
7. You're relying on a website that you can't easily update
Technology changes. Businesses change. Information changes.
If every small website update requires a complicated process or you have to contact someone every time you want to change a sentence, photograph or service, it can quickly become frustrating.
Your website should be a useful business tool.
That means being able to keep important information current and make changes when your business needs them.
Website refresh or complete redesign?
Not every website needs to be completely rebuilt.
Sometimes a refresh is enough.
You might need:
Updated content
New photographs
Improved navigation
Better calls to action
New service pages
SEO improvements
Design updates
Other websites may need a complete redesign because the underlying structure, technology or user experience is no longer suitable.
The important thing is to identify what your website actually needs rather than automatically starting from scratch.
Your website should work with your marketing
A website shouldn't operate in isolation.
It should sit at the centre of your wider marketing activity.
A potential customer might discover you through an advertisement, receive a brochure, meet you at an event or hear about you through another business.
Your website then gives them somewhere to find out more.
That's why good website design isn't just about making something look attractive.
It's about making sure your website communicates your business clearly, builds confidence and gives people a reason to take the next step.
Take five minutes to review your website
Open your website and look at it as though you're a potential customer who has never heard of your business.
Ask yourself:
Is it immediately clear what we do?
Does it look professional?
Does it reflect our business today?
Is it easy to use on a phone?
Can people quickly find the information they need?
Is it obvious how to get in touch?
Does it match our other marketing materials?
If you're answering “no” to several of these questions, your website may be doing less for your business than it could.
Your website is an investment in your business
For many rural businesses, reputation is everything.
You've spent years building relationships, delivering good work and developing your expertise.
Your website should reflect that.
It should give potential customers confidence that they've found the right business and make it easy for them to take the next step.
At Digital Rural, we design websites for agricultural, equine and rural businesses that are built around the business, its customers and its wider marketing.
We can also help with the marketing materials and ongoing support needed to keep everything looking consistent and working together.
If you're wondering whether your website needs a refresh or a complete redesign, get in touch with Digital Rural. We'd be happy to talk through what your business needs.
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