Stop Chasing Pretty Websites

A website redesign is always a good thing, right?

It depends. Refreshing your brand's site must be done strategically, as your website is essentially your digital front door for potential customers. If you stray too far from your original site's design, users may be confused. If the design doesn't feel genuine or aligned with your company, customers will feel the disconnect.

Now, we won't argue that most brands would benefit from a brutally honest website audit that reveals UX issues, content gaps, and plenty of opportunities to optimize content for search engines/AI overviews. And while it may be tempting to implement every design bell and whistle at your disposal, every choice should keep your target audience sharply in focus.

Take this example from SecurityInfoWatch.com, in which a security integrator experiences a painful reality check after unveiling a brand-new, $15,000 website loaded with sleek visuals and a striking, modern design, only to see leads drop from five per month to just one. The previous "ugly" site was more effective in actually driving leads.

This is what happens when marketers optimize for aesthetics instead of outcomes. 

In this website redesign example, some poor decisions were made, including vague boilerplate copy, a lack of a call to action, and a phone number that was practically hidden from users (especially on mobile). When people were more focused on form over functionality, the website didn't function as needed, resulting in a poor ROI on the redesign cost.

The author of this article makes the case that the highest-performing security websites may not be the most aesthetically pleasing, but they're built for driving business. Instead of minimalist layouts and pleasant imagery, these sites feature oversized click-to-call numbers, bold "CALL NOW" buttons, clear service areas that filter out tire-kickers, and solution-focused headlines that speak directly to customer pain points.

Pretty doesn't always pay the bills, and nobody is trying to win a Pulitzer on your company blog. Skip the verbose, flowery language and get to the point. Rewrite generic headlines and focus on specific problem/solution statements. Make your contact information — phone number, email, social media accounts impossible to miss. Don't make your potential customers guess what their next move should be — make it obvious.

Read more at SecurityInfoWatch.com.