8 Signs You Need a Website Redesign | A Helpful Guide
If you feel a little knot in your stomach every time someone asks for your website link, you are not alone. Many smart, successful business owners quietly worry that their site is out of date, off-brand, or just not doing its job. When that happens, your website stops being an asset and starts working against you.
In this installment of the Confident Client Series, we are talking about how to tell when you need a website redesign. We will walk through eight clear signs, some obvious and some a bit sneaky, so you can see where your site stands and whether waiting is costing you more than investing.
Your website is not just about looking pretty. It is about credibility, functionality, and real results. Let’s review the signs, one by one, so you can decide your next step with a lot more confidence.
Welcome to the Confident Client Series
I am Meg, a Squarespace web designer and SEO specialist, and I like to think of myself as your confidence catalyst. I work with women service providers and creative professionals who are amazing at what they do, but whose websites have not kept pace with their expertise.
Here is what often happens:
You grow, your skills grow, your reputation grows, but your website stays stuck at version 1.0. That gap between your actual business and your online presence quietly chips away at your confidence and your opportunities.
The Confident Client Series is here to help you:
Build confidence in your website decisions
Avoid feeling embarrassed when someone asks for your link
Attract more of your ideal, ready-to-book clients
If you want to follow along with the full series, you can watch the playlist on YouTube: The Confident Client Series Playlist.
Today’s focus: eight signs your website may be holding you back, and how to know if it is time to stop putting off a redesign.
Sign 1: Your Website Looks Dated
Why an Old Look Hurts Your Credibility
When someone lands on your site, they form an opinion in seconds. If your website looks like it is stuck in 2015 or, honestly, the 90s, they will start asking themselves questions like:
Is this business still active?
Do they pay attention to details?
If they do not care about their site, will they care about my project?
Those thoughts happen before they read a single line of your copy. A dated website can knock down your credibility right out of the gate, even if you are excellent at what you do.
Common Signs Your Site Is Out of Date
Here are some visual and design clues that your site is living in the past:
Flash animations, or autoplay music or video that starts with sound. These are not only annoying, they are also bad for accessibility and can hurt SEO. A subtle, silent background video can be fine, but blaring sound is a no.
Tiny text on busy, patterned backgrounds that make content hard to read.
Too many fonts fighting for attention. You only need three at most: one for headings, one for body text, and one accent font.
Outdated photos, whether that is old headshots that no longer look like you, or overused stock images that people have seen everywhere.
A design style that does not match your field. Think cute cartoons and playful handwritten fonts for a lawyer or financial coach. It sends the wrong signal.
Design trends change for a reason. The goal is not to chase every trend, but to have a site that feels current, clean, and professional. If your site feels like a time capsule from 2015, it is time to update it.
Sign 2: It Is Not Mobile Friendly
The Reality of Mobile Traffic
More than half of web traffic now comes from phones. In the second quarter of 2025, mobile devices (excluding tablets) made up over 60% of global website traffic, according to this Statista report. If your site is not mobile friendly, you might be turning away the majority of your visitors without even realizing it.
What a Non-Mobile-Friendly Site Looks Like
Some red flags:
Text is so small that people have to pinch and zoom just to read it.
Buttons or links are tiny or crammed together, making it hard to tap the right one.
Images do not resize for smaller screens, so text and images overlap or leave big blank gaps.
The site loads slowly on a phone, so people give up before they even see your content.
Picture someone who just met you at a networking event. They are curious about your work, so they pull out their phone, type in your URL, and land on a messy, broken mobile layout. They will probably close the tab and forget about it. That is an opportunity you never even know you lost.
Modern platforms like Squarespace support mobile responsive design, which means one site that adjusts to different screen sizes. If your current website cannot do that, it is a strong sign you need a website redesign.
Sign 3: Your Website No Longer Reflects Your Business
When Your Site Tells an Old Story
Your business is not static. You grow, your services change, your ideal clients shift. Problems show up when your website does not keep up. Some common scenarios:
You have changed or expanded your services, but your site still shows your old offers.
Your ideal client has become more specific, but your copy still talks to everyone.
You have raised your rates, yet your site keeps attracting bargain hunters.
You have niched down, but your site still feels generalized and vague.
Your brand has matured, but your website still has a beginner or DIY feel.
When your website tells an old story, you either attract the wrong people or confuse the right ones. Both make it harder to book the kind of work you actually want.
Ask yourself: If your dream client landed on your homepage today, would they immediately understand that you are the right person for them based on your copy, design, and images? If not, it is time to align your website with the business you have now, not the one you had three years ago.
Sign 4: Your Website Is Not Converting Visitors
Your Website Needs a Job
A website should not just sit on the internet as a digital brochure. It needs a clear job, such as:
Turning visitors into leads or clients
Growing your email list
Booking a service or consultation
Selling a product or course
If you are getting traffic but no one is contacting you, booking, or buying, something in the experience is broken.
Common Conversion Killers
Here are some things that often stop visitors from taking action:
No clear call to action telling people what to do next.
Too many choices on a page, which leads to decision fatigue.
No trust signals, like testimonials, credentials, case studies, or a photo of you.
A confusing value proposition that does not explain what you do and why it matters.
Contact forms that are buried or, even worse, broken.
Very slow load times that cause people to leave before the page even finishes.
How To Check If Your Site Is Working
This is where you need to be a little brave and look at your numbers. Tools like Fathom Analytics*, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console can show you what is actually happening on your site.
Watch for red flags like:
High bounce rates, which means people leave immediately after one page.
Low clicks on your main call-to-action buttons.
Very short time on site, such as under 30 seconds.
No or very few form submissions, assuming your form works.
A conversion rate that is far below what you expect, once you compare visitors to actions.
A good web designer does not just make things look nice. They plan a clear user journey that guides visitors toward the next step you want them to take. That is the difference between having a pretty website and having a real business tool.
Sign 5: You Feel Embarrassed To Share Your Website Link
The “Please Don’t Ask for My URL” Feeling
This one is less about tech and more about how your site makes you feel. You might notice that:
You make excuses when someone asks for your website.
You send people to your Instagram or LinkedIn instead of your site.
You say, “It is under construction” or “It is being updated” even though nothing has changed in months.
You avoid networking situations because you do not want to share your link.
You cringe on the inside when you type your own URL.
Your website should be something you are proud of, not something you are trying to hide.
How This Affects Your Confidence
When you do not trust your own website, it affects more than your marketing. It can impact:
How confidently you talk about your services
How you handle pricing conversations
How you show up online and in person
Potential clients can feel that hesitation. On the flip side, imagine how it would feel to happily include your website on your business card, your email signature, and in every DM or introduction. That kind of quiet confidence is contagious, and it changes how people respond to you.
Sign 6: You Cannot Update Your Website Yourself
When Your Site Feels “Locked”
If every small update requires a designer or developer, your website may be controlling you instead of the other way around. Some signs:
You do not have backend access or the right permissions to log in and edit your site.
The platform is so old or clunky that you cannot figure out how to use it.
You have to email your designer or developer for every tiny change, even when you would rather just do it yourself.
Adding a simple blog post feels like rocket science.
You are afraid to touch anything because you worry you might break it.
Each small change is billed as a separate task, and you are paying $100+ per update.
Why This Costs You Time and Money
Your business changes often. You may:
Launch new services
Update your prices
Add new testimonials
Adjust your schedule or availability
If you cannot update your website quickly, your content becomes inaccurate. That confuses clients, creates extra back-and-forth, and adds unnecessary stress for you.
Many modern platforms, like Squarespace, are designed so business owners can make day-to-day edits without needing to code. A professional designer can set everything up for you, then hand over a site that is easy to maintain so you can stay in control.
Sign 7: Your Website Is Hurting Your SEO
Technical Issues That Keep You Invisible
If your site never shows up in search results when people look for what you do, your SEO might be suffering. Some common technical issues:
Very slow loading pages
A site that is not mobile friendly
Broken links throughout your site
Missing page titles and meta descriptions
Poor use of headings, which makes your content harder for search engines to understand
Huge, uncompressed images that slow things down
No SSL security certificate
Your site has never been submitted to Google or Bing for indexing
If search engines cannot properly read or access your site, they will not show it to people, even if your services are a great match.
Why This Matters for Real Clients
Think about local searches like “therapist near me” or “business coach in Boston.” If your website has technical problems and never appears in those results, people will contact your competitors instead.
This is not just about traditional search anymore. With more people asking AI tools for recommendations, having a clear, technically sound website and strong SEO foundation helps those systems recognize your brand and share it.
A professional redesign with solid SEO baked in from the start is often easier and more effective than patching an old, broken site piece by piece.
Sign 8: Your Website Is Costing You Opportunities
The Hidden Losses You Do Not See
Some of the biggest costs of a weak website are invisible. For example:
Potential clients choose a competitor whose site looks more polished.
People are not sure you are still in business because your site looks abandoned.
You miss out on partnerships or collaborations because your site does not look professional enough.
You are not listed in directories or featured in articles because your site does not meet their standards.
You hold back from charging premium prices because your site does not look premium.
You may never know how many people landed on your site, took one look, and closed the tab.
Finding Your Tipping Point
Every month you wait to fix an underperforming website, you are paying an opportunity cost in lost leads, lost credibility, and lost confidence. You might not see the exact dollar amount, but it is there.
Consider this: If a redesign helped you bring in just one additional ideal client per quarter, what would that be worth to your business? In many cases, the cost of waiting is higher than the cost of the redesign itself.
The tipping point is when the cost of not redesigning your site is greater than the cost of doing it. If you feel like you are already there, that is an important signal.
Recap: Do You Need a Website Redesign?
Let’s quickly run through the eight signs again. It might be time for a redesign if:
Your website looks outdated or unprofessional.
Your site is not mobile friendly.
Your site does not reflect your current business.
You are getting traffic but not conversions.
You feel embarrassed to share your link.
You cannot update your site yourself.
Your SEO is suffering because of technical issues.
You are missing out on real, revenue-generating opportunities.
If you checked off more than three of these, your website is likely holding you back.
There really is no neutral. Your website is either working for you or against you every single day. If it is working against you, every day you wait means more lost credibility and more missed opportunities.
The good news is that a redesign is not just about fixing something broken. It is about creating something you are proud of, that shows who you are now, and that supports where you want your business to go. That can feel empowering instead of overwhelming.
If you had any lightbulb moments while reading this, write them down. Notice which sign hit home the most. And if you want more support as you think through hiring a designer, keep following the Confident Client Series, where we will be talking about how a designer can make the process calm, clear, and even simple.
Curious if I can help? Check out my services and book a discovery call!
Your website can be one of your strongest tools. When you need a website redesign and finally say yes to it, you open the door to more aligned clients, more ease, and a lot more confidence in how you show up online.
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