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What are Headless Websites and Decoupled CMS Architectures?
These days, the "headless" website architecture is quickly gaining popularity. But what makes them so popular?...
One of the first hints that you need a new website CMS is that your conversion rates are low. it might be time to re-think your conversion rate best practices and devise a new strategy.
Have you noticed that your bounce rates are increasing? Or perhaps the average visitor spends too little time on the page and doesn’t view enough of your content.
The top websites have a conversion rate of at least 11% or more – while the average page converts just over 5%. If your success rates are well below these figures, you may need an entire redesign.
Your website CMS should drive conversions and show a significant return on investment. Consider a tool that will keep your target audience’s goals in mind and show them how your brand can help them get what they need.
In other words, you need to set up the conversion opportunities correctly if you want to see increased traffic and revenue!
Over 40% of transactions are completed on a mobile device – so if your website is not compatible with smartphones, you are missing out on a huge segment of the market!
In fact, as of the first quarter of 2021, more than half of all website traffic came from mobile devices. That means there is no question that your website CMS needs to work with smartphones.
Choose a platform that allows you to not only build a mobile-optimized website but also lets you take advantage of the unique capabilities mobile browsing can offer.
Unfortunately for many businesses, Flash has become a relic from the past. Mobile devices won’t support it, search engines won’t be able to read it, and users must install a clunky plugin to make it work.
What does this mean for your website? It will significantly detract from the user experience, have low SEO rankings, and push your target audience to your competitors. According to Forbes, over 85% of shoppers are willing to pay more for a better web experience – so don’t leave money on the table!
CMS platforms that use HTML5 instead can create interactive features and animations without Flash, and they work on all smartphones and browsers.
As your business grows and expands, so will the amount of traffic on your website. If your site is struggling to keep up with the large volume of traffic and runs slow, you have outgrown your website CMS.
Studies show that 47% of website visitors expect your page to load in 2 seconds or less – and almost half of them will abandon their efforts if the time exceeds this threshold!
Try accessing your website from a mobile phone or external computer. If the experience doesn’t meet the standards above, then it is time for an upgrade. Faster processing speeds can help you manage a greater volume of traffic and ensure you can capitalize on as much of it as you can.
Eliminating crowded databases and heavy plugins will also boost load speeds. The goal is to create a webpage that can scale with your business and handle everything that comes with growing demand!
Another reason you may need a new website CMS is that your current platform is difficult to update.
Making content adjustments and delivering new blog posts or landing pages is essential to growth. Your content management system should make this process seamless and efficient, and if your experience is anything but simple it is time for an upgrade.
If you need a web developer to fix bugs or edit code, you could be wasting valuable time getting your new products in front of your customers. Instead, choose a platform that makes delivering content to support your marketing campaigns straightforward and automates as much as possible.
The more you can empower your sales and marketing teams the better since they know your customers best!
The next indicator on our list is that your SEO rankings are lacking. SEO stands for search engine optimization and refers to where on the list your site appears when someone googles your products or services.
The higher your SEO rankings, the closer to the top of the page your website will appear. Over 90% of online interactions start with a search, so you must position your site for success.
When you use a website CMS that enhances your SEO capabilities, you can ensure that your target audience connects with your brand. If your landing pages are bogged down with flash or other heavy plugins, your rankings will suffer.
Similarly, website optimization services with SEO tools look for quality content that is both recent and relevant, so you need to be able to update your site regularly with keywords.
If you are dealing with sensitive data, or accept payments on your website, your security needs to be top tier.
For example, you may require customers to log in with a username and password or give them the option to store their payment information. You are responsible for protecting their data, and the last thing your company needs is news of a data breach!
Your website CMS should have redundant safety measures in place to not only ensure that your site is not targeted but also to give your customers confidence when they do business with you.
Any successful website can integrate across devices. That means if someone is browsing on their mobile device, then transitions to a laptop, the experience should be seamless!
In other words, if they add something to their cart on their smartphone, make sure that their information is stored for future browsing sessions. Technology is constantly evolving, and your website should be able to integrate easily into whatever your customers use to shop.
Over time, your brand image will change and adapt. If your website looks old and outdated and doesn't match your new branding, it is time for a redesign.
Customers prefer aesthetically appealing websites, so avoid anything that looks like it hasn’t been updated since 2001! Choose a simple design that looks professional and clean, since cluttering your landing pages will only drive business away.
Likewise, your website CMS should allow you to have a clear colour scheme and theme that resonates with your brand image.
We touched on this idea briefly when we discussed your ability to update your landing pages and create designs, but you must customize your site as much as possible.
When you’re unable to create custom designs, layouts, and content, it is harder to connect with your ideal client.
That means you should be able to add everything from blogs and videos to interactive tools.
If any of these signs that you have outgrown your website CMS apply to you, contact us at OPIN Digital. We are here to help design a website solution that optimizes SEO, is mobile compatible and will allow you to handle large volumes of traffic and growth!
Ryan Pelicos
Marketing Coordinator
Ryan is a passionate storyteller who thrives on challenging the status quo. He is an avid researcher with a keen analytical mind able to strategize on technology, sales and marketing decisions by analyzing data and behaviours across various industries and technologies.
What are Headless Websites and Decoupled CMS Architectures?
These days, the "headless" website architecture is quickly gaining popularity. But what makes them so popular?...
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