Is Your Website Costing You Customers? Signs It's Time for a Redesign

Here's an uncomfortable truth for a lot of business owners in Evansville and the tri-state area: your website might be your biggest liability.

You've invested in your business. You deliver great products or services. Your customers love you. But when a potential customer finds you online — and they will — your website is the first thing they judge you by. And that judgment happens fast. Research shows that users form an opinion about a website in about 50 milliseconds. That's 0.05 seconds.

If your website looks outdated, loads slowly, or doesn't work well on a phone, potential customers aren't going to stick around to learn how great your business really is. They're going to hit the back button and call your competitor instead.

So how do you know if your website is helping your business or hurting it? Here are the telltale signs it's time for a redesign.

1. Your Website Isn't Mobile-Friendly

This is the big one. Over 60% of all web traffic now comes from mobile devices. If your website doesn't look and function great on a smartphone, you're alienating the majority of your visitors.

A mobile-friendly website isn't just about shrinking your desktop site to fit a smaller screen. It means:

• Text is readable without zooming
• Buttons and links are easy to tap with a finger
• Pages load quickly on cellular connections
• Navigation is simple and intuitive on a small screen
• Forms are easy to fill out on mobile

Google also uses mobile-first indexing, which means it primarily uses the mobile version of your site for ranking purposes. A site that performs poorly on mobile will rank poorly in search results — costing you visibility with customers in Evansville, Henderson, and across the tri-state area.

2. It Takes More Than 3 Seconds to Load

Page speed matters. A lot. Google's own data shows that as page load time increases from 1 second to 3 seconds, the probability of a visitor bouncing increases by 32%. Go from 1 to 5 seconds, and that number jumps to 90%.

Slow websites frustrate users and send a signal — whether fair or not — that your business isn't professional or up to date. Common culprits include oversized images, outdated code, cheap hosting, and bloated plugins.

You can test your site's speed for free with Google's PageSpeed Insights tool. If your score is below 50 on mobile, you've got a problem worth addressing.

3. Your Design Looks Like It's From Another Era

Web design trends evolve, and users notice. A website that looked modern in 2018 often looks dated in 2026. Visual cues like stock photos with watermarks, cluttered layouts, tiny text, Flash elements (yes, some sites still have them), or a color scheme that screams "early internet" all erode trust.

You don't need a trendy, cutting-edge design. But you do need a site that looks clean, professional, and current. Visitors should feel confident that your business is active, legitimate, and worth their time.

Think of your website like your physical storefront. If a customer walked past a business with a faded sign, cracked windows, and outdated decor, they'd keep walking. Your website creates that same first impression online.

4. You're Not Getting Leads or Calls From Your Website

Your website should be one of your best salespeople. If it's not generating inquiries, phone calls, form submissions, or whatever conversion matters to your business, something is wrong.

Common issues include:

• No clear call to action. Every page should guide the visitor toward a specific next step — call now, request a quote, book an appointment, etc.
• Contact information is hard to find. Your phone number and contact form should be immediately accessible, not buried three clicks deep.
• No trust signals. Testimonials, reviews, certifications, and photos of real work all help visitors trust you enough to reach out.
• Confusing navigation. If visitors can't quickly find what they're looking for, they leave. Your site structure should be simple and intuitive.

For local businesses in the tri-state area, your website often serves as the final step before a customer decides to contact you. If that experience is frustrating or unconvincing, you're losing business you've already earned through other marketing efforts.

5. You Can't Update It Yourself

If making a simple change to your website — updating your hours, adding a new service, posting a photo — requires calling a developer and waiting days (or weeks), your website is holding you back.

A modern website built on a solid content management system lets you make basic updates quickly and easily. You shouldn't need technical expertise to keep your site current. And keeping your site current matters for both customer experience and SEO.

Businesses that can update their sites regularly tend to rank better, look more professional, and convert more visitors into customers.

6. It's Not Secure

If your website doesn't have an SSL certificate (look for "https" and the padlock icon in the browser bar), you have a serious problem. Google Chrome actively warns users when a site isn't secure, and many visitors will leave immediately when they see that warning.

Beyond the trust factor, Google uses HTTPS as a ranking signal. An insecure site will rank lower than a secure one, all else being equal.

SSL certificates are standard on modern websites. If yours doesn't have one, it's a clear sign your site needs an update.

7. Your Competitors' Websites Look Better

This one stings, but it's worth an honest assessment. Search for your main services in your area — "Evansville landscaping," "tri-state area HVAC," whatever applies — and look at the websites of the businesses that show up. How does yours compare?

If your competitors have clean, modern, fast-loading websites with clear calls to action and strong content, and yours doesn't, you're losing the comparison. Customers are making side-by-side judgments whether you like it or not.

What a Modern Website Does for Your Business

A well-designed, professionally built website isn't just a digital brochure. It's a business tool that works for you 24/7. Here's what you gain with a modern redesign:

• Higher search rankings thanks to clean code, fast load times, mobile optimization, and proper SEO structure
• More leads and conversions through strategic design, clear calls to action, and trust-building elements
• A stronger brand impression that positions your business as professional, established, and trustworthy
• Better customer experience that makes it easy for visitors to find information and take action
• Easy updates so your site stays fresh and relevant without constant developer involvement

For businesses in Evansville and the tri-state area, a great website is often the competitive edge that sets you apart in a crowded local market.

The Cost of Doing Nothing

It's tempting to put off a website redesign. It feels like a big project, and your current site "works." But every day your outdated website is live, it's quietly turning away potential customers. They're finding you on Google, visiting your site, and choosing someone else because the experience didn't meet their expectations.

The cost of a redesign is an investment. The cost of doing nothing is ongoing lost revenue.

Let's Build a Website That Works as Hard as You Do

At Riverbend Growth, we design and build websites for businesses across Evansville, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. Our sites are fast, mobile-friendly, SEO-optimized, and built to convert visitors into customers. We understand the local market because we're part of it.

Whether you need a complete redesign or a strategic refresh, we'll create a website that makes a strong first impression and drives real results for your business.

Contact Riverbend Growth today for a free website assessment. We'll take a look at your current site and show you exactly where the opportunities are.