As we discussed in our post around digital marketing in the year of Coronavirus, it’s natural that many business are choosing now to pull marketing spend across the board, or quite simply don’t have the resource internally to manage a big digital project. However, for businesses with capacity, we would suggest that now is a great time to consider that website migration that’s been pushed back for years – and here’s why and how.
Why migrate?
As we’ve discussed previously, we know that having a technically sound and visually strong website will have a huge impact on website conversion rates.
A user converts when they take an action that the web page owner intended them to take – that doesn’t have to be a completed purchase necessarily, as a web page can have a number of functions, such as submitting a contact form, responding to survey questions or clicking through to the next page.
Website performance has a huge impact on the overall conversion rate of a website – this includes loading speeds, page design, page layout and the strength of the copy and imagery on the page. All of these factors should be taken into account when planning a website migration.
Why now?
One of the biggest arguments we usually hear for delaying website migrations is the risk to short term performance and therefore the impact this might have on quarterly or annual business goals. With the global pandemic, many businesses have been faced with a need to re-evaluate such goals regardless, so a migration can be factored into any revised metrics.
Secondly, now more than ever, we are seeing the need to be digitally competitive – and this is not limited to any one sector. Coronavirus has taken us well beyond the need for business infrastructure to allow for working from home, but for many businesses, has meant an at least temporary re-think of business operations and customer delivery – most of which point to the need to become digital-first and able to deliver for customers remotely.
How to make your migration a success
As I’ve written about previously, we have a tried and tested process for ensuring success during a migration – from the planning phases, through to the technical implementation itself. If you haven’t already considered a migration, now is a great time to enter the planning phase.
We recommend working through all the fundamentals of technical SEO as part of a migration, including re-directs, tags & tracking, and internal linking. In addition, we would look at all of the fundamentals associated with the new Core Web Vitals, including in particular site speed, to ensure that your technical set up is future-proofed. Finally, ensuring that visually your website is up to date, on brand and that the UX and website functionality is seamless and will drive your customers through to the desired conversion.
If you would like to discuss your next website migration and work with us to plan it in during this uncertain time, we are here to help., so get in touch.
