Your conversation rate is stagnating. You’re struggling to generate leads. You want to personalize your website’s content, but your current technology stack is outdated. Is it time to redo the website?

A properly personalized, responsive, and accessible interface can bring a myriad of benefits to your bottom line: improved conversion rates, better engagement, and happier customers can be the direct result of your efforts. But how do you convince your CMO and leadership team to invest now?

We’ve assembled a small army of CX statistics below that support the idea that a website redesign has a direct relationship with all of the facets of your online business. Take these to your CMO and make the case that it’s time to redo your company’s website.

Usability and Design Go Hand-in-Hand

When you redesign your website, make sure to pay attention to what the customer experience is like on the other end. Oftentimes, if a site is too slow to respond or has too much information, your users will just end up leaving.

If this is one of the issues on your site, use these stats below to show just how important the user experience is to your customers:

1. First things first: 66% of users prefer to view something beautifully designed rather than simple and plain.
2. 73% of users strongly agree that content “must display well on the device.”
3. Around 46% of users will switch devices if the images on the website won’t load.
4. Over 44% of users will switch devices if the webpage takes too long to load – with 39% stopping to engage entirely.
5. If there is too much content or the content of the current page is too long, 30% will switch devices and 38% will stop engaging.
6. 46% of all website visitors pointed out that a “Lack of Message (can’t tell what a company does)” is the main reason that they would leave a website.
7. The biggest annoyance for users on websites are animated ads/ popups (63%), intrusive live chat (53%), and video or audio that plays automatically (50%), so if you have any of these, consider removing them during your redesign if you see they do not yield results.
8. Over 65% of all digital engagement happens through mobile: make sure to take the time to have a fully responsive web design in place if you don’t already.
9. Consistency is important: 64% of users responded that it is important to them that the appearance and branding of the store is consistent across physical and online touchpoints.

Content is Crucial

In 1996, Bill Gates proclaimed that “content is king” in the age of the Internet. While context is now becoming king, content is still very important. After you make the first impression with your design, you need to give your customers the information that they need.

How do you develop content that resonates with your audience? How do you deliver the information experience your customers expect? First, start by identifying where your content misses the mark. Use these stats below to understand why.

1. Of a subsection of digital marketers, 83% said that developing content that’s personalized enough is their biggest challenge.
2. Users want what’s relevant: when viewing the home page, 86% of users mentioned that they want to see all of your “Products and Services” before they see anything else
3. 94% of marketers say better content tech is key to creating content that’s personalized and engaging.  
4. When asked about “must have” content on a B2B website, respondents pointed out that sales and product information was essential: this information usually included Pricing (78%), Shipping (62%), Product Reviews (52%) and Details about Technical Support (47%).
5. 55% of all marketers admitted to trying to personalize their content to different audiences, thereby making it more engaging overall.
6. User engagement is key: 81% say increased engagement is essential to securing a good content personalization software investment and developing the kind of content that users want to see.
7. Automation is changing marketing — 7 out of 10 marketers are currently investing in marketing automation systems and content creation platforms.

Personalization is the Future

Whether it’s your blog or your online shop, making your business personal is the best way to improve your conversions and user engagement. Huge innovations have recently been made in the user targeting and personalization space with regards to website design.

If your website is falling behind in the era of personalization, it’s time to take a good look at your tech stack and invest. If you’re having trouble convincing your CMO to do that, check out the research below to make your case.

1. Currently, 62% of all businesses are undertaking some form of personalization in their marketing, and about 44% of that original group are doing so by personalizing their websites.
2. According to a recent report, around 9 out of 10 companies are seeing an uplift in conversion rates as a result of website personalization.
3. Around half of all shoppers would not object to behavior tracking if it would result in relevant offers.
4. Similarly, 57% of users will provide their personal information as long as it is for their benefit.
5. Recommendations are enticing: 59% of users believe that it is easier to find products on personalized ecommerce websites.
6. Returning customers always want more — 56% of users are more likely to return to a site that recommends products.
7. Nearly 53% of users believe that retailers who personalize the shopping experience provide a valuable service.
8. Almost half of all online shoppers said that they are more likely to shop on a site that offers personalized recommendations.
9. 77% of all internet users indicated that they would trust businesses more if they explained how they are using personal information.
10. At least 81% of online shoppers agreed that they receive more customized marketing messages than they used to 5 years ago.
11. Personalization is paying off: personalized ads have a 10X higher CTR when compared to traditional display ads.
12. 61% of online marketers understand the importance of personalizing online shopping, but about 51% of them are not sure how to implement it.
13. 59% of marketers are experiencing good ROI after personalizing their online stores.
14. There is a lot of missed opportunities with only 44% of users expect their personal information or purchasing history to be consistent across physical and online stores of the same company.
15. A majority of users (86%) pointed out that personalization has some impact on their purchases.
16. Three out of ten web users want more personalization than there already is.
17. One quarter of all internet users have explicitly said that personalization influences what they purchase

Search = Relevant Content

Last but not least, web search is a commonly-overlooked part of the web redesign process that, arguably, could have the most impact on your customers. AI-powered site search boasts a variety of benefits. It can help improve your customer’s user experience, all the while helping acquire the information that is relevant and personalized through its recommendation engine.

We’ve collected a list of tangible benefits that site search can bring if it is implemented properly during your website redesign.

1. In one study, the conversion rate for users that used site search was nearly twice as high as for those who didn’t.
2. CMSWire was able to increase their mobile conversion rate by 125% using a properly implemented site search and a recommendation engine.
3. IFT used site search in order to personalize their content for each user, increasing time-on site by up to 48%.
4. Despite these benefits, around 84% of all companies don’t actively optimize or measure their on-site search.
5. The benefits of search optimization are clear: IFT used site search in order to produce better product recommendations, which decreased cart abandonment rate by 45%.
6. ASA used site search to recommend relevant documentation to their site users, increasing site searches and engagement by 300%.
7. Using AI-powered search and intelligent search suggestions, CAIJ witnessed a 67% increase in average visit duration.
8. A redesigned search engine can drastically improve usability, leading to, in some cases, an increase in visits: CAIJ’s website saw an 18% increase in visitors along with a 33% increase in page views.
9. TSIA used improved site search as a way of boosting customer satisfaction. Since users began enjoying finding what they needed on the website, TSIA was able to boost their login activity by 63%.

Personalization, AI-powered search, and responsive design are the future of web design. If you update these central pillars of your customer’s online experience, you stand to gain better engagement, which has significant impact on your bottom line.

Now that you’ve covered the benefits of your future redesign, think about turning your attention to conversion rates next. Learn more about the importance of better conversions and how you can boost them in our recent post:

If you have any other ideas about why keeping your company’s website up-to-date is important, let us know on Twitter!