Fundraising? Launching? Repositioning? Here’s when to redesign your website

Your website is your brand’s first impression, sales pitch, and conversion engine—all rolled into one. Studies show web design influences 94% of first impressions, and 75% of consumers judge a company’s credibility by its website​. If it’s outdated, clunky, or failing to pull its weight, it’s time to ask yourself: is this thing working for me or against me?

Here are the key moments to look out for.

1. You’re gearing up for fundraising

If you’re trying to woo investors, your website needs to do more than exist. It needs to inspire confidence. Venture capital and angel investors do check your online presence – your site is essentially the company’s face and pitch beyond the slide deck​.

Investors aren’t just backing your idea; they’re backing you. And if your site looks like it hasn’t been touched in a decade? That’s not exactly reassuring.

A slick, modern, high-performing site helps position your brand as a serious player. Clear messaging, a strong value proposition, and a frictionless experience? That’s the kind of thing that makes investors sit up and pay attention.

The takeaway: when you’re raising money or trying to hit that next level of growth, investing in a modern, message-aligned website isn’t a vanity project – it’s part of proving your company’s credibility and momentum.

2. You’re launching something new

A big launch is your moment. The spotlight’s on. The anticipation’s building. But what if your website isn’t ready to support it?

A new product or service launch often means a wave of first-time visitors to your site. This is your moment to wow them – or risk losing them. First impressions online form in as little as 50 milliseconds, and a whopping 94% of those impressions are design-related​.

An outdated or confusing landing page can sour a potential customer on your new offering instantly. On the flip side, a well-crafted, user-centric design can significantly boost your launch’s success. Remember that 75% of users admit they judge a company’s trustworthiness based on its site design​– so a fresh, modern look helps convey that your new product is backed by a competent, credible business.

Plus, redesigning around a launch isn’t just about looks; it directly affects conversion and engagement. Optimising page layout, visuals, and calls-to-action can dramatically increase the chances that curious visitors actually sign up or buy. According to a Forrester report, improving your site’s UI can lift conversion rates by up to 200%, and better UX design can yield conversion increases up to 400%​.

In practical terms, this could make the difference between a lukewarm product debut and one that drives a surge of new customers. It also reinforces your brand: a consistent design language and smooth experience during launch will stick in users’ minds.

Maybe you need an e-commerce upgrade. Maybe your navigation needs a rethink. Maybe your entire brand story needs a refresh. Whatever it is, your website should be working just as hard as you are to make your launch a success.

3. Your brand positioning has shifted

Your business has evolved—but your website is still stuck in the past. If you’re attracting the wrong audience, sending mixed signals, or just feeling a disconnect between where you are and how you’re showing up online, it’s time to fix that.

When your company pivots, updates its branding, or targets a new market, your website must follow suit. Any disconnect between your evolved brand identity and an old website will confuse your audience and dilute brand trust. Consistency is key – in fact, maintaining a consistent brand presentation across all platforms can boost revenue by up to 23%​.

Customers expect your site to reflect who you are today, not who you were 5 years ago. If you’ve updated logos, messaging, or market positioning, a redesign ensures your online presence aligns with those changes and reinforces them to every visitor.

4. Your site feels like a relic

Let’s be real: if your website still looks like it belongs in a time capsule from 2012, visitors will notice. And they won’t stick around.

The digital world moves fast. Design trends change, user expectations evolve, and old sites get left behind. If your site is slow, cluttered, or just plain awkward to use, it’s probably scaring off potential customers before they even get to know you. In fact, it’s known that 88% of users won’t return to a site after a bad overall experience. Think high bounce rates, short session times, and declining engagement–all red flags that your design (or functionality) isn’t meeting modern standards.

A redesign means faster load times, cleaner visuals, and a site that actually works on mobile (because, let’s be honest, that’s where most people are browsing).

Above: Before vs. after of a website redesign of ISI Global by KOTA

5. It’s not delivering results

You’ve got traffic, but no conversions. Leads are slow. Engagement is low. Something’s not clicking.

Your website should be working for you, not against you. Sometimes the clearest sign you need a redesign is simply that your website isn’t delivering results. If traffic is steady but leads or sales are lagging, the site’s user experience and conversion flow could be to blame. Small design and UX issues can silently kill your conversion rates. The upside is that improving them can produce dramatic gains.

A strategic redesign isn’t just about making things look pretty—it’s about making things work. Better UX, clearer CTAs, a more intuitive site structure… these are the things that turn visitors into customers.

6. Making updates is a nightmare

Not all reasons to redesign are visible to the public. Sometimes the issue is under the hood – your team finds the website difficult to update, or you’re shackled by an old content management system that requires a developer for every little change.

This backend inefficiency can be a silent killer of marketing agility. If your marketers and content creators are saying things like “we’d love to put this on the site, but we can’t edit that page ourselves” or “it takes two weeks to get a minor update live,” you’re overdue for a backend overhaul (often accomplished alongside a front-end redesign).

A good CMS (content management system) lets your team update content effortlessly, without needing to call in a developer every five minutes. That means more agility, fresher content, and a website that actually stays up to date.

Time for a rethink?

Your website should evolve alongside your business. If any of the above sounds familiar, it’s probably time to shake things up.

A well-executed redesign doesn’t just look good—it works harder, converts better, and keeps people engaged. So, is your website helping you grow, or is it holding you back? If it’s the latter, you know what to do.