Look, I’ve sat in enough cafes around Brisbane to know that most small business owners treat their website like a gym membership. You know you need it, you pay for it every month, but you haven't actually looked at it in about two years.
Then one day, you finally pull it up on your phone while you’re waiting for a coffee in Paddington. You realise it looks like something from 2012. The photos are grainy, the text is clunky, and honestly? It’s a bit embarrassing.
Your first instinct is to call someone like us and say, “I need a new website.”
But before you go dropping ten grand on a complete overhaul, we need to have a serious chat. Sometimes you need a bulldozer. But a lot of the time, you just need a fresh coat of paint and some better plumbing.
Here’s how we figure out which one is going to actually make you money.
The "Lick of Paint" (The Refresh)
A website refresh is like a quick renovation. You aren't moving the walls or digging up the slab. You’re just updating the look and feel so people don't think you’ve gone out of business.
Usually, this means: - Swapping out old, crappy photos for high-quality shots. - Changing the fonts and colours to look modern. - Updating your services and pricing. - Making sure the buttons actually work.
If your website is already easy to use and it shows up on Google, but it just looks a bit dated, a refresh is your best bet. It’s faster, it’s cheaper, and it doesn't mess with what’s already working.
I’ve seen plenty of businesses think they need to start from scratch when all they really needed was better words and some decent photos. If people are already calling you from the site, don't break the machine. Just polish it.
The "Bulldozer" (The Redesign)
Then there’s the redesign. This is when we scrap everything and start from zero.
We do this when the foundation is rotten. Maybe your site was built on some weird platform nobody uses anymore. Maybe it’s so slow that people leave before the page loads. Or maybe, even if people do find you, they can't figure out how to actually book a quote or buy something.
If your website is actively driving customers away, you shouldn't be trying to fix it. You should be replacing it.
How to tell if your site is actually broken
I’ve had blokes come to me saying their website is "fine" because it looks okay on their laptop. Then I open it on my phone and the menu covers the whole screen, or the "Call Now" button is so small you’d need a toothpick to hit it.
That’s not a design problem. That’s a money-losing problem.
If your site isn't getting you enquiries, you need to look at why. Is it because nobody is visiting? Or is it because they visit and then immediately leave? If it’s the latter, you’ve usually got a slow website costing you customers. People have zero patience these days. If that spinning circle lasts more than three seconds, they’re gone to your competitor.
"I see businesses spend thousands on fancy animations and video backgrounds, but then their site takes six seconds to load on a mobile—you’re basically paying to annoy your customers."
— Michael Torres, PPC Specialist
Michael’s right. We see it all the time. A business owner wants a "wow factor," but the only thing the customer wants is to find your phone number and see if you’re open on Saturdays.
The hidden cost of doing nothing
I get it. A new website feels like a big expense. But you have to look at the "invisible" cost of a bad site.
If you’re a tradie and your website looks dodgy, people assume your work is dodgy. If you’re a professional service and your site is hard to navigate, people assume you’ll be hard to work with.
I’ve seen clients who were spending $2,000 a month on Google Ads, sending all that traffic to a website that looked like a high school project. They thought their ads weren't working. The ads were fine—the website was just a bucket with a massive hole in the bottom.
Once we fixed the site and made sure visitors turn into customers, their cost per lead dropped by half. They didn't need more ads; they needed a site that actually worked.
When should you just refresh?
Go for a refresh if: 1. Your site is already fast. If it loads instantly, you’ve already won half the battle. 2. Your "bones" are good. If you’re on a modern system like WordPress and it’s easy to update, keep it. 3. You’re on a tight budget. A refresh can get you 80% of the results for 20% of the cost of a full build. 4. Your rankings are good. If you’re already on page one of Google, be very careful about a full redesign. You don't want to accidentally tell Google you’re a brand new business and lose your spot.
When is it time to pull the trigger on a redesign?
Build a new one if: 1. It’s not mobile-friendly. If people have to "pinch and zoom" to read your text, bin it. It’s 2024. 2. It’s painfully slow. If you can’t fix the speed because the backend is a mess, start over. 3. Your business has changed. If you used to do residential plumbing but now you only do commercial, a facelift won't fix the fact that your site is talking to the wrong people. 4. It’s built on a "dead" platform. If the person who built your site is the only person on earth who knows how to change a photo, get out of there. You need a site you actually own and control.
What should you do first?
Don't just take my word for it. Pull out your phone right now. Search for your business.
Try to find your service. Try to find your contact form. If it takes more than two clicks, or if you find yourself getting frustrated, your customers are feeling it ten times worse.
Most of the time, we tell people to start small. Fix the speed. Fix the main photos. Rewrite the headlines so they actually tell people what you do.
If that doesn't move the needle, then we talk about the bulldozer. But there’s no point paying for a brand new engine if you just needed to put some air in the tyres.
My honest take
Marketing agencies love selling big, expensive redesigns. It’s more money for them. But at Local Marketing Group, we’d rather see you spend that money on things that actually bring in leads.
If your site is "good enough" to convert visitors, keep it and spend your budget on getting more people to see it. If your site is a disaster, no amount of marketing will save you.
If you aren't sure which category you fall into, give us a yell. We’ll take a look and tell you straight—no jargon, no rubbish, just what’s going to make your phone ring.
Ready to stop wasting money on a site that doesn't work? Let’s have a chat.