So You’re Thinking about a Website Redesign.

A website redesign is a big project.

But it is foundational tool for an organization’s marketing strategy. Before you begin, here are some essential factors to keep in mind.

1. Define the Goal of the Redesign

Before you start the process, take some time to clearly define the purpose of the redesign. What is the primary goal you hope to achieve with the redesign? Do you want to increase conversions, improve user experience, or modernize the design? Having a clear goal will help you make informed decisions throughout the redesign process. Your marketing partner or agency should ask you this question and keep this central as you move forward.

2. Analyze Your Current Website

After establishing a goal, evaluate your current website. Make a list of what works, what you want to keep, what needs improvement, and what you want to change.

Review your website's layout, navigation, user experience, content, and search engine optimization (SEO).

You may also want to review your logo, fonts, and colors. (If you’re considering a Brand Refresh, check out this post.) These may need some refinement or a total redesign. Changing these will also influence your website redesign.

If your site is already tracking analytics, be sure to review that data. This information can help you identify areas that need improvement, such as high bounce rates or low engagement rates.

3. Keep Your Customer in Mind

The central part of business is serving your customers. Understanding your target audience and keeping them in mind as you redesign is important.

You need to understand who your target audience is, what they want, and how they interact with your brand and the website. Conducting user research, analyzing website analytics, and collecting feedback can help you understand what your target audience cares about.

4. Content, Content, Content

Your website's content is crucial in attracting and retaining your target audience. In the planning process, develop a content strategy that aligns with your business goals and serves your target audience.

When we work with clients, we take them through exercises to help them understand their target audience and create content that guides their customers into a story.

In addition to writing website content, consider creating a content calendar, optimizing content for SEO, and using visual elements to enhance your customer’s experience on the site.

5. Designing Your Site

Now the fun begins. This is the part many people think about when starting a website redesign. The website design should reflect your brand identity and clearly communicate your messaging. When redesigning your website, consider the color scheme, typography, imagery, and overall style.

Side note

But a brand is more than the logo, colors and fonts; your brand is how your audience thinks and feels about you. This is another reason to make sure you understand how your audience perceives your organization throughout the entire process.

6. Think Mobile First

The world is run by the computers in the palm of our hands. It goes without saying that you have to make sure your website will work well on a mobile device.

Reviewing your analytics at the beginning will reveal how many people are coming to your website via desktop, mobile or tablet. Depending on your industry, more people may still access your site via desktop, but the numbers across industries are increasingly being dominated by mobile devices.

Make sure mobile navigation is easy to use and adjust images to make sure they can be seen on the different screen widths. Test on both Apple and Android devices to get a good picture of how different users will experience your site.

Another crucial element for a mobile friendly site is to make sure your site loads quickly. Which leads us to our next point.

7. Improve Website Speed

Website speed is a crucial factor in user experience and search engine optimization. Slow load times can lead to high bounce rates (a user coming to your site and leaving immediately), decreased engagement, and reduced conversions. When redesigning your website, optimize the images and graphics, use caching, and minimize HTTP requests to improve website speed.

8. Implement SEO Best Practices

Search Engine Optimization is a big topic, and your website's visibility in search engine results is vital in driving traffic to your site and reaching your goals. When redesigning your website, implement SEO best practices, such as optimizing page titles and descriptions, using internal linking, and creating quality content.

Also ensure that your website is structured correctly, with a clear sitemap hierarchy and easily navigable links.

Going through the messaging process before writing your website content will also help you identify keywords that your target audience is using for your site. These keywords should be incorporated in your site’s content to develop your search footprint so you show up in your target audience’s searches. 

9. Test, Test, and Test Again

Once the site is launched, now it’s time for the fun to begin.

Think of your website like an online salesman or customer service representative. It’s a tool that can help your business grow. Populate it with the right content and use it to attract your target audience. Then test it to make sure it is helping you achieve your goals. You can run heat map tests to see how the audience is engaging with it. Conduct user testing, monitor website analytics, and collect feedback to identify any areas that need improvement. Use the insights gained to make changes that serve your customer well.

In Conclusion…

Redesigning a website is a big project, but with a little upfront work, you can ensure that your website redesign represents your brand well, serves your customers and is ready to help you achieve your business goals.

Ready to Start a Website Redesign?

If you’re looking for a marketing partner to guide you through the website redesign, schedule a call with us. We’d love to see if we’d be a good fit and help you serve your customers better.