Things To Consider When Redesigning a Website

Things To Consider When Redesigning a Website

Have you ever tried to cover a wolf in sheep’s clothing? Developing a website can be fun and overwhelming because you have too many options to discover and daunting again because you have too many options to find; one can easily get allured by all the bells and whistles and end up being nowhere. That’s why they say, “Options are notoriously fickle beasts, and there are no escaping trends”. 

So, if you are venturing into your first website redesign project, just make sure you don’t face long-lasting ramifications due to pure negligence of the concept. Fret not, the following posts focus on some core aspects to remember while redesigning your company’s website. Hiring professionals might seem costly, but trust me, it is worth the risk.  Apart from that, the following post can offer specific pointers, which I am sure no professional has time to explain. So grab yourself a cup of hot coffee and read away! 

Surviving in the digital age can be exciting and tiresome, again exciting because every day you have to face new challenges, and it is daunting because this is a never-ending process; you just have to keep at it every single day. Not to mention, your website is the face of your business, so you better come up with a kick-ass first impression. First and foremost, let us understand what website redesign is and why you need to conduct it in the first place. 

What is Website Redesign? 

As the name implies, a website redesign is a procedure for redesigning a website just to make it more visually appealing, user-friendly, and well-optimised for search engines. Website redesign includes making relevant changes to the existing website’s design, layout, and content to make it more appealing to end users. Also, it may quite interest you to know that redesign can even enhance functionality.

In other words, a redesign can improve performance and increase your visibility on the search engine result page. So, I guess there is nothing wrong with creating a well-designed website that has the potential to drive more sales for your business.    

A website is much more like your home; you are investing ample time and money to create a comfortable space for yourself and your valued guests. And much like maintaining a house, where you have to fix things and rearrange them when needed, a website also needs maintenance. And if you don’t do it, everything will be doomed. Your visitors would no longer like to come, which would eventually hamper your sales and the brand's reputation. 

The next question is when one is supposed to redesign a website.

Top Reasons Your Website Needs a Redesign

1. The site looks outdated.

Every online business fears becoming outdated or forgotten in today's fast-paced world. And because nothing ever stays too long, keeping up with the ever-changing needs and trends is challenging. It might seem okay for the initial days, but the problem arises when the issue gets exacerbated and no one pays attention to the website. The reason could be anything not alluring enough, lack of knowledge, negligence, and whatnot! 

Here are sure common yet crucial signs to watch out for: 

• The bounce rate of the homepage is more than 95%
• The website hasn’t been revamped for two years 
• The site doesn’t look apt for the web 
• If it’s not mobile-responsive

So what to do? Simply revise the website. Seek assistance from a reputable web development company with enough potential to resolve the situation. 

2. Visitors are finding it more difficult to stay.

Another core reason to redesign your company’s website is that visitors have difficulty staying in your space longer. Old and unmaintained sites have always been a significant problem or turn-off for their valued customers. However, having an attractive website that is extremely tricky to use is also a considerable problem. The copy isn't easy to read if the navigation is cluttered or convoluted. Signs to look out for: 

• The average on-page time is extremely short.
• Daily traffic is okay, but unfortunately, no leads or conversions exist.
• Google Analytics’s User Flow and Behavior Flow reveal users don’t follow the journey and leave the site in no time. 

Try using heatmaps or record sessions to see what activities are happening. Once the problem is found, necessary measures can be taken. 

3. When the business is Pivoting

If so, this is common. Business pivoting mainly happens because its niche is no longer relevant, or users must have found a better segment to consider. Business pivoting is often said when the logo and branding are no longer in sync with the company’s mission and vision or the website’s images are inaccurate. 

So, what needs to be done here? Consider rebranding, be it the logo, palette, typography, website design, etc. 

4. When a business is launching new products and services

Another reason for redesigning your website is when you are about to launch a new product or service. However, you must wonder if it isn't evident for businesses to develop new offerings, products, or services. It is, but sometimes, redesigning a website while offering these products can be fruitful. Here, slowed conversion rates are the ultimate sign to redesign or provide more. 

5. When there is no meaningful traffic found

The following crucial reason for redesigning a website is when no meaningful traffic or activity is done. People or your visitors may find you but, in the end, aren’t converting or don’t pay any heed to it. Unfortunately, many of you think that the problem isn’t website design, but it could be SEO, which isn’t the case. 

• Is there any steady stream of traffic going on
• Do you find leads and sales non-existent
• Google search console shows website rankings well
• People find things irrelevant and leave  

In other words, you can say that the website is attracting the wrong people technically because the metadata is misleading. So, ensure that your website redesigning is not just about fixing SEO metadata but also navigation, sitemaps, and every aspect that might confuse Google or your end users. 

Of course, this is not it; there are several other reasons, such as When there are lots and lots of errors and bugs, When the site is not mobile-responsive, When your website needs to be refreshed, When the competitor is exceeding, Switch up the look of the site and so on. 

No matter the reason, a website redesign can fix what’s wrong with the website, such as why it is not performing well or stagnating. It's time to level up and reinvigorate. 

Web design can positively impact conversational rates and sales. Now, I want to mention certain benefits of redesigning. 

Yes, a website redesign is a great way to give a fresh start to your online presence. At the same time, you can offer a better user experience. Redesigning a website includes many things, from more improvised navigation to impressive visuals. You need to develop different ways to make the website more appealing and stand out from the competition by creating an impactful brand image.  

Below, I would like to mention how redesigning your company’s website is beneficial. 

Benefits of Redesigning a Website

#1 Enhanced brand

The first and foremost benefit of any website redesigning is an enhanced brand. Have you come across a term called cohesive brand identity? An identity that builds trust and connection is a must these days. When you opt for a website redesign procedure, a constant brand presence is created, which has a solid impact on your end users. Redesigning procedures include many things, from altering colours to visuals and fonts, which can significantly impact the website's overall appearance. 

Also, when you try revising the brand image with a better appeal, you won’t just attract potential customers but also reduce the bounce rate significantly. 

#2 Enhanced user experience

Redesigning a website means creating a win-win situation for both parties, not just the business. Visitors come to your site for a purpose, and if they cannot fulfil that purpose, they are bound elsewhere and lose sales significantly. 

Enhanced user experience means visitors won’t just stay longer but have a proper call to action. Moreover, your sales funnels will surely exceed expectations. Focus on specific aspects such as signposting key content, creating intuitive navigational structures, and checking where customers drop off. See if the forms are overly complicated or if checkout processes require too many clicks.  

#3 Improved flexibility

The next benefit of redesigning an existing website is improved flexibility. A new and improved website can give you more control over success. Consider incorporating the latest trends and technologies that can assist you in getting to the peak of your business and becoming favourable for the end users. 

#4 Increases Sales and Conversions

Another benefit of redesigning a website is increased sales and conversions. Yes, revamping your website creates a crucial opportunity to review and enhance sales funnels like never before. Here, you can add new products and services as a sales booster. 

#5 Enhancing Visibility

The next benefit is enhancing visibility. When you come up with something new, even Google is interested and offers you a fair chance to improve the website’s visibility on the search engine results page. So what can be done? Besides redesigning, try integrating some of the most up-to-date SEO best practices to give a heads-up in elevating the site’s visibility. And, of course, more and more visitors will be attracted quickly. Wondering how?

• Conduct intense keyword research.
• Incorporate them in titles, headings, body copy, meta description, URLs
• Link blog posts to related posts
• Can bots understand the relevance of the content on your site
• Address broken links 

So when does one need to redesign the website? Generally speaking, redesigning or revamping your website should be done every 2-3 years. You see, consumer demands keep changing, and your brand needs to go through some crucial updates regularly, or procrastination will lead you nowhere.   

And now comes the big question: what are certain things to remember while redesigning a website?

A Step-By-Step Guide to Redesign a Website

Step 1 – Checkout the current performance metrics

The first and foremost step to consider while redesigning a website is to document all the current metrics so that you can easily conclude success in the future. Additionally, by doing so, you will get an accurate idea of where your current website stands and what metrics must be used to redesign it. You see, many non-techie businesses need help figuring out where to start. So this can be a good beginning. So what are you supposed to do?

• Keep a record of the number of visitors, including the unique ones
• Keep a tab on the bounce rate
• How much time is spent by visitors on site
• Top-performing keywords in the present situation 
• How are the traffic and lead generation going right now?
• Have you counted the number of inbound linking domains?
• Any new leads and form submissions
• What are the total sales generated?
• How many pages are indexed? 
• Total pages that have received traffic? 

To get accurate results, try using Google Analytics or Hubspot’s marketing analytics, which have a proven track record for better tracking and visibility of the website’s performance. Here, one should never forget to avoid comparing apples to oranges.

Step 2 – Have you developed website redesign goals yet?

Once you have determined the current metrics, it's time to choose the website redesign goals. I want to figure out the reason. Why do you want to redesign the website in the first place? If the answer is something like; well, since it's been a while or my competitor has begun redesigning, stop it immediately. Such baseless reasons are not enough to redesign a website.

Overall, website redesign involves lots and lots of investments regarding time and space, so one shouldn’t take it lightly. Ensure you come up with a solid reason to do it. Many of you who are designing a website often get so involved in the looks that you forget to focus on its functioning.

Redesigning includes both looks and functioning. So why are you conducting a website design project? It is essential, and once you have figured that out, you can define measurable outcomes or possibilities. Here, I would like to mention some data-driven objectives that can assist you well in redesigning your project. 

• Increase in the number of visitors and visits 
• To reduce the bounce rate
• To increase time on site
• To enhance domain authority
• To increase new leads and form submissions
• To increase total sales generated 
•  To enhance SEO rankings

Many of these goals are dependent on one another. For instance, if you want to generate more conversions, you will ultimately find an increase in traffic, and at the same time, the bounce rate automatically decreases. Here, you can use old metrics to inspire new goals. 

Step 3 – Are you clear about branding and messaging

If you are redesigning or crafting a new website design, just be precise about branding, messaging, and unique value proposition. Now, any person visiting your site for the first time must understand what you are doing, how you will benefit from it, and, most importantly, why they should stay on your site longer and not flee to your competitors.  

For further reference, you can check out renowned sites, such as Hubspot. If you check Hubspot’s homepage, I am sure you will find out precisely what the company aims for, what it offers its customers, and what visitors need to do. Learn from these popular websites, be clear and concise with what you want to convey, and do not incorporate more and more industry jargon. Unfortunately, this may sound like a robot is talking instead of a human. 

HubSpot helps companies across multiple global markets reduce churn by backfilling the sales pipeline with highly qualified traffic that generates leads that convert into customers with high lifetime value. We achieve this by providing cutting-edge software that integrates all marketing channels for a synergistic view of the data that determines and prioritises high-value marketing activities.

Step 4 – Understand the Buyer’s Persona

The next step is understanding what your buyer is willing to do. Of course, a website is the face of your business, but it shouldn’t be all about you. When visitors land at your space, they hope to find what they want and how your business can help them solve the purpose. 

So redesigning a website and boosting all about you is a big No-No! Try conversing with your visitors in their language, create a buyer persona, and then conceptualise the redesign of the website. Let's say, for example, you are redesigning a hotel website; imagine who most of your guests will be: businesspersons, couples, family stays, corporate events, business trips, etc.   

Now, you know how to shape your website’s redesign strategy. If you are still confused, try hiring a professional web development company that can assist you well in designing according to your buyer’s persona.   

Step 5 – Look out for the competitors. 

The next step is crucial. Yes, it's about keeping tabs on your competitors as well. There is a thin line between keeping tabs on your competitors and obsessing over them. Knowing them can be helpful, but you also know what changes you need to make to your site. 

Go through the competitors' websites and then take notes of what you like and what you don’t prefer. Conducting a fair and accurate competitive analysis is pretty essential. After all, these pointers will help you design a website quite different from your competitors.   

Step 6 – Choosing the right Tech Partner

The next step may seem obvious, but some businesses tend to save money by hiring tech partners proficient in front-end technologies like Vuejs, who offer less pricey services. Well, I am not saying all those who offer lower prices are inexperienced, but yes, before hiring one, you must be thoroughly sure of whom you are choosing. One wrong move can lead to severe losses. So, choose the right tech partner who isn’t just knowledgeable and has ample experience in redesigning a company’s website, especially in your niche.     

Step 7 – Do not update everything at once

Lastly, relaunching a website is a pretty big task and more like a never-ending procedure. Unfortunately, startups make the mistake of changing too much at once. Redesigning doesn’t mean you must do it all; a few required changes can work wonders. Also, when you try updating all at once, what might happen is you won’t be able to figure out what worked for you and what did not! So give it some time, and then keep tweaking and updating. 

Conclusion

When done correctly, website redesigning can be proven an excellent journey and beneficial for your business in the long run. Just make sure you don’t ignore user experience, do not set clear goals, do not mobile-optimise the site, plan abruptly, and, most importantly, rush into the launch just because your competitor did. 

So that’s all for now? Do you think you stand a better chance now? I hope you found the post helpful; if so, do not forget to share it with your peers and help us spread more information across the globe. The best redesigning projects are challenging to conduct, but they are doable—so good luck. Let us know your website redesign journey in the comment section below.