There are many reasons your business or organization would need a website redesign. Here’s some tips to make sure your redesign addresses.
Some of the more common reasons include:
- brand evolution
- introduction of a new product or service
- website hasn’t been updated in years
- doesn’t embrace mobile technology
- difficult to navigate
- no social media integration
Regardless of the reason for your website overhaul, there are a few things you need to keep in mind when undertaking a redesign.
Avoiding disaster
The whole idea of redesigning your website is to create a better user experience for your current audience base as well as to attract new visitors. Just because you redesign your website, it’s not guaranteed it will be better. To avoid a website redesign that’s anything less than successful, keep these points in mind.
1. What’s working?
It’s unlikely every aspect of your website is failing. Before throwing your old website completely out the door, conduct an analytics review. This will show you what elements of your website really are attracting visitors (things you may have thought were duds) and what elements you can get rid of (despite how great of an idea they seemed at the time).
2. Don’t skimp on content and photos
Looks aren’t everything. While an overall website design that’s current with the latest web trends is important, don’t overlook the content you put on your website. Photographs should be professional and written content needs to be relevant and engaging. Perhaps even more than design, content and photos speak to your company or organization’s credibility.
3. Keep it simple
A website redesign is really a time to fine tune your message. Simplify wherever you can. Most website visitors today are not looking to be bombarded with information. They want to be able to quickly and clearly figure out what it is you have to offer and what makes you better than a competitor.
4. Don’t forget about SEO
If your current website ranks well in the search engines, you don’t want to lose your rankings with a new website. To make sure you transfer your SEO rankings to the redesign: use the same naming convention as the old website and utilize 301 redirects to tell the search engines pages have permanently moved.
An organization or business can choose to redesign its website for a number of different reasons. The one thing you don’t want to have happen after investing in a new site is to find out your new design is failing to retain previous visitors or attract new ones.
To avoid these redesign pitfalls remember to:
- ask what’s working on your old website
- make an investment in content and photographs
- keep your overall design simple
- ensure SEO rankings transfer
You don’t want to waste your resources on an effort that will hurt your image. Redesign smart.
Ready to begin your website redesign? Let’s talk today!
