How To

How Do You Get Started With a Website Redesign?

Maintaining a strong online presence is one of the best actions you can do for your business. These days, millions of people are using the Internet at any given moment. Consumers have a much higher chance of finding your business if you’re online, potentially turning into loyal customers.

No matter what industry you’re in, your website can make a significant difference in your brand’s success. A well-designed, easy-to-navigate website will provide numerous benefits, and a slow, disorganized website can have more negative effects than you may realize.

Below, we’ll explore why your website matters, when it might be time to redesign your website, and how you can create a website redesign strategy. For more helpful marketing insights, consider subscribing to our Revenue Weekly newsletter.

Why does a business’s website matter?

There are a few main reasons why you should invest time and resources into building a quality website:

• Perceived risk: When users navigate to a website that loads slowly, features a poor user interface (UI), and offers cluttered product lists, they’re unlikely to trust the website enough to become a customer. While it’s not always the case, many people equate questionable websites with unfavorable businesses. Ensure your website communicates that you’re a reliable and authoritative brand in your industry.
• Customer loyalty: Depending on your industry, you likely have dozens of competitors. How do you get consumers to choose you over them? It’s all about your website, which serves as a crucial first impression and can make the difference between a user choosing you or going elsewhere to make a purchase.
• Brand voice: Every business needs a recognizable brand voice, which is the specific language and imagery you use to portray your brand. Every website you create for your company should reflect your brand’s unique voice so that consumers can quickly and easily identify you online.

If your website excels in departments like UI and organization, you are sure to perform well in the categories above.

Signs it’s time to redesign your website

Between everything you manage for your business, redesigning your website could be the last thing on your mind. However, setting aside time to identify whether your website needs updating can help you reap numerous benefits, including increased customer trust and loyalty and enhanced brand recognition. Generally, completing a yearly review of your website will help you stay on top of the latest trends.

Ask yourself the following questions to help you come to your decision:

1. Does my website have high bounce rates?
2. Does my website look outdated, especially compared to competitor websites?
3. Does my website load slowly?
4. Does my website fail to meet search engine indexing standards?
5. Has my business changed significantly since my website’s last update?

If you answer yes to more than one of the above questions, you should consider undertaking a website redesign. Make sure you can allocate some of your budget to the project without impacting your business negatively. Once that’s approved, you can take steps to get started with a website redesign.

Tips for creating a website redesign strategy

Now that you’re seriously thinking about redesigning your website, you should create a strategy to ensure your new website achieves its purpose. Here are a few steps to take before you begin redesigning your website so that it’s as impactful as possible:

1. Understand your current website performance metrics

As you begin planning for your website’s redesign, you should start tracking its current key performance metrics (KPIs). This way, you can identify where your new website needs to grow. Here’s a list of some performance metrics to pay attention to before you make the transition:

• Website speed, such as load time and time to interact
• Error rate
• Total form submissions
• Bounce rate
• Most visited pages
• Conversion rate
• Top keywords
• Unique visitors

If you’re unsure how to begin tracking performance metrics, you can use a variety of tools to make the job easier.

2. Know your target audience

One specific factor to consider is who you want to use your website. Designate some time and resources to build out your ideal buyer personas, which contain information on the kinds of consumers you want to attract. Then, you’ll have key information that can help you encourage them to buy from you.

If you run a small high-end boutique, your most notable buyer persona might be women in their 20s and 30s with a median household income of at least $100,000. Make your research as specific as you want, finding out details about your consumers’ goals, jobs, and more. This information will help you create a website that meets their wants and needs.

3. Remember why you’re redesigning your website

Every website redesign project requires intent. What do you want to achieve as a result of your new website? 

Whether you want to improve website speed or increase unique visitors, you should have a few solid reasons why you’re planning to take on the endeavor. This way, each decision you make has a purpose, ultimately helping your business grow and become more successful.

This is the perfect time to review your KPIs and determine what’s lacking so that you can create a game plan.

4. Prioritize search engine optimization

A crucial point to keep in mind before and during your website’s redesign is search engine optimization (SEO). When users search for your business online, they should still be able to find your website’s content after you redesign it. Taking measures to prioritize SEO throughout the redesign process, like locating broken internal and external links and noting your highest-performing pages, will help ensure that happens.

5. Explore current website design trends

If you’re someone who doesn’t stay updated on the latest website design trends, now’s the perfect time to do a bit of digging. Conduct some research to understand what modern websites look like and what features they include — especially from brands in your industry. Elements like messaging systems and mobile design can help you build a functional, updated website.

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