Your website shows the world who you are. But in our ever changing world, where trends pass quickly and search engines update even more frequently, it is important to be able to adapt as needed.
When you visit a website that hasn’t been updated in years, it is evident. Do not let your first impression break your chance at attracting a potential customer.
A clean, professional website redesign shows that you are ready for and serious about business.
Why Might You Want a Website Redesign?
To Rebrand
When it comes time to freshen up your branding, a website redesign will be the cherry on top of your new look. As your company evolves, you want your website to reflect those changes. Keep logos, color palettes, and services up to date, and align your brand’s voice with your other online platforms.
To Optimize
If your business has been in the game a while, then you know it can be difficult to keep up with the changing algorithms around the Internet. Search engines constantly update their services to better serve users, and it is essential to remain on top of those changes, so you can adjust your website strategy accordingly.
Implementing basic search engine optimization practices across your website can improve its performance in search rankings and connect you with potential clients. With this focus during
the redesign, you can create an excellent user experience for your website visitors that holds their attention and answers their questions.
To Update
Are you using outdated plug-ins? Do your photos accurately represent your business?
As you redesign, take note of the parts of your current website that:
- Do Not Work (Links, Buttons, Etc.)
- Include Old, Irrelevant Content
- Take Too Long to Load
To Refocus Online Marketing Efforts
When you are building up your online presence and changing your online strategy, you always want all roads to lead to your website. Positioning your business in a new light to your customers should be a cohesive change across all your social profiles in addition to your website.
A Look Into Our Website Redesign Process
Assess Current Metrics & Effectiveness
You need to identify your starting point. A successful website redesign will show improvement across your metrics, but you need to stay consistent in the metrics you are following from pre-redesign to post-redesign. Discuss with your marketing team your specific goals for your redesign, and see what metrics will help you best measure your goals. Top ones to measure include:
- Site visitors
- Duration of session
- Pages ranking for keywords
- Keywords you rank for
- Devices Used
- Top Sources of Traffic
Strengths and Weaknesses
The SWOT analysis is a valuable tool to find areas of your website that need attention and those that should be well-preserved through the redesign. Audit your website for its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
What is unique to us that our competitors do not have?
Are customers sharing negative feedback in any areas?
Are there new audiences we can target?
How are trends affecting our industry?
These are a few questions that can start your SWOT analysis off on the right path.
Check on Competitors to Stay on Industry Standards
If you do not know where to start analyzing your website, look at how your competitors are positioning themselves. Figure out their audiences and keywords they are targeting. Look for places your competitors are advertising and services they are offering.
Identify Redesign Goals – see above, look for weaknesses, ask for feedback
You will most likely be redesigning your website every few years for a variety of reasons, so you will want to see what works over time and what does not.
Reduce Loading Time
Speed is the name of the game. Keep in mind that site speed will be a HUGE factor in how long a visitor stays on your website. More than a handful of seconds of a page to load, and they are out to find a new source for their search request. So monitor the areas in which your website lags, and start there.
Direct users to specific content, new products, etc.
Where are you leading your customers when they visit your website? Point them in the direction to buy your products, sign up for your services, join newsletters, fill out contact forms, and engage with your business through your website. It is not enough to just lead them to a page–prompt them to take action.
Make more mobile-friendly
People search from their mobile phones rather than from desktops and other devices. Check that your website is accommodating mobile visitors.
Your website’s mobile design will not always translate as you hope from the desktop design you laid out. Comb through every web page in every view to inspect for things like unaligned text and missing pictures.
Focus Content
Your content needs to serve a purpose on each webpage. Try not to duplicate content across pages. As you work out where it best makes sense to include certain topics, look for ways to link to other pages and move your visitor through your website through all the important information.
Put Your Customer/Website Visitor at the Forefront of Your Decisions
You know what makes your business great, but the challenge is getting your website visitor to see that–in the first few seconds they land on your website. Put yourself in their shoes.
Why did they come to my website?
- Maybe they searched for the products you offer in their area, and you happened to be in the top few search results. They want to know your prices and the products you have available. Give them what they are looking for, and make sure the information is easily digestible.
- Maybe they came to compare your service to a competitor’s. Present examples of your work or link out to your team’s portfolio pages. Any proof or reviews of excellent service will help them make up their mind.
- Maybe they are a current customer looking to connect with your service team. Contact information should be up front and easy to locate.
Protect Well-Performing Content
As you check the metrics on web pages on your old site, identify your pages that are already doing well. Whether it is the page where your customers can purchase your goods or one where you share resources, these pages are pulling you in valuable traffic. Protect them through your website redesign and set up redirects if you plan to move them.
Develop Roadmap
Now, after analyzing the current state of your website, brainstorming ideas, and setting goals, it is finally time to start laying out the new roadmap. This won’t include a clear-cut direction right away. Create multiple drafts, and talk with your team to work through the details.
Create, Test & Review Drafts
As the drafts on paper become physical products, you will need to test and review and test some more before releasing your new website to the public. Introduce your draft to new sets of eyes, so they can point out issues you may not notice.
Identify Metrics to Follow & Implement Analytic Tracking Programs
Step 1: Refer back to your benchmark metrics. Follow the same metrics to track progress across your website redesign. It will help to choose an analytics tool to monitor your site traffic from the time of its redesign. These programs allow you to customize your dashboard to display your goal metrics. Compare tools to see which one is right for you.
Launch Your New Website
This is the part where you sit back and enjoy…and monitor how well your new website performs.
Announce the launch on your social media to invite your current customers to see the new look. Constructing a website campaign to support the launch will bring in new visitors and set you off with a strong start.
Are You Looking to Redesign Your Business’ Website?
If you are not prepared to take on a website redesign on your own, connect with Na’Toria Marketing & Design Services for support. Together, we can develop a robust website layout and strategy to bring you more traffic and convert leads. Our team of experts works with your business’ success in mind.
We take pride in helping our community grow and providing local entrepreneurs with tools to achieve their goals. Contact us today to get started on your new website.
