Why opt for Website Redesign: Tips and Recommendations to Consider
In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, where websites play a pivotal role in business success, it’s imperative to acknowledge the importance of website redesigning. Rather than persisting with underperforming websites, it’s prudent to consider redesigning them to align with business objectives.
In some cases, the decision to revamp a website is motivated by the need to remain competitive in the market. The primary goal is to attract more traffic and consequently increase conversions. However, before committing to a redesign, it’s essential to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of your existing website. Assessing key criteria such as user experience, functionality, and overall performance is crucial to inform your decision-making process. Some of the checkpoints include:
- Does your website reflect the expected business identity?
- Do you have proper linking to every page to achieve continuous conversion flow?
- Can users communicate with you with a call to action on every page?
- Does website design fail to impress target audiences?
- Does the navigation of the website is hard and has poor UX?
- Is the UI inconsistent for common users?
- Does your website have a bad eCommerce interface and old add-to-cart facilities?
- Above all, the load speed and page speed are slower and the website is not optimized for SEO.
If your existing website is facing these major challenges, you should think of redesigning the website. Once you have decided on the redesigning, what’s next? The blog post digs deeper into this topic and offers a blueprint to initiate a website redesign project.
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Risks Involved In Website Redesign
Instead of hastily jumping into a redesign at the first sign of underperformance, it’s essential to go for a planned approach to guarantee the new website’s optimal performance. It is observed that new businesses start by developing a basic website using website builders like Wix, Weebly, or Squarespace. These tools simplify the process of designing a website using easy, drag-and-drop WYSIWYG (“what you see is what you get”) editors and free hosting, but these tools are rarely sophisticated enough to make websites stand out from the crowd.
During the early stages of a new business, when funds are scarce, it makes sense to use a website builder. The “hosting included no code required” approach helps businesses establish an online presence without spending too much time and money. However, this comes with a bunch of hidden hazards—hazards that tend to reveal themselves at the worst opportunity (e.g., when the website needs to expand its offering).
Also, some of the WordPress websites are built with basic functionality which needs expansion as the business grows. If you have a plan to redesign then you must be aware of the following risks before moving further;
SEO Optimization Is A Must
Failure to prioritize search engine optimization (SEO) can result in decreased visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs), leading to lower website traffic and conversions. It’s crucial to integrate SEO best practices into the redesign process to ensure that the website ranks well and attracts organic traffic.
Mobile Responsiveness Is the First Design Priority
In today’s mobile-centric world, a website must be optimized for mobile devices to provide a seamless user experience. Neglecting mobile responsiveness can lead to poor user engagement and a high bounce rate. It’s essential to design the website with a mobile-first approach, ensuring that it looks and functions well on all screen sizes.
Overlooking User Experience (UX) Considerations
User experience plays a significant role in determining the success of a website. Ignoring UX considerations can result in a confusing navigation structure, slow loading times, and other usability issues that frustrate visitors. Prioritizing UX design ensures that the website is intuitive, easy to navigate, and provides a positive experience for users.
Mishandling Content Migration
Content migration involves transferring content from the old website to the redesigned one. Mishandling this process can lead to content loss, broken links, and inconsistencies in formatting. It’s essential to conduct a thorough content audit, set up proper redirects, and test the migrated content to ensure a smooth transition.
Launching Without Thorough Testing
Launching a redesigned website without comprehensive testing can lead to various issues, including broken links, missing functionality, and compatibility issues. Thorough testing helps identify and address any bugs or errors before the website goes live, ensuring a smooth and successful launch.
Intuitive design is how we give the user new superpowers. Jared SpoolUser Interface Engineering (UIE)
Tips to Consider for Website Redesign
Regardless of whether you’re improving an existing brand or creating a new one from scratch, here’s what you need to consider:
- Does the color scheme represent the brand well?
- Have you used real images and optimized text?
- Does the overall visual aesthetic satisfy users?
- Is the FAQ copy helpful?
- Have you created a site map to navigate a website?
- Does the website content match the SEO needs?
- Have you added the required functionality such as call-to-action buttons, feedback forms, and contact us forms?
And more importantly, is there any user/customer research that you can use to build the foundation of your website redesign? If not, then this is your first task. Once you come up with a new design don’t forget to check the following:
Extending Functionality
During a website redesign, consider future functionality to accommodate business growth. Businesses expanding their offerings may need new features to enhance user experience, while smaller enterprises might require elements like blogs or online stores. A redesign goes beyond surface changes, addressing underlying issues and optimizing user experience.
Redesigning with Data
User research is paramount in both branding and UX. Utilize website analytics tools like Google Analytics to identify areas needing improvement or missing features. These tools offer extensive data on user behavior, conversions, demographics, and more. By analyzing this data, you can assess the success of your redesign and pinpoint areas for UX enhancement. If clients are unsure of what’s lacking, website analytics can provide insights and guide collaborative redesign efforts. Ensure clients have access to analytics to measure performance post-redesign.
Blog Redesign
Blogs are vital marketing assets, offering brands opportunities for brand-boosting and engagement. However, poor UX can deter users, leading to high bounce rates. Designers must focus on improving readability, reducing distractions, and strategically placing CTAs. Website analytics should drive content UX improvements, identifying user behavior patterns and areas for enhancement. Empower clients to manage their analytics for future optimization.
eCommerce Redesign
eCommerce UX requires meticulous attention to detail, particularly in the checkout process. Data-driven design is crucial for identifying and addressing areas of cart abandonment. Factors like trust, security, checkout form usability, and mobile optimization significantly impact user experience. Prioritize user needs and business challenges to inform effective redesign strategies.
Responsive Design and Usability
Responsive design is essential for catering to mobile users and improving overall usability. Prioritize tap target size, accessibility, page loading speed, and mobile simplicity to enhance user experience. Optimize mobile usability to align with user expectations and improve recommendations and search engine rankings.
Outdated Copyright Notices and Broken Links
Maintain website credibility by addressing outdated copyright notices, broken links, and spelling errors. These issues signal neglect or lack of care and can impact user trust. Regularly update copyright notices and fix broken links to convey an active and reliable web presence.
Technical Requirements
Ensure technical features like SSL security and code optimizations are in place to enhance website security and performance. Address front-end and back-end improvements to boost site speed and streamline user interactions. Prioritize technical requirements to create a secure and efficient web environment.
Final Outcomes
Design is more than just a list of skills; it’s about solving problems and improving clients’ experience. It is important to understand the purpose of redesign and to understand how a website redesign will address the specific client’s needs Whether it’s refreshing a stale brand, improving user interface clarity, or optimizing user experience to prevent dropouts in the conversion flow, designers must articulate the value of their proposed solutions. By clearly communicating the benefits of a redesign and aligning them with the client’s business goals, designers can lay a solid foundation for the project and establish measurable objectives. This approach ensures that you are in sync with the client to set the stage for a successful redesign process.
For further insights on UX design and best practices, keep exploring our blog section.