How important is your website? Is it an integral part of your business or just one of many strategies to attract new clients? Have you considered that you might be better off focusing your efforts on improving your offline marketing efforts, like reaching out to potential customers in person, instead of spending money on a new site redesign? Before you invest in any web development services, check out these nine questions to ask yourself before starting the process of website redesign.
1| Are my services or products changing?
If your business is evolving—and if you’re rebranding, chances are they are—it’s important to consider how your new products or services will be represented online. Regardless of whether you’re trying to go bigger with an e-commerce site or simply revamping your social media presence, it’s smart to think through some key questions before hiring web designers. Be honest about what you’re hoping for and know that in most cases, you probably don’t need everything on your wish list. Focus on what’s truly necessary.
2| Has my audience shifted?
Part of your website redesign should be an assessment of your audience’s needs and interests. If you find that they are very different than what they were when you built your site, consider whether or not you need to shift your design accordingly. For example, if you created an online store for adults, but find that most of your sales come from students, then perhaps creating something more youthful is appropriate. On another note, does one group prefer using mobile devices while another prefers desktops? Does it make sense to create two separate sites? By reviewing analytics and running surveys or focus groups before starting your redesign process Website Redesign, you can get a good idea of what direction is best for your users.
3| Can everyone access my site?
How accessible is your site? Is it mobile-friendly? If not, that may be putting off potential customers. A Nielsen study found that 53% of smartphone users say they will definitely not visit a website if it isn’t mobile-friendly. And if they are forced to access your site via their smartphones’ smaller screens, will they have an easy time doing so? Mobile design is now key when designing websites, so before you invest in any kind of web redesign or development project, make sure you have assessed how much market share you are losing because people can’t access your site on their phones.
4| Is my site secure?
As our lives become more and more dependent on web-based products, ensuring that our sites are secure becomes an even greater priority. Your business site may not have as much security risk as your personal Facebook page, but it’s still important to take these questions into consideration. Is your site’s traffic increasing, decreasing or staying stagnant? How many pages does your website have and how quickly do those pages load? Is your content easy to find? Does Google penalize you for having duplicate or low-quality content on your site? These questions should help you determine what areas of your site may need improvement.
5| Does my current site help me reach my business goals?
Your website is only as good as it helps you achieve your business goals. So if your goal is to get more customers and more clients, think about whether or not you’re using all of your website’s resources for that end. If you’re not making progress on these fronts, perhaps it’s time for a redesign. An easy way to gauge whether or not you should redo your site? Use Google Analytics. Plugin some search terms and see how many visitors you get from them over time; if traffic has plateaued or stopped growing, it might be time for an overhaul.
6| Is my current site manageable (and scalable)?
If your current site is unmanageable, it may be difficult for you to continue growing. Although developing an entirely new site from scratch may be exciting, there are advantages to working with a designer who can build upon what’s already been created rather than starting from scratch. If your site isn’t scalable, growing will likely cause problems down the road as you’ll quickly run out of space and options for adding and altering content and features. If you aren’t able to increase functionality and functionality as your business grows, visitors will turn elsewhere—and so will potential customers and revenue opportunities. Make sure that your old site is manageable before hiring someone else to fix it!
7| Can users find what they’re looking for?
If users can’t find what they need on your site, they’ll leave. For example, if you’re redesigning an e-commerce site, take some time to really think about what someone will do when they first land on your home page. Is it clear where to find products? Is there an obvious link for returning customers or people looking for help? It may seem like common sense (and it should be), but if these simple things aren’t already baked into your design, rethink them before you launch.
8| Does it truly reflect my brand (and where it’s going)?
Unless you’re starting with a blank slate, it’s very likely that you’ve spent years developing your brand identity. It makes sense, then, that your website should reflect that hard work. If you notice that your logo looks out of place in particular areas of your site or if certain content doesn’t feel like it fits into your overall narrative, it may be time for an update. If not now, when? The sooner you can get in front of these issues—and try out different solutions—the better.
9| Is it mobile responsive Website Redesign?
According to Google, mobile search is now more popular than desktop search in 10 countries, including Japan and Australia. It’s not just mobile-oriented websites that are growing in popularity, either. Forrester predicted that by 2017, 50% of businesses will be using responsive web design (RWD) for their web presence. This kind of site can easily flex depending on what device it’s being accessed from—whether you’re on your phone or computer, for example.
| Final Words about Website Redesign
After working with hundreds of companies, I’ve learned what it takes to develop or redesign an effective website. And while every company is different, these 9 questions will help you make sure you’re addressing what really matters—not just getting caught up in all of your favorite design details. Whether you want someone else to handle your redesign or are thinking about handling it yourself, remember that functionality always comes first. If something doesn’t work on your site, get rid of it! Successfully launching a brand new website is exciting—and scary. If you are looking for a web developer there are many web development companies that can help in developing website design for your websites.