“Website redesign.”
These two words may make you nervous, but there’s no need to panic. Your next redesign can be a success with proper planning and research. A high-performing website can generate leads, increase sales, and improve the user experience for your customers. It’s important to remember that first impressions are everything, so cutting corners is not wise.
This is especially true when building marketing websites for B2B and DTC companies.
Here are 5 things we recommend our clients review before they dive into a website redesign.
1. How do you tell if it’s time for a website redesign?
Start by reviewing your current website, see what is and isn’t working, and make a list.
Then answer the following questions:
- What is the primary reason(s) you have decided to redesign your website?
- Are you embarrassed to give out your URL to clients?
- Are you satisfied with your website’s speed and performance?
- Does your website content solve problems for your ideal clients?
- Has your branding or logo changed?
- Is your website mobile-friendly?
- When was the last time you redesigned your website? (We usually recommend updating your website about every 4-6 years)
- How will the website redesign help you achieve your business goals?
Your answers to these questions will help determine if your website is ready for a total overhaul, a straightforward redesign, or simply needs a refresh.
2. Assess the current state of your brand
Your brand is unique. Your website redesign should reflect your message, mission, goals, and personality.
A brand guide is a set of guidelines that detail a company’s visual identity and set forth rules for official logo usage, typography, colors, Iconography, photography, and the brand’s mission statement and values. When reviewing potential changes to your brand guide, think about how each element aligns with your company’s current brand.
Take some time to get specific and brainstorm your brand. Document everything in a brand guide. It doesn’t have to be fancy or formal, but your band guidelines should be written down for future reference.
Answer the following questions:
- Is your typography sending out the right message?
- Are your images working well with your brand?
- Do you have a well-defined color palette that evokes the right emotions?
- Is your logo out-of-date?
- Is your logo still connecting with your target audience?
Once your brand guide is in order and updated, you’re one step closer to getting started with your redesign. Let your brand guidelines guide your design decisions throughout the project. This step ensures your newly designed website will accurately represent your business, leaving a positive impression on visitors and standing out from the competition.
3. Prioritize good design and good UX
In today’s fast-paced world, users will no longer tolerate clunky websites that are slow and hard to navigate; therefore, usability should be one of your top priorities during the website redesign process.
A good user experience goes a long way for any business. A website with a good user experience helps build trust in your products, services, and brand by establishing a relationship with your target audience. A good user experience will help attract new users and retain existing customers.
One way to ensure you’re prioritizing good design is by being consistent with how you use layouts, color, patterns, and typefaces on your website. Use whitespace and visual hierarchy to help you arrange and organize elements in your website so that users naturally gravitate toward the most important elements first.
Here are some other ways you can enhance the user experience on your website:
- Understand your users’ needs and motivations.
- Create a simple and easy-to-use navigation.
- Keep a consistent design and user interface.
- Use white space to break up text and other elements.
- Optimize website speed and load time
- Use clear calls-to-action
To put it simply, the goal of UX design is to provide users with an easy-to-use, useful and relevant web experience while making sure users find value in what you’re providing.
4. Is your current website mobile-friendly or responsive?
Mobile devices have changed the way we interact with websites. Almost half of all website traffic comes from mobile phones. Search engines like Google favor mobile-optimized websites. According to a study by Perficient, nearly 70% of all website visits came from mobile devices in 2020. People are browsing, inquiring, and buying on mobile phones every day.
It’s crucial to give your customers an excellent user experience regardless of their type of device (phone, tablet, desktop, etc.).
A mobile responsive website includes design elements such as:
- No horizontal scrolling
- Text that is easily read without zooming
- Optimized images, no one has the patience to wait for your page to load
- Design for touch
- Buttons must be adequately sized at least 42px
Not sure how mobile-friendly your website is? You can check with the help of Google’s mobile-testing tool.
5. Scope out the competition
While we don’t want you to obsess over what everyone else is doing, it’s still a good idea to keep an eye on others in your industry. For example, if you notice your competitors lack a useful feature, you can implement it on your website and set yourself apart.
Make a list of things you like and don’t like about your competitor’s websites and figure out what you can do better. If your competitor is successful, try to figure out why they are successful. What works for them? What are they doing with their website that you’re not?
Other things to consider
- Do not copy and paste old content onto your brand-new website. You should leave enough time and budget to rework, rewrite, and create new content that aligns with your new redesign goals.
- Include visuals and unique brand elements to make your website recognizable
- Don’t forget about SEO. That should be a part of your redesign strategy
- Do you have the right team on your side? Find and hire an agency that can be your partner, who understands your goals, vision, and ideas for your new website redesign.
Final Thoughts: Design a website with impact.
Design practices, customer preferences, and SEO technologies are constantly changing. It helps to partner with an agency that understands your needs. There are many variables to consider, and we’d love to chat with you to discuss your unique requirements.
