While building a website for your business is a great start, at some point, you’re going to need to think about redoing it. If your website is starting to look stale, stumbles when it comes to putting your company’s best foot forward, lacks functionality, or simply no longer meets your needs, this website redesign checklist can help you make smart choices about how to move forward.
Evaluate Your Website
Before diving headfirst into redesigning a website, think about your target audience and what you are trying to achieve with your website. Now, take a virtual stroll through the existing site.
- What do you like?
- What do you hate?
- What is working?
- What is missing?
You don’t have to start from scratch with a redesign, so why waste time reinventing the wheel? Make a list of the features that are working well as well as another list of problem areas or missing features. This evaluation helps you zero in on what to focus on in your redesign. Your developer will thank you.
Consider Your Competitors’ Websites
Whether you are building a website or redesigning one, it pays to take a look at your competitors’ websites. View the websites of at least five competitors and see what you like and what you don’t.
- How do they compare aesthetically?
- What about the amount and types of content available?
- Are they similar in functionality?
While you don’t want to duplicate the other websites, you may find new ideas for your brand or encounter useful features that you hadn’t considered before. Reviewing other websites can also help you avoid mistakes by pointing out things that you don’t want to do. The rule of thumb is to make sure your website is equal to or better than your competitor. How do you rank?
Review Website Functionality
Once upon a time, a website only allowed one-way communication. Visitors viewed what was on the website. Today, a website can be so much more.
- Do you want to add new functionality to your site with a form that collects the email addresses of potential customers?
- Are you interested in testing the waters of e-commerce with an online store?
Redesigning a website gives you the perfect chance to add new functionality.
Think About Search Engine Optimization
When it comes to website redesign tips, there’s one that every expert will agree on: you cannot overlook search engine optimization. After all, SEO is the key to helping both search engines and people find your website. An effective SEO strategy isn’t static. It’s ongoing. It starts with optimizing your website with carefully selected keywords, meta tags, links, submissions to directories, and other pieces of the SEO puzzle. Then, you’ll need to continue to use SEO as you add new content to your website to maintain your search engine rankings and add new potential customers.
Plan for the Future
SEO isn’t the only ongoing concern that you’ll have once your website is redesigned.
- Who is going to update the website?
- How often will it be updated?
- Where will the content come from?
- Who will keep up with website metrics and analytics?
If you’re considering redesigning a website, feel free to use this checklist and to request your free Website Audit Report from Design 4 Dot Com. We’ll look over your website with an eagle eye, reviewing more than 100 components that reveal what’s working and what isn’t. At Design 4 Dot Com, we can help you with everything from web design, e-commerce options and SEO strategies to email marketing, corporate blogging and social media marketing.
As a bonus, check out our 10 Components of a Successful Website.
Contact us today at 407-491-5214 to learn more.
