Website Development

How to Start Your Website Redesign Project

Taking on a redesign of your website can be overwhelming.

Seriously, it’s like a corporate restructuring … of your online presence.

Many of our clients come to us knowing that they are in need of a website redesign, however, sometimes that next step can be a bit intimidating. Sure, you know that you need to compare prices and firms to determine who will be the best fit to work with on your web project. And you probably know that you are going to need to write or revise some of your existing content on the website.

The lowest price should not be the driving factor when selecting who to work with. It is important that you find someone that truly understands your needs, is experienced in digital marketing, and that you feel confident will be able to deliver; a firm that understands you and that can express your vision in the digital medium. Before you start reaching out for pricing proposals, consider your organizational needs.

What do you want your website to do for you?

Not all websites are created equal, nor should they be. Each website represents a brand, a business, or an organization – all with unique goals and objectives obtained with different levels of branding, functionality, and user interface. I’ve heard our new business development manager, Nicole, spend an hour on the phone with potential clients just educating them on what we’re discussing here. Because it’s important and it’s going to make the difference in wasting money on a bad, unsuccessful website versus spending money on a website that performs well for you.

A good website can be a marketing machine that both people and search engines love. Tweet This.

These days just about anyone can build you a website, but it takes talent to build a website that will perform and reach goals for you.

Start With Website Functionality, Not Design

Do you go to the car dealership and say, “Hi, I’d like a blue one please?” I hope not. Same goes for websites. When you start researching web designers, you are going to see each firm’s portfolio and should get a feel for their style and design quality and whether it meshes with your branding and style. Sure, this is important in deciding who you ultimately end up selecting to work with, but just because a website is pretty doesn’t mean it will function properly, perform well and convert visitors, or even rank in keyword search. Therefore make sure you know what is under the hood, and how it will be built.

A website can:

  • Make your life more efficient
  • Be an inbound sales tool for internet-based sales
  • Drive new traffic into your brick-and-mortar business
  • Support your sales efforts as an online portfolio or educational tool

Remember to think big picture and long-term goals. Consider your organization’s 5-year plan and make a website for that time frame.

The sky’s the limit on your website these days, but the more intricate and complicated the feature, the more your web developer will need to understand those intricacies to be able to a) price it out and b) create it to your specifications.

Common Features You Might Want/Consider:

  • Shopping cart
  • Donation systems
  • API integration Blog (and blog style)
  • Content management system (CMS)
  • Custom built functionality
  • Database integration
  • Portfolio display
  • eCommerce capabilities

When shopping around, make sure that you categorize your website’s ‘must haves’ versus ‘wants’ in case your budget is restrictive.

New Website Must-Haves That Are Essential:

  • Responsive design
  • SEO strong – keyword specific
  • CMS (Content Management System)
  • Hosting options and support
  • Email setup

It is important that you ask each agency about their development process and search experience.

TIP: Can your marketing firm deliver a strong, searchable site? Check them out in your own search, do they rank in keyword searches when you look for them?

Benchmark Your Competition

Do your research. Spend time exploring other websites, and be sure to check out your competitors and leading industry websites. Study them and take notes on what you like and dislike. It is important to know what you are up against. The more sites you evaluate, the more you become inspired and understand what is important for your website to have.

Think About Your Future Site, Not Your Previous Site

Sometimes it is quite overwhelming to look at how big and outdated your website has become. Take a deep breath, and know that at the end of this process, your website is going to be fabulous!

TIP: If you want to see how big your site actually is, google this for an estimate of how many pages currently exist: {site: www.yourURL.com}

Rather than thinking about what is on your current site and how you should display that, consider what is important and focus on that first. Make sure to always keep in mind the users’ experience and how things will appear from their perspective as well. Lead with the calls to action and the information that is most valuable. Then supplement the major parts of the site with the other content in the most appropriate areas.

Host a Brainstorming Session

Get feedback from the stakeholders of the company or key employees that frequently use the website. Ask everyone what the most important feature of the website is.

Analyze Your Current Google Analytics

Determine the most visited pages on your website, check out the flow of those visiting, and what keywords are driving visitors to your website. However, take this information only so literally, because if the functionality is not user-friendly, these results may not be a good tool for future growth.

Redesigning your website is a huge undertaking and not one to take lightly. However, the results can alter the future of your business or organization so spending the time and effort to do it right can really be a fruitful venture.

When evaluating firms, you can always call their references or anyone listed on their portfolio to get an extra opinion and find out how their experience was.

Congratulations on this next step. It is an exciting process that can be very fruitful. Let Idea Marketing Group know if we can help!