Assumptions and guesswork have no place in website redesigns. It’s not about what you think should change, or what you assume should be removed, and it’s never about copying or emulating your competition. A website redesign is driven from the data and analytics at your fingertips. It comes from what your customers tell you every time they interact with your website. It comes from how they move from one page to the next and what they search for. It’s about understanding your bounce rates and how much time customers spend on individual pages. However, it’s never about your gut-feel.
What are you hoping to accomplish? Understanding your goals and objectives and having a plan is critical. There must be a reason for the website redesign. It must have a purpose. You may want to improve your website’s navigation, include more white-space within the design to draw attention to specific icons, images, offers, and CTAs, or you may simply want to make your website more mobile-friendly. Regardless of why, it’s important to have goals and objectives and systematic periods of review to make sure you’re on track, within budget, and meeting timelines.
Everybody has an opinion and that’s often the problem. Keep the discussion about the redesign to a select few customer-facing individuals. Limit who has a say and don’t allow too many people to get involved. It’s great to get feedback, but the most important feedback comes from customers. This is ultimately why your redesign should be viewed as a long-term pursuit, one where the design is redone and you monitor how customers react. It’s never static. It’s never stationary and you should be willing to modify your design from time to time based on how your customers interact with your website.
It’s easy to get caught up with all the changes and it’s not uncommon to spend more than you can afford. This outcome is the result of not having a plan, not having goals and objectives and having expectations that are beyond your budget and nowhere near reasonable. A website redesign isn't simple. It’s a complex and involved affair and ignoring that complexity and the financial constraints of your budget will surely lead to problems.
Choosing the wrong digital marketing agency can set you back months in delays, not to mention cause irreparable harm to your budget and online reputation. Make sure you review the digital marketing agency’s portfolio. Look at what they’ve accomplished with other websites. Ask them what they use as a free website traffic generator. Focus on how they drive traffic, how that traffic is converted and how content is structured. Speak to their customers and scrutinize their work. Choosing a digital marketing agency is critical so make sure you’re comfortable with your choice.
Redesigning your website is an elaborate and involved affair. The focus must be to design a user-friendly website your customers can easily navigate and one that will operate as the ultimate opportunity funnel.
If you are a small-business, there is typically added complexity especially if you are not technically savvy. Having to run a business plus generated new business is difficult. For those that want assistance, we have a small-business digital marketing program designed specifically for you.
If you need a forward-thinking digital marketing agency to redesign your website, we can help. Contact us.