So, you need to begin a web site redesign. Perhaps you simply completed a model overhaul or your product was not too long ago up to date. No matter your purpose, a redesign generally is a large success — or not. It will also be a protracted and tedious enterprise, which is why each redesign wants to begin with a transparent imaginative and prescient and/or drawback to unravel.
The higher you’re at defining that imaginative and prescient on the very starting, the extra profitable your redesign will likely be — and the smoother all the course of will likely be as properly.
Whether or not you’re working with an company, redesigning your website in-house, or proposing a redesign to company stakeholders, this information has ideas that can assist you strategize your web site redesign and guarantee it seems to be an enormous success — not a flop.
Web site Redesign
An internet site redesign is the method of adjusting and updating the content material, construction, format, and navigation of your web site to enhance efficiency and convert extra guests.
Many organizations choose to revamp their web site to welcome extra site visitors as their enterprise grows. Others invest in a website redesign as half of a bigger rebranding initiative. No matter why your organization is all for a web site redesign plan, the challenge itself is an enormous enterprise, to not point out an essential one to get proper contemplating the vital position your web site performs in your advertising and marketing and model picture.
The truth is, new analysis has discovered that 50% of consumers think website design is crucial to a business’s overall brand. To many guests, the web site you publish is simply as essential because the merchandise you promote.
How Typically Ought to You Redesign Your Web site?
In response to Business 2 Community, the common lifespan for a web site is 1.5 to 2.5 years. As a result of design developments change and expertise advances, that is the common period of time {that a} redesign will really feel “contemporary” and aggressive. Nonetheless, that timeframe is barely a benchmark, so you will have to find out what works greatest on your distinctive group.
The next elements can decide how typically you must redesign your web site:
- How typically your model or targets change. Once you’re itching for a brand new website, first ask your self, “Does this web site nonetheless signify who we’re as an organization?”
- How a lot finances you allot to design and improvement. Ask your self, “Can a website design wait, or do I’ve causes to make use of the finances on our website now?”
- How lengthy your web site stays useful and quick. Step into your clients’ sneakers and see should you can navigate the positioning properly and discover all the pieces you need to discover with out encountering errors or lengthy web page load instances. Nearly 50% of internet sites get between four and six page views per visit — all that shopping implies that your website’s navigation and velocity actually do matter.
- The efficiency of your web site. Ask your self, “Is that this website changing an inexpensive quantity of site visitors? Do individuals keep on the web page for an inexpensive period of time, or do they bounce?”
- Adjustments within the trade. For instance, when Google introduced that it could be altering to mobile-first indexing, it necessitated that websites be mobile-friendly, or they’d lose natural site visitors from Google.
Your web site is the place guests and clients go once they need to ask questions, learn content material, or buy services or products. For that purpose, it’s greatest to be additional ready when committing to a web site redesign.
You might spend extra time constructing your web site redesign plan than you’ll on the redesign itself. Should you’re questioning what ought to go into your web site redesign technique, begin with the steps beneath.
Learn how to Redesign a Web site
- Benchmark your present efficiency metrics.
- Decide your web site redesign targets.
- Outline your branding and messaging.
- Outline your purchaser persona(s).
- Shield your search engine optimized pages.
- Analyze the competitors.
- Take stock of your high-performing property.
- Select the appropriate software program.
Let’s unpack eight vital web site redesign ideas to consider when planning and finishing your redesign.
1. Benchmark your present efficiency metrics.
Earlier than you start planning your web site redesign, doc your present efficiency metrics. This will provide you with a good suggestion of the place your present web site stands and what metrics you possibly can enhance upon by means of your redesign.
Analyze your current web site’s month-to-month efficiency within the following areas. The significance and relevance of every could range relying in your web site redesign targets, nevertheless it’s useful to drag every metric earlier than you dive into your redesign.
- Variety of visits, guests, and distinctive guests
- Bounce price
- Time on website
- High-performing key phrases by way of rank, site visitors, and lead technology
- Variety of inbound linking domains
- Complete new leads and kind submissions
- Complete gross sales generated (in {dollars})
- Complete pages listed
- Complete pages that obtain site visitors
Should you don’t have entry to this info, I like to recommend instruments like Google Analytics and HubSpot’s Marketing Analytics for higher monitoring and visibility into your web site’s efficiency.
Moreover, make observe of which instruments you used to measure every of those benchmarks previously. Ideally, you’ll need to use those self same instruments when accumulating your post-redesign metrics. In any other case, you’ll be evaluating apples to oranges.
2. Decide your web site redesign targets.
What’s the “why” behind your web site redesign? When contemplating a redesign, there ought to at all times be purpose behind it.
Should you’re answering with “properly, it’s been some time since we’ve performed one” or “my competitor simply did a redesign,” these causes aren’t ok on their very own.
Bear in mind: It’s not nearly how your website appears, however reasonably the way it works. Be crystal clear about why you’re doing a web site redesign, and tie these targets to measurable outcomes. Then, talk your targets along with your crew, designer, or company.
Take into account the next data-driven targets on your personal web site:
- To extend the variety of visits and guests (each are essential as one customer may go to greater than as soon as)
- To scale back bounce price
- To extend time on website
- To enhance area authority
- To extend the whole new leads and kind submissions
- To extend the whole gross sales generated
- To reinforce current SEO rankings for essential key phrases
Many of those targets are depending on each other. For instance, as a way to generate extra conversions, you may additionally want to extend site visitors whereas reducing your website’s bounce price.
Additionally, check out the metrics you pulled out within the earlier step. Are there any metrics you possibly can enhance upon along with your new web site? Maybe you utilize your previous web site metrics to encourage new targets, too.
3. Outline your branding and messaging.
Earlier than crafting your new web site design and content material, be crystal clear about your required branding, messaging, and distinctive worth proposition. Doing so will guarantee consistency throughout your whole web site.
Anybody who visits your web site for the primary time ought to instantly perceive what you do, the way it could profit them, and why they need to keep onyour website, so they do not flee to opponents.
Take our homepage for example: It is instantly clear what we do, what we provide, and the way any customer can get began.
Take into consideration whether or not you propose to vary your branding and/or messaging, or if it’ll keep the identical. Should you plan to vary it, what wants to vary? Preserve these adjustments top-of-mind as you redesign your web site.
As you develop your messaging, use clear, concise language. Keep away from trade jargon which will alienate elements of your viewers and make you sound extra like a business-babbling robotic than a human.
Take into account the next instance of how we may describe HubSpot in a “gobbledygook” approach:
HubSpot helps firms throughout a number of international locations cut back churn by backfilling the gross sales pipeline with extremely certified site visitors that generates leads that convert into clients with excessive lifetime worth. We obtain this by offering modern software program that integrates all advertising and marketing channels for a synergistic view of the information that determines and prioritizes high-value advertising and marketing actions.
Say what? Let’s translate that into the best way individuals truly communicate:
HubSpot’s all-in-one advertising and marketing software program helps over 100,000 companies in additional than120 international locations appeal to leads and convert them into clients. A pioneer in inbound advertising and marketing, HubSpot goals to assist its clients make advertising and marketing that individuals truly love.
A lot clearer!
Moreover, as you develop your company branding, think about what visible facets of your web site have to be redesigned and what can keep the identical. Have you ever created a brand new brand, style guide, or colour palette? Make certain these are utilized to your new web site so it stays in step with different elements of your model.
For some extra inspiration, take a look at our roundup of our favourite B2B web site examples:
4. Outline your purchaser persona(s).
Your web site is not only about you. Truly, it’s hardly about you.
When your guests land in your web site, they’re asking themselves, “What’s in it for me? How may this assist me?”
Communicate to your guests in their language by crafting your web site design and content material round your buyer personas.
As an illustration, should you’re a advertising and marketing supervisor at a lodge trying to herald new enterprise, you would possibly goal 5 completely different purchaser personas: an unbiased enterprise traveler, a company journey supervisor, an event planner, a vacationing household, and a pair planning their marriage ceremony reception.
Be sure you clearly establish your purchaser personas so you possibly can form your web site redesign technique across the web site guests that matter most to you.
Check out our handy buyer persona builder to help you create detailed buyer personas.
Is your audience altering as a part of your web site redesign? Do your branding and content material align with this audience? Reply these questions as you are strategizing your web site redesign.
5. Shield your search engine optimized pages.
Getting found on-line can be important to bettering your web site’s metrics. If nobody is ready to discover and go to your website, how will you enhance new leads, conversions, or gross sales? Listed here are some ideas for designing your new web site with search engine optimization (SEO) in thoughts:
Doc your most search-valued pages.
Use your marketing analytics to determine which pages obtain probably the most site visitors and inbound hyperlinks, convert probably the most leads, and finally cowl probably the most influential matters in your trade. Should you plan to maneuver any of those extremely precious pages, be sure you create the correct 301 redirects.
Create a 301 redirect technique.
Talking of 301 redirects, these are extraordinarily essential by way of retaining the site visitors and hyperlink worth related to a given web page. Create a spreadsheet to file and map out your 301 redirects (previous URLs vs. new URLs). Then hand this doc over to somebody technical for correct implementation.
Do your key phrase analysis.
For each web page in your newly designed web site, pick one keyword/topic every web page will concentrate on. As soon as you identify the key phrase(s), use on-page SEO best practices to optimize your web site pages. Moreover, think about including new content material and pages to your web site that tackle these explicit key phrases and matters that could be uncared for in your present website.
Save time and rank higher on Google with our free on-page SEO template.
6. Analyze the competitors.
Whereas we don’t advocate obsessing over your opponents, it can assist to know the way you examine. First, run your web site by means of HubSpot’s free Website Grader device to generate a report card of how properly your web site is performing. You can even use this diagnostic device to judge your opponents’ web sites, so that you’re conscious of their strengths and weaknesses.
Subsequent, check out your opponents’ web sites, and be aware of what you want — and what you don’t. This course of is that can assist you understand what you are able to do higher in your web site. When you conduct your competitive analysis, put collectively an inventory of motion gadgets highlighting some areas for enchancment and how one can set your self aside out of your opponents.
7. Take stock of your high-performing content material.
Whereas a redesign is an effective way to enhance the efficiency of your web site, there are sadly numerous methods by which it might damage you. Your current web site probably incorporates many high-performing content material property that you’ve got already constructed up, and dropping their effectiveness due to a redesign can severely harm your advertising and marketing outcomes.
As an illustration, such property would possibly embrace your:
- Most-shared or considered content material
- Excessive-traffic pages
- Greatest performing or rating key phrases and related pages
- Variety of inbound hyperlinks to particular person pages
For instance, if you find yourself eradicating a web page out of your website that has collected a excessive variety of inbound hyperlinks, you might doubtlessly lose a number of search engine optimisation credit score, which might make it more and more troublesome so that you can get discovered on search engine outcomes pages (SERPs).
Remember that many net designers don’t think about this step as a result of they’re neither entrepreneurs nor search engine optimisation specialists. Don’t hesitate to remind them about this, and assist them alongside by auditing your website and offering them with an inventory for sustaining or updating vital pages in your website.
8. Select the appropriate software program.
The ultimate (however arguably most essential) step of the website redesign process is selecting the best software program with which to create and host your web site. This software program is often known as a content material administration system (CMS), and it’s used to develop, design, and publish your web site for the world to see.
CMS software program is helpful for just a few causes. Whether or not you’re a novice digital marketer or a grasp net developer, a CMS can simply assist you to create a beautiful, useful web site. Choosing the proper CMS is dependent upon what you are promoting, similar to what CMSs you’re already conversant in and what options your web site redesign requires.
There are tons of of CMSs to select from, together with Content Hub — the one mixed CMS and CRM. Or you possibly can overview a few of the best CMS platforms to study your choices.
Get Began on Your Web site Redesign At present
Whew! Now you are able to plan, design, construct, optimize, launch, and analyze your new web site. Apply these seven steps to revamp a web site that draws extra shoppers, wows extra guests, and converts extra clients.
Editor’s observe: This publish was initially revealed in January 2013 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.
