Website Redesign: Why and Where to Start

Website redesign “lives” for a maximum of 5-7 years. How old is your Internet project? If it is more than 7 years old, there is an extremely high probability that the design (and functionality) is outdated. This is objective data, which is true for almost any niche. There are several important nuances!

First: your site may have been designed 4 or 3 years ago, although it’s still outdated now. It all depends on whether its design was up to date at the time it was created. It’s incredibly common for developers to use outdated templates. Second: Proper redesign takes time. The timing is different for every project. So is the cost of website redesign.

Research

According to publications of the University of Surrey (which is internationally recognized for its scientific research), the opinion about the reliability of your business is 75% of the opinion about your website. What does that tell you? At a minimum, it suggests that you shouldn’t forget about your online site, even when your offline business is doing well. If you add a website with a modern, thoughtful design to a perfectly set up offline business, profits can increase fourfold.

Design plays an important role in SEO website optimization. Have you noticed a smooth but steady decline in your online store traffic? It is quite possible that the matter is in the outdated design. Often they start saving the traffic with the help of SEO-texts and links, although it is necessary to start with the modernization of the design.

Often, to understand whether website redesign is necessary, you can after a banal study of the top Google search results. If there is a major request, which ranks your site (e.g., “installation of windows”), type it into the search, and look at competitors’ sites. If there are not many noticeable differences between your site and the resources from the search website redesign can be delayed.

When all or almost all are significantly different for the better, you need to act. It is desirable to explore the top not alone, but with the involvement of employees and customers (potential customers). You should look not only from your computer, but also from mobile devices. Check not only the appearance, but also the convenience, speed, etc.

When You Need a Site Redesign

The site – an important tool in business promotion. It helps to attract new customers and tell a wide audience about the company and its services. For this reason, developing sites paid close attention. Often there is a need to redesign the existing web resource – improving graphic design and functionality updates. How do you determine whether your site needs such changes?

Outdated Design

Internet technology is developing at a rapid pace. What looked relevant and fresh five years ago seems obsolete today. Stylish and original design is the first thing that draws the visitor’s attention.

The Need to Improve Functionality

Along with changes in trends in graphic design, there is a constant updating of working tools for web pages. It is the modern functionality that makes sure that the site is easy to use. It is also important to guarantee that all connected services work seamlessly.

No Templates

It is recommended to order professional website redesign if your website was created by one of the popular designers using a template.

Change of Corporate Style of the Company

The website is a business card of its owner, so it is important to use the colors and symbols of the company in its design. Website redesign can pursue different goals, and its necessity in each case is due to its own reasons. However, if you entrust the task to professionals, in the end you will get more visitors and increase website conversions.

According to Neil Patel, the decision to buy a particular product is 85% dependent on color. No need to explain that in web design, the right colors play a huge role. Although not all designers are aware of the real possibilities of a color.

Where to Start and How to Make a Website Redesign

Note that we are not trying to tell you about the universal algorithm for modernizing the site. It is likely that different web studios have a completely different approach to implementing a website redesign.

First, You Need to Make a Budget Website Redesign and Determine the Timing

To do this you need to calculate the number of elements on the page, which should be replaced / improved / modernized. Separately, you need to count time and budget for design, separately – for layout and programming. When the budget and timeline are approved, move on to the design.

User Experience and User Interface

At the design stage you should pay a lot of attention to the User Experience and User Interface. In other words, do everything to make the site understandable and convenient. For example, always create a UI Kit – a set of user interface elements.

It includes a color palette, which is developed based on the company’s brand book, if it exists, as well as based on the theme of the project. It also includes elements such as fonts, buttons, input fields, forms, tables, arrows, icons, headers, and text displays, etc. Anything that can be used in site content.

While creating a set, rely on current web design trends or use current styles and trends in web design. Sometimes this is where the work ends. When the client entrusts us not only with the design but also with the complete modernization of the site, the third stage begins.

Coding and Layout

It may be necessary to transfer the site to another CMS, or to pure HTML. In this case, you need to do it all as carefully as possible, because you often need to keep the position of the site in search. If you make too dramatic changes, you can not only lose your position, but completely out of the index.

Almost always during the website redesign, we completely modernize the software part of the site. Modern design can not be combined with outdated code. The modernization work includes:

• JS/CSS Minify (PHP Minify);
• Deferred loading of images;
• Lazy loading JS (requireJS);
• Connecting BIGDATA for analysis;
• Implementation of new technologies;
• Integration with social networks;
• Many other tricks (depending on the objectives of the project).

The Main Purpose of Website Redesign

Very brief and simple: all efforts and technology are aimed, at first, to understand why the user came, and then make it as easy as possible and quickly. Designers achieve their goals in a myriad of ways:

• Animation;
• Dynamic search;
• Personalized recommendations;
• Popular sections on the home page;
• Discounts;
• Promotions;
• Calculators;
• Reviews from social networks.

Website Redesign: Summarizing and Drawing Conclusions

It’s important to understand that even the most modern design will eventually become obsolete. A redesign is an opportunity to make your site more effective and increase the value it brings.