7 Things to Consider Before Undergoing a Website Redesign

Whether you’re growing tired of your current website, it needs a refresh or you simply fancy a change, a website redesign can be an excellent step forwards when it comes to getting your business noticed online. It provides company owners with the opportunity to rebrand, if they want to, and to inject some new, fresh and quality content into their site. 

While a website redesign can seem like an excellent idea with many benefits to be had, which is accurate, there are still some things about a website redesign that you’ll need to consider before making the commitment. So what should you think about before you undergo a website redesign? Here’s everything you need to know:

1. What do you want to get out of a website redesign?

Before taking the steps towards a website redesign, you should think about what you want to get out of the new venture. Make a list of the pros and cons of redesigning your website, and that should include how your business could both benefit from it and how it might not offer the advantages that you’re looking for. This is strictly done on an individual basis. The way in which your business could benefit might not have such a positive effect on another business, for instance. 

Think about you and your business can benefit from a redesign. What do you want to achieve from it? Are you wanting to get more traffic or drive sales? Would you rather lower your bounce rate or increase your conversions? What are you wanting to get from the experience? This will help you to determine how beneficial a website redesign can be for you, your business, your employees and, most importantly, your customers and website visitors. They’re the difference between a sale and a missed opportunity. 

2. Will a website redesign give you a good return on investment (ROI)?

Now that you’ve determined how a website redesign will help you, you should look more closely into what your return on investment will be. A website redesign will come at a cost, but businesses look at it as an investment rather than just another expense to be paid. As such, you need to compare how much it will cost for a website design together with what your return could be if you undergo the service. While that’s not something that’s set in stone, it’s still something that you’ll be able to go off when it comes to deciding whether a website redesign will be worth it financially.

3. Does your website need to be redesigned?

It might be that your website actually looks and performs well, but you could just be tired of looking at it or you simply fancy a change of scenery. But is it worth all of the work and the cost of a website redesign if you don’t actually need to undergo one? You might be redesigning your website for not much of a benefit, whether it be financially or otherwise, in terms of website traffic or a reduction in bounce rate, for instance. So before choosing or committing to a website redesign, think about whether or not it’s actually something that needs to be done, or are you just doing it because you’re bored of it?

4. Your website will need to undergo an audit if you choose to redesign it

When choosing a professional to redesign your website, it will need to undergo a website audit. A website audit will analyse every aspect of the site. From site speed and image size to poor quality content and low word counts, a website audit will highlight the issues and where improvements need to be made in order to boost the website’s performance. A website audit will include taking a closer look at the following things:

• The number of website pages that are present
• Whether or not the website pages you have a are relevant
• Outdated copy
• Copy that has a low word count
• Copy that is poor quality
• Broken links, whether they be inbound or outbound

5. A redesign will still need to align with your brand, is this possible?

Have you really thought through a website redesign? Is it possible to reflect your brand and everything that your business stands for if you go through a website redesign? A redesign gives you the opportunity to completely overhaul the aesthetics of your site, as well as other, more technical aspects. If you’re undergoing a website redesign, why not make the most of the opportunity available by updating the look and performance of the site? 

However, don’t get carried away. A website redesign will still need to align with your brand and your brand is something that you don’t want to change all that much. The brand is how your customers and website visitors will identify with you and recognise you, so don’t change it too much, to the point where you’re unrecognisable. 

6. You could lose some content, so make sure you’ve backed up the content you want to keep

A website redesign doesn’t always mean that all of your content will be transferred over. It’s possible for some of it to be lost in the process. Although this is a rare occurrence and agencies will do everything in their power to ensure this doesn’t happen, it’s always a good idea to backup all of your content before website developers and designers get their hands on it. 

Again, it’s not a common issue, but it’s not only a good idea for making sure original content can be used on your new site; it is also beneficial in case your website becomes compromised in some way. In fact, business and website owners alike are encouraged to backup their websites regularly just in case of a data breach or an issue with hackers. Backing up your website and its content is, essentially, a win-win for everyone involved. 

In addition, it also means that you’re not paying even more money for new or additional site content, unless it’s been highlighted as an issue during the website audit. Your marketing agency should keep you in the loop about any and all improvements needed before you commit. 

This means you can make a more informed decision about whether or not to undergo a website redesign. It also means that you’ll have more of an idea of cost so you can budget accordingly, which is your next thing to consider before undergoing a website redesign. 

7. You will need to allocate a budget to a website redesign

A website redesign will come at a cost to you, as most marketing services will. However, you need to look at it more as an investment, as most business owners do. Allocate a budget that will cover the cost of everything you need to get out of a website redesign. The budget you need to have will become more clear once you’ve been given a quote or a proposal by the professional website designers you’re hiring. It will be based on your requirements and the services needed to be able to give you the results you want. Think carefully about the money you need to spend before deciding to go ahead with a website redesign or not. 

Kumo is a committed digital marketing agency with a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the marketing industry. We have a team of SEO specialists, PPC professionals, content writing experts and dedicated website designers at the heart of everything we do. If you’d like to get in touch to see how we can propel your business into the spotlight today, then you can do so either via this online form or by giving us a call on 0115 964 8205 – we’re always pleased to hear from you.