A Beginner’s Guide To Redesigning Your Website

If you’ve had your website for a while, it might be time for a refresh. Keeping your website up to date is important to let visitors know that the information they are seeking is up to date, and so that your website serves as an accurate representation of your company. Redesigning your website is a big task, but one that is worth the time and effort. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your website redesign.

How Often Should You Redesign Your Website?

As long as your website is kept up to date, redesigning only needs to happen every few years. This can be a minor or major change, depending on what you feel you need to change to best reflect where you are currently. Take a look at how your current website is performing- if it is doing well, you might not need to redesign it, and can simply focus on minor changes. If it is not getting as much traffic or looks dated, it is probably time for a redesign. If there are any major changes in your industry, updating your website to reflect those changes can help you stay ahead. Lastly, if your goals have changed or your brand has grown past what your website shows, update it so that it is an accurate representation. If you are unsure if any of this applies to you, or if it is time to redesign your website, running an audit on a Website Grader will help show you where your strengths are, and where you need improvement.

How To Redesign Your Website:

Start by coming up with goals for your website. Some common goals are increasing the number of visitors, reducing the bounce rate, increasing total sales generated, and improving SEO rankings. Your goals can be anything that you think could use improvement on your website. Take a look at your metrics to see where you stand in these areas, so you can track your performance after your redesign.

Next, write down some ideas about who you are as a brand. What values are important to you- have they stayed the same over the years, or have they evolved? Does your color scheme reflect the industry that you are in? What about your tone and the fonts that you use? If any of these things have changed since the last time you redesigned your website, make a note so you can come up with new, creative ideas on how to reflect who you are currently.

Pinpoint your buyer personas. How can you appeal to them? Your website is not just about you, but also giving your audience what they are looking for. Chances are, you have different buyer personas, and need to find a way to please all of them. Choose your top 5, and find what they have in common. Look into areas such as their age, gender, where they live, what they do for work, hobbies, education, or anything else that will help you better understand them. Use this information to make your website appealing to them through your tone, colors, fonts, and how you present your products and services.

Once you are feeling confident about the direction that you want to go with your website, take a look at some of your competitors. It is important that you stand out from them, but not so much that your audience is confused about what you do. Look for aspects of their website that seem to work well, and look for ways to incorporate something similar into your own website. Additionally, take note of what doesn’t work for them, and avoid making the same mistakes.

Redesigning your website is a big but necessary task. Make sure to do plenty of planning so that your website is not only a true reflection of you but draws in and impresses your visitors.