Website Redesign Checklist: 9+ Things to Consider Before Website Redesign [PDF Download]

If you have decided to redesign your website, you will probably be eager to get things started. A shiny new website with all the things in place is exciting to think about. But you should never rush into a website redesign.

According to Blog Red, two out of three people prefer to browse through a beautifully designed website. And Digital Apeel says that 75% of people form their opinion of a website based on its aesthetics.

So before you get started with the website redesign services, you have to get the essentials and pain points in order to get the desired results you are looking for.

If you gather the required data according to the list below, your website redesign project will be a tremendous success.

Let’s dive in

First Off, Here’s What We Mean By a Website Redesign!

The term website redesign is pretty self-explanatory. A website redesign is simply a process of renovating your existing website. This may differ based on the needs. Some websites may need an aesthetic update, others may need a complete do-over from content to SEO components.

Moving on to the next question,

What Are the Benefits of Redesigning your Website?

Redesigning your existing website is an investment for the future of your business. A website redesign comes with loads of benefits that outweigh the price tag.

Website redesign will help in the following ways.

Opportunity to get things right

A revamped website will give you a chance to recreate yourself and allow you to focus on what will help you succeed

Improve conversion rate

Decreased conversion rate, old and outdated process or improper navigation, no matter the reason a new website design can solve all the issues

Boost brand image

If the face of your brand and your website does not match potential customers will get confused. A website redesign can solve this

Increase customer trust

Consumers see high-quality designs as more trustworthy. So they are most likely to fill your contact form or pass their credit card number

Move up in the search rankings

When all the common SEO mistakes are avoided when redesigning your website, you can move up in the search rankings

More control over content

During the website redesign, if you switch to a content management system like WordPress or Drupal, you can easily update your content 

Chance to show your professional side

Web redesigning will help you adhere to your business goals and draw eyes away from your competitors

Save money

A proper website redesign can be expensive. But rather than putting a bunch of bands-aids, if you do it the right way, it will save you money in the long run

Adopt to modern technology

Refreshing the look of your website will improve the code standards, site responsiveness and be up to date with technology

Morale boost

A redesigned website will not only improve the way your potential audience sees you but also improve the way your employees see your company 

When Should you Redesign/Revamp your Website?

You must definitely redesign your website if you experience the following.

  • Design is outdated
  • Does not bring business as expected
  • High bounce rate or in other words people leave quickly
  • Customers cannot find what they need; everything’s there but difficult to get
  • Content is not meaningful, informative or optimized for SEO
  • Website has too many bad or broken links
  • Does not have a good search engine ranking for targeted keywords
  • Competitors website is more updated in terms of design, content and responsiveness

To confirm your suspicion, you can get a quick consultation with a website redesign company, they will give you an accurate picture.

What Are the Things to Consider Before Redesigning your Website?

If it is time to redesign your website, here are some areas you must consider before moving forward with a website redesign.

1. Website Redesign or Revamp?

Website redesign and website revamp aren’t quite the same things. Revamp is a complete overhaul while redesign doesn’t impact the functionality as much.

Revamp effectively restructures, redesigns, and recreates the website – you won’t be able to recognize it (don’t worry, it’s a good thing!).

Redesign is a good option if your website was already high functioning but needed changes in the look and feel only. To make this decision you would have to first know what you are looking for.

2. Review Your Current Website

What are the things you love?

  • Make a list of them
  • Can they stay on the new website?
  • Are they generating value for your business?
  • Can you live without them?

What are the things you hate?

  • Make a list of them
  • Can they be removed without affecting business?
  • Can they be redesigned to something better?
  • Do they impede functionality?

An expert in web design can help you understand whether the features just need to be tweaked or whether the whole website needs to be dismantled.

3. What’s Your Competition Doing?

Now you need to check your competitor’s website.

What do you love about their website?

  • Make a list
  • Are these things essential for you as well?
  • Can they be incorporated into your website as is?
  • Will they help your business?

What do you hate about their website?

  • You may hate these features, but they may be essential for your business

Your website redesign agency can help you understand why a competitor website is better than yours by doing a comprehensive analysis.

4. Know Your Audience

Whether you redesign or revamp your website, it is most important that you know who you are targeting.

What works for the smartphone generation will not work for those who are 50+. They may need more guidance and will probably read what you write.

Whereas the smartphone people will probably look, like and buy – that simple.

Perhaps you need to know how they will find you. The optimization strategies of your website should be along with those requirements.

5. What Functionality Do You Need?

Once they can find you, people want information. Let’s assume that if someone is looking for something online, it is because they want to save time.

Your website needs to give them information fast. Selling cakes online? I would want to know whether you do custom birthday cakes, see a few samples and the pricing.

How easy is it to navigate your site to get this information? The easier it is, the faster it will generate leads, the more business you can get. Functionality and design have to go hand in hand.

6. Get Data From Analytics Tools

A tool like Google Analytics will tell you what content on your website is working and what isn’t. It will help you plan your content strategy. We have written a detailed blog about tips and tricks for highly effective Google Analytics usage, do take a look. 

Google Webmaster will tell you where you have broken links and site errors. Your website redesign agency will help you through the process.

If you have a Google Analytics account, you can run your own analysis and look at the number of site visits, bounce rate and time spent on site.

This will be a great starting point for discussing the website redesign or revamp requirement with your agency. 

7. Do You Need a Content Marketing Plan?

To keep getting new visitors, original content is critical. Over 60% of site visitors for a company feel positive towards the company if they see fresh and unique content that reflects the company’s values.

You will need to think about what type of content you want up there, staying updated and fresh – blogs, marketing videos, how-to documents, social media, and graphics. We have also written a detailed blog about the latest content marketing trends, you can go through it for inspiration. 

There are many possibilities that can be applied to create an effective marketing plan.

Once your content marketing plan is clear, you can decide what changes are needed on the website to implement the plan effectively.

8. What Other Marketing Can You Do?

You also need to review your current marketing efforts and identify what more you need to.

You may want to add a quarterly newsletter to your email marketing campaign. Therefore, what needs to be changed on your site to get more email subscribers.

You will need to align your website goals to your marketing goals and vice versa. This will ensure that your new website and marketing strategies complement each other to get the maximum business benefit for you

9. The SEO Perspective

Your new website should not negatively impact the SEO work done on the existing content.

The new website should benefit from the optimization already done, not set you back in terms of online rankings and keep up with the latest SEO trends

With the help of expert SEO services, you can ensure that your transition from the old site to the new website will have a positive impact on search ranking. 

10. The Master Plan

Plan your website redesign or revamp carefully. Have a clear schedule of the milestones. This will help the website redesign company to meet your website launch date with precision.

Plan for the future as well. 

  • What are your business goals for the future?
  • How many site visitors would you like to see over the years, how many leads you would like your site to generate?
  • What do you want people to feel when they visit your business website?

Keep these goals and aims in perspective and plan for future changes. By doing this, you ensure that the redesign/revamp process does not overwhelm you. Also, it ensures that your website is completely in sync with your business goals. You can also go through our detailed website redesign guide and website redesign e-book to get a better understanding. 

Looking for Website Redesign Services?

Seize and experience the transformative impact of Website Redesign Services & Solutions with ColorWhistle.

Final Words On Things to Consider Before you Redesign your Website

Redesigning a website takes a lot of work. We are sure you would have understood it after going through this blog. 

The process can be made easier when you have a website redesign expert like ColorWhistle by your side. Having the right redesign company with you is as important as knowing what you want. We have an expert team that can simplify your journey and make it hassle-free. Contact or call us +1 (210) 787-3600 at any time if you like to have a discussion. 

Do you have any questions about website redesign? Do share them in the comments section below. 

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Sankarnarayan. R
About the Author - Sankarnarayan. R

The founder and mastermind behind ColorWhistle is Sankarnarayan, a professional with over fourteen years of experience and a passion for website design services and digital marketing services. At ColorWhistle, our team has a wide range of skills and expertise and we always put our clients’ satisfaction first. This is what sets us apart from the competition – an eye for detail and the best website development services from the start to the completion of your project.

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