Re-designing a website is not just about a new enhanced look but also making sure that your website does not become outdated. An outdated site will fail to bring in new visitors and might even drive away existing visitors, so it becomes imperative that the website is redesigned from time to time.

Before before you start redesigning your website it is imperative to understand two things:

  • Shortcomings of the existing website
  • Factors that influenced past success

This is will definitely help you to set your objectives and goals. Being aware about the areas that require improvement can be an effective way to head for re-designing. Otherwise, it would be a complete waste of your time and efforts.

Whenever, a website is re-designed it should definitely cater to your needs and requirements but remember to include some usability improvements along with a fresh look.

Focal point may differ from website to website but some points need to be considered before going for a Website Re-design. To help you out we have compiled the points that must be taken into consideration before redesigning the website.

 

Objective for Re-designing

 

The time you created the website a major point of concern must have been the objective of the website. While re-designing the website you should be clear of the purpose of this re-design, so that the whole process is a success.

The designer has a crucial job of not only making the website look good; but also making it effective for you, the owner, and the visitors.

The reasons behind the need of a re-design will definitely have an impact on your decisions. If these reasons are not thought through, then the end product might actually be useless. So ensure that you sit down before starting the project and list down the objectives and goals that need to be accomplished.

As you list down the objectives and goals, you will start to get clarity that will ensure the success of the project.

When setting the goal, take into consideration what the website is meant to accomplish as the wrong approach can definitely hamper the success of the project.

Will the Re-designing Project be Minor or a Complete Makeover?

A website is bound to have both strengths as well as weaknesses. While re-designing, the strengths should be maintained and the weaknesses must be improved so that the website is perfect.

Redesign can mean a complete makeover or some minor changes. Some factors that dictate what it will be are:

  • Time and effort you are willing to spend
  • Financial resources that can be spent
  • Types of changes that need to be made

If you are looking at a complete makeover then you should think about how all the factors of the old design can be integrated into the new design in an efficient manner. Maintain a design that gives the website a fresh look without making the old visitors feel animosity towards the website.

Recognize the Effective and Ineffective Parts of the Website

Each and every website on the world-wide web is never perfect as it is composed of both effective and ineffective features. The key to a successful re-designing project is recognizing them before heading for the project.

Make sure that you convey these points to the designer so that they do not get rid of the best parts of your website. Keep in mind that a re-designed website can impact the inflow of new visitors as well as existing visitors.

Put Consideration into the Styles that Feature in the New Design

When re-designing your website, make sure that you consider about the stylization of the new design. While doing so keep in mind some things:

  • Purpose of re-design
  • Appropriate placement of the website’s content
  • Visitor’s adaptability to the new design
  • Preference of visitors

Keeping all of this in mind, ensure that the style of the new design is not too common but definitely meets the expectations of the common user.

Recognize the focal point of the design

The Internet has many websites, each with its own focal point. So when you go for a re-designing project you really need to pass on the parts that need to be emphasized upon. This is crucial to get the attention of the visitors.

The design needs to give importance to the content of the website while creating an interesting layout that appeals to the visitors. So the new design should focus on the objectives of your website so that the important content is placed in prime areas of the new layout.

Website needs to be user-friendly with easy navigation

A website that is not user-friendly or easily navigable is bound to steer away visitors.  So make sure that the re-designed website is both.

Adding a lot of information and content may reduce the ability to navigate efficiently. Thus, ensure that only the most important information and content stays in the new design making it clutter-free, easy to navigate and user-friendly.

Chalk out the re-design project from the visitor’s point of view before actually investing in it.

Points of improvement in Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine give your website a huge amount of exposure thus improving the inflow of visitors. Thus, when re-designing the website, ensure that they are search engine friendly. These include a thought into the titles of the pages, internal linking, headers that can be used and other such considerations.

 

For on-page SEO needs, the following needs to be considered:

  • If the website is doing good, then factor in on the structure that makes it search engine friendly so that it can be retained in the new design.
  • If the website is not ranking good, then take a look at what parts can be improved so that it becomes search engine friendly.

For off-page SEO, the following needs to be considered:

  • Retain the previous URL structure so that the existing visitors can easily find the website and the websites ratings do not start from zero.
  • Try to keep the URLs same if a numerous links are present that lead to specific page. If a change is must then use SEO-friendly redirects.

Focus on targeted phrases and keywords

Make sure that titles, headers and other such parts always include keywords. Failure to do so will lead to an ineffective re-design project as you will not be able to target the purpose of your website.

The terms that you use in the re-designed website must catch the attention of numerous people to increase inflow of visitors.

Popular pages and search terms that have a high inflow of traffic

When you consider re-designing your website be sure to do some research on pages that draw in heavy traffic. It will help you to get a better understanding about the methods that improve inflow of visitors.

You should also take a look at the terms that are searched most often. Find a way to incorporate the relevant ones in your new website design so that they pop up in search engines.

Ensure re-visit of Visitors

Most important aspect of any website is a steady flow of visitors. So when you plan on a re-design project, do take into account the expectation of the visitors.

First impressions do matter so focus on a design that does that so that visitors keep coming back. Thus, while re-designing definitely keep this factor in mind.

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