When Should You Redesign Your Website?

By Author: Nicksmith
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Is a Full Website Redesign Necessary?

Sales are down, traffic on your website is slow, and you've run out of marketing ideas. Oh, I know, let's do a website redesign and plaster it all over social media. Is that what you're thinking right now? Well, although you might think that this will shake up sales, create a new marketing campaign and whatnot, you should probably take some serious time to consider this.

I am always approached with small businesses who want a website designer to redesign their website. And, of course, I obviously enjoy having the business, but I'm not always going to recommend a redesign if you already have a navigable, user-friendly, aesthetic looking website. It is usually common practice to look at other websites in your industry (a.k.a. competitor's websites) to get a feel for what you want to do, but just remember to look at those...and try not to compare your website to a website in a different industry.

Well, if you are thinking of a website redesign, there are reasons why you should try very small things at first...rather than an entire site redesign.

Is there ...
... something wrong?

Make sure you evaluate exactly what you don't like about your website. What is not working? Is there something wrong with it? Because you don't want to look at that website every day is not a reason to redesign your entire website.

If your sales are down, then it is possible that the reason is not your website design. Maybe you should consider redesigning your marketing strategy instead first. I know that sounds more difficult and like a lot more work...well, it is. But, the results are much more rewarding if you do it right and work hard at it. And, hey, you never know, they might be more cost effective as well.

Ask a Professional

If you think the conversions on your site are down, then reach out to a website designer for some questions. You can possibly get some answers from them as to why you might have a lot of traffic but little sales. If there is a chance that you need some redesign in your website, then make sure that the changes you make only correspond to your marketing strategy from when you built your business. Think of your goals first. What kind of goals could these be? More traffic, more exposure, more media coverage, more inbound links, more downloads, more leads, more time spent on the site...and the list goes on and on. Use this goal to determine whether you need a full redesign.

So, now you have determined that through your marketing strategy, your business goals, and your current website that you actually do need some changes. Well, why would are we suggesting that you make changes little by little? Simple. Here goes:

1. Brand Identity

Hello, isn't your website part of your original brand? Do you know how hard it is to re-brand yourself? Have you heard of NEW COKE? Yes, it is so hard to re-brand yourself to the point that even a huge brand like Coca Cola was not able to do it. Your website is an extension of who you are. Remember that. If your website changes, your consumers or clients might think that means you, as a business, are changing also.

2. Everything Takes Time

A full website redesign will take time to build. So, if you are definitely going to make changes, start with the areas that need the most improvement or will drive you towards your goal first. If you start with just this, it will take less time to design & implement and you can see if these little changes make a difference at first before you decide to go back and redesign the rest of the website.

3. Your Current Customers Might Get Lost

You still have traffic on your site, right? By updating and redesigning your entire site, you might drive these customers away. Confusion sets it. Patience is lost. Boom, you lose some of your traffic. Those customers are priceless and if you need to redesign something..you sure better tell them first.

After you've done all of your analysis and thinking, spoken with a web designer, and even then you think that a redesign is the best idea, then okay, you might be right. After all, I've redesigned websites for small businesses before. Maybe your site wasn't designed well in the first place - well, then it is probably a good idea to redesign it. Remember, if you have any doubts or thoughts about redesigning your website, RJ Web Dev is here to help and provide a free quote for your website.

For more information about Website Designer, please visit www.rjwebdev.com