Checklist for a Website Redesign 15 Tips to Prep
Is your website looking outdated and you feel it’s time for a change? Or is your website traffic and conversion rates dipping and you think it’s time for an update?
Whatever your experience, redesigning a website is a significant undertaking that requires thorough planning and execution. Overhauling your website can solve a lot of problems, but if done wrong, it can also cause a lot of complications. This checklist provides 15 useful tips to help you prepare and carry out a successful website redesign.
- Define Your Goals and Objectives
- Clearly outline the goals and objectives of the site. By setting measurable targets, organizations can better align their digital presence with their overall business objectives. The end goal is to create an engaging and effective online experience for the site users.
- Brainstorm the important most items of the new site with your team. This could be better, highlighting key offerings, useability, simplification of navigation or user experience.
- You will want to consider designs for the new site that will encourage specific end goals. Easier and faster purchasing, contact form submissions or email newsletter sign ups. Make sure the site is a wonderful experience for the customer.
- Consider the brand image and identity you want to portray through content, media and design.
- Review Your Current Website
- Evaluate your current website's strengths and weaknesses.
- Identify successful and underperforming pages.
- Analyze user analytics and gather user feedback.
- User Research and Feedback
- Conduct user surveys and interviews on strengths and key takeaways from current website usage.
- Combine the user feedback to guide the redesign process.
- Competitor Review
- Examine and review competitor websites to identify styles, features and functionality that can be included in the upcoming site redesign..
- Identify opportunities for differentiation.
- Review and Update Site Content
- Review current site content and identify what items to keep, update or remove.
- Develop a content approach that aligns with the objectives of the redesign.
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Review
- An SEO review is a comprehensive evaluation of a website's elements and strategies to assess its performance in search engine rankings. The purpose of an SEO review is to identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for improvement, ultimately aiming to enhance the website's visibility and organic traffic from search engines.
- Identify keywords and phrases related to your website’s content and target audience
- Adjust title tags, meta descriptions and headers with your target keywords.
- Optimize the image alt text with relevant keywords.
- Create and optimize your Google My Business listing.
- Encourage customer reviews and respond to feedback in a timely manner.
- Design Mockups and Wireframes
- Work with a web development company wireframes to outline the website's structure and layout.
- They will create design mockups to visualize the new look and feel.
- Responsive Design
- Ensure that the new design is responsive and works seamlessly across devices: desktop, tablet and mobile.
- Test the design on various browsers and screen sizes.
- Navigation and Information Architecture
- Review and improve website navigation for an improved user experience.
- Organize content logically for easy access.
- Make sure your website is usable for people with disabilities. Whether the individual has visual, auditory, motor or cognitive impairments, your content needs to remove access barriers so those with disabilities can use your site effectively. Several tools are available online to assist you with this.
- Ease of Use & Monitor
- Ensure your website’s navigation is easy to understand with clear labels and menu items that are organized logically to help users find their destination quickly.
- Optimize the website’s load time and response time. Fast loading pages improve user experience and decrease bounce rates on the site.
- Use clear and effective Call-to-Action (CTA) buttons. This will encourage fast purchasing, ease of contacting or ease of signup. Make sure these CTAs are visually placed strategically on the page across all devices.
- Combine the current content into a minimalist design to keep the site free of clutter and avoid overwhelming visitors.
- Regularly conduct site testing with real users and obtain feedback about pain points of the website. Collect the feedback and make necessary improvements to resolve the usability issues and overall client satisfaction.
- Performance Optimization
- Optimize images and other site assets for optimal load times.
- Implement caching and other performance enhancements that will increase page load times.
- Testing Plan
- Develop a comprehensive testing plan for functionality, performance and usability.
- Conduct usability testing with real users to gather feedback.
- Training and Documentation
- Train relevant teams on the new website features and functionalities.
- Create documentation for ongoing maintenance and updates that can be referenced by team members down the road.
- Launch Plan
- Plan the launch carefully, considering the least disruptive time for your audience.
- Monitor the website closely after launch for any issues.
- Post-Launch Monitoring
- Monitor website performance, user feedback and analytics after launch.
- Address any issues promptly and make necessary modifications.
By following this checklist, you'll be well-prepared for a website makeover, ensuring a fluid transition and a successful outcome to support your business goals.
If you are considering a website redesign, Visionary has a team of experts ready to discuss your options and provide guidance. Contact us online or call (515) 369-3545, option 2. We're glad to help.
