So, you need to begin a web site redesign. Perhaps you simply completed a model overhaul, or your product was just lately up to date. No matter your motive, a redesign could be a enormous success — or not. It can be a protracted and tedious enterprise, which is why each redesign wants to begin with a transparent imaginative and prescient and/or drawback to unravel.
I’ve spearheaded a number of web site redesign tasks over the course of my advertising profession, and I can inform you firsthand: The higher you might be at defining that imaginative and prescient on the very starting, the extra profitable your redesign shall be — and the smoother the whole course of shall be as effectively.
Whether or not you’re working with an company, redesigning your web site in-house, or proposing a redesign to firm stakeholders, this information has ideas that will help you strategize about your web site redesign and guarantee it seems to be a hit (not a flop).
Web site Redesign
A web site redesign is the method of adjusting and updating the content material, construction, format, and/or navigation of your web site to enhance its efficiency and convert extra guests.
Many organizations determine to revamp their web site with a purpose to drive extra site visitors as their enterprise grows. Others invest in a website redesign as part of a larger rebranding initiative.
Regardless of why your company is interested in a website redesign plan, it’s likely to be a massive project. It’s also an endeavor that’s vital to get right, considering the critical role your website plays in your marketing and brand image.
In fact, according to a recent report, 50% of consumers believe that their emotions a couple of enterprise are influenced by the design of its web site. To many guests, your web site could also be simply as necessary because the merchandise you promote.
How Typically Ought to You Redesign Your Web site?
Design developments change quickly, and know-how is continually advancing. In consequence, in response to tech skilled Connor Brooke, the common lifespan for a web site is simply 1.5 to 2.5 years.
After all, that timeframe is just an estimate, and you have to to find out what works greatest on your distinctive group. However in the event you wait too lengthy, your present web site design is liable to not really feel “recent” and aggressive.
The next components can decide how usually it is best to redesign your web site:
- How usually your model or objectives change. If you’re itching for a brand new web site, first ask your self, “Does this web site nonetheless symbolize who we’re as an organization?”
- How a lot price range you allot to design and improvement. Ask your self, “Can a web site redesign wait, or do I’ve causes to make use of the price range on our web site now?”
- How lengthy your web site stays purposeful and quick. Step into your prospects’ sneakers and see in the event you can navigate the location effectively and discover all the things you need to discover with out encountering errors or lengthy web page load instances. Analysis from HubSpot signifies that fifty% of internet sites get between 4 and 6 web page views per go to — and all that looking implies that your web site’s navigation and pace actually do matter.
- The efficiency of your web site. Ask your self, “Is that this web site changing an inexpensive quantity of site visitors? Do individuals keep on the web page for an inexpensive period of time, or do they bounce?”
- Adjustments within the business. For instance, when Google introduced that it could be altering to mobile-first indexing, web sites needed to turn into mobile-friendly or danger shedding natural site visitors from Google.
Your web site is the place guests and prospects go once they need to ask questions, learn content material, or buy services or products. As such, it’s greatest to be further ready when committing to a web site redesign.
In actual fact, in my private expertise, I’ve discovered that you could be spend extra time constructing your web site redesign plan than you’ll spend on the redesign itself. When you’re questioning what ought to go into your web site redesign technique, begin with the next steps.
How one can Redesign a Web site
- Benchmark your present efficiency metrics.
- Decide your web site redesign objectives.
- Outline your branding and messaging.
- Outline your purchaser persona(s).
- Shield your search-engine-optimized pages.
- Analyze the competitors.
- Take inventory of your high-performing belongings.
- Select the suitable software program.
Under, I’ll unpack these eight essential web site redesign ideas to consider when planning and finishing your redesign.
1. Benchmark your present efficiency metrics.
Earlier than you start planning your web site redesign, it’s necessary to doc your present efficiency metrics. This gives you a good suggestion of the place your present web site stands and what metrics you may enhance upon by way of your redesign.
When you’re undecided the place to begin, I like to recommend analyzing your current web site’s month-to-month efficiency within the following areas. The significance and relevance of every could range relying in your web site redesign objectives, however I’ve discovered that it may be useful to take a look at many of those metrics earlier than diving right into a redesign:
- Variety of visits, guests, and distinctive guests.
- Bounce charge.
- Time on web site.
- Prime-performing key phrases when it comes to rank, site visitors, and lead era.
- Variety of inbound linking domains.
- Complete new leads and kind submissions.
- Complete gross sales generated.
- Complete pages listed.
- Complete pages that obtain site visitors.
When you don’t at the moment have entry to this info, I’d counsel utilizing instruments like Google Analytics and HubSpot’s Marketing Analytics for higher monitoring and visibility into your web site’s efficiency.
Professional tip: Bear in mind to notice which instruments you employ to measure every of those benchmarks. That method, you need to use those self same instruments once more when amassing your post-redesign metrics and thus keep away from evaluating apples to oranges.
2. Decide your web site redesign objectives.
What’s the “why” behind your web site redesign? In case your reply sounds one thing like, “effectively, it’s been some time since we’ve finished one,” or, “my competitor simply did a redesign,” that’s not adequate. On the subject of investing in a web site redesign, there ought to at all times be an excellent motive to do it.
Bear in mind: It’s not nearly how your web site appears to be like but in addition the way it works. Be crystal clear about why you’re doing a web site redesign, and tie these objectives to measurable outcomes. Then, talk your objectives together with your workforce, designer, or company.
Think about the next data-driven aims on your personal web site:
- To extend the variety of visits and guests (each are necessary, as one customer may go to greater than as soon as).
- To scale back bounce charge.
- To extend time on web site.
- To enhance area authority.
- To extend new leads and kind submissions.
- To extend whole gross sales generated.
- To reinforce search engine optimization rankings for necessary key phrases.
Many of those objectives are depending on each other. For instance, with a purpose to generate extra conversions, you might also want to extend site visitors, whereas lowering your web site’s bounce charge.
Additionally, check out the metrics you pulled out within the earlier step. Are there any metrics you may enhance upon together with your new web site? Maybe you need to use your outdated web site metrics to encourage new objectives.
What I like: You should utilize HubSpot’s customized dashboards to trace efficiency on the metrics that matter most to you — after which use that previous efficiency information to tell your forward-looking objectives.
3. Outline your branding and messaging.
Earlier than I craft a brand new web site design, I’ve discovered that it’s important to be crystal clear about my desired branding, messaging, and distinctive worth proposition.
Take it from me: Anybody who visits your web site for the primary time ought to instantly perceive what you do, the way it could profit them, and why they need to keep in your web site — in order that they don’t flee to rivals.
For instance, check out HubSpot’s homepage beneath. It’s instantly clear what the corporate does, what it presents its prospects, and the way any customer can get began:
Take into consideration whether or not you propose to alter your branding and/or messaging within the close to future or in the event you count on it’ll keep the identical for some time. When you do plan to alter it, what’s going to you could change? Preserve these modifications top-of-mind as you redesign your web site.
As you develop your messaging, use clear, concise language. Keep away from business jargon that will alienate your viewers and make you sound extra like a business-babbling robotic than a human.
For instance, right here’s a “gobbledygook” method that somebody may describe HubSpot:
HubSpot helps firms throughout a number of international markets scale back churn by backfilling the gross sales pipeline with extremely certified site visitors that generates leads that convert into prospects with excessive lifetime worth. We obtain this by offering cutting-edge software program that integrates all advertising channels for a synergistic view of the info that determines and prioritizes high-value advertising actions.
Say what? Let’s translate that into one thing a human would really say:
HubSpot’s all-in-one advertising software program helps over 100,000 companies in additional than 120 nations appeal to leads and convert them into prospects. A pioneer in inbound advertising, HubSpot goals to assist its prospects make advertising that individuals love.
A lot clearer!
Moreover, as you develop your organization branding, contemplate which visible features of your web site have to be redesigned and what can keep the identical. Have you ever created a brand new emblem, fashion information, or coloration palette? Be sure these are utilized to your new web site, so it stays in keeping with different elements of your model.
Professional tip: For some extra inspiration, try this roundup of B2B web site examples:
4. Outline your purchaser persona(s).
Your web site is not only about you. In actual fact, it’s hardly about you in any respect.
When your guests land in your web site, they’re asking themselves, “What’s in it for me? How may this firm assist me?”
So don’t make your web site all about you. As an alternative, communicate to your guests of their language by crafting your web site design and content material round your purchaser personas.
For example, in the event you’re a advertising supervisor at a lodge wanting to herald new enterprise, you would possibly goal 5 completely different purchaser personas: an impartial enterprise traveler, a company journey supervisor, an event planner, a vacationing household, and a pair planning their marriage ceremony reception.
Picture Supply
Be sure you clearly determine your purchaser personas, so you may form your web site redesign technique across the sorts of web site guests that matter most to you.
What I like: Take a look at HubSpot’s handy buyer persona builder that will help you create detailed purchaser personas.
Lastly, ask your self: Is your target market altering as a part of your web site redesign? And if that’s the case, do your branding and content material align with this new viewers? Answering these questions shall be important as you’re strategizing about your web site redesign.
5. Shield your search-engine-optimized pages.
Getting found on-line is crucial to bettering your web site’s metrics. In any case, if nobody is ready to discover and go to your web site, how are you going to enhance new leads, conversions, or gross sales? Listed below are three of my high ideas for designing your new web site with SEO (search engine optimization) in thoughts:
Doc your most search-valued pages.
First, use marketing analytics to determine which of your web site’s pages at the moment obtain essentially the most site visitors and inbound hyperlinks, convert essentially the most leads, and canopy essentially the most influential subjects in your business.
Write down a listing of those extremely beneficial pages, and in the event you plan to maneuver any of them, be sure you create the right 301 redirects.
Create a 301 redirect technique.
Subsequent, talking of 301 redirects, these are extraordinarily necessary when it comes to retaining the site visitors and hyperlink worth related to a given web page.
Create a spreadsheet to file and map out your 301 redirects (outdated URLs vs. new URLs). Then, hand this doc over to a technical skilled to verify all the required redirects are correctly applied.
Do your key phrase analysis.
Lastly, when crafting your newly designed web site, decide one key phrase or subject for every web page to deal with. When you determine these key phrases, use on-page search engine optimization greatest practices to optimize your web site pages.
You too can contemplate including new content material and pages to your web site that tackle key phrases or subjects which may be uncared for in your present web site.
Save time and rank higher on Google with our free on-page SEO template.
Professional tip: HubSpot’s SEO Marketing Software can provide you insights into your web site’s present search engine optimization efficiency, serving to you optimize your web site redesign plan.
6. Analyze the competitors.
Whereas I don’t suggest obsessing over your rivals, understanding the way you examine might be useful. To that finish, I’d counsel working your web site by way of HubSpot’s free Website Grader instrument to generate a report card on how effectively your web site is performing.
You’ll be able to then use this diagnostic instrument to judge your rivals’ web sites, so that you’re conscious of their strengths and weaknesses in addition to your personal.
Professional tip: HubSpot’s Website Grader instrument is an effective way to achieve perception into the efficiency of your present web site.
Picture Supply
Subsequent, check out your rivals’ web sites, and pay attention to what you want — and what you don’t.
When you conduct these aggressive analyses, you need to use the insights you’ve uncovered to place collectively a listing of motion gadgets highlighting some areas for enchancment and methods you need to use your web site to set your self aside out of your rivals.
7. Take stock of your high-performing content material.
Whereas a redesign is an effective way to enhance the efficiency of your web site, it’s not with out danger: In actual fact, in the event you’re not cautious, it may well find yourself harming your web site’s efficiency.
It’s because your current web site doubtless accommodates many high-performing content material belongings that you simply’ve already constructed up, and in case your redesign causes them to turn into much less efficient, it may well severely harm your advertising outcomes.
Professional tip: HubSpot’s SEO Marketing Software may also help you determine your current top-performing pages, so that you don’t find yourself harming your efficiency by way of your web site redesign.
For example, these high-performing belongings would possibly embody your:
- Most-shared or most-viewed content material.
- Excessive-traffic pages.
- Greatest performing or rating key phrases and related pages.
- Variety of inbound hyperlinks to particular person pages.
For instance, if you find yourself eradicating a web page out of your web site that has amassed a excessive variety of inbound hyperlinks, you may probably lose numerous search engine optimization credit score, which might make it more durable on your web site to be discovered on search engine outcomes pages (SERPs).
Personally, I’ve discovered that many internet designers don’t take into consideration this step as a result of they’re neither entrepreneurs nor search engine optimization specialists. As such, don’t hesitate to remind these stakeholders about search engine optimization concerns and assist them alongside by auditing your web site and offering them with a listing of essential pages to be sure you preserve or replace.
8. Select the suitable software program.
The ultimate — and arguably, most necessary — step of the website redesign process is choosing the proper software program with which to create and host your web site. This software program is usually known as a content material administration system (CMS), and it’s used to develop, design, and publish your web site for the world to see.
Whether or not you’re a novice digital marketer or a professional internet developer, a CMS may also help you construct a beautiful, purposeful web site with ease. After all, figuring out which CMS is correct on your wants will rely in your distinctive enterprise, the options your web site redesign would require, and your stage of familiarity with completely different CMS instruments.
There are lots of of CMSs to select from, together with HubSpot’s CMS Hub (the one mixed CMS and CRM, or buyer relationship administration). You too can evaluation a number of the greatest CMS platforms to study extra concerning the vary of obtainable choices.
What I like: HubSpot’s CMS Hub provides you the instruments you could get your web site redesign off the bottom.
Testing It Out: Designing a Digital Portfolio
So, now that we all know the phases of an online redesign, let’s put all the things into motion. Whereas I don’t have entry to an internet ecommerce web site or digital enterprise, I used to be capable of cellphone a buddy for a undertaking.
For this redesign, I’ll be serving to HubSpot’s Katilin Milliken, a senior program supervisor, redesign her private web site. That is Kaitlin’s on-line portfolio, showcasing her work all through her profession. Nevertheless, it hasn’t been up to date since she joined the corporate. Right here’s how I approached this undertaking.
Discovery: The Objectives of the Website
Earlier than really making modifications to the location, I must know what Kaitlin’s objectives are. To seek out out, I despatched her the next questions:
- What are the objectives of your web site design?
- What’s the imaginative and prescient for or objective of your web site?
- Who’s your viewers?
- Are there any particular modifications you wish to see?
Let’s try her solutions.
What are the objectives of your web site design?
“I initially created this web site once I was a enterprise journalist to seize the completely different articles and multimedia tales I labored on. I’ve since converted into program administration and dealing in tech. I need my web site to inform the story of that profession shift and to clarify how the talents from my previous profession have transferred to my new one,” Kaitlin says.
What’s the imaginative and prescient for or objective of your web site?
“This web site ought to showcase my skilled accomplishments and the previous positions I’ve held. Consider it like a digital resume with extra examples. I additionally need to spotlight metrics that exhibit the affect of my initiatives,” Kaitlin says.
Who’s your viewers?
“The viewers needs to be individuals who need to work with me sooner or later. I run a contract program at HubSpot. Individuals who need to be a part of ought to be capable to find out how from my web site,” Kaitlin says.
Are there any particular modifications you wish to see?
“The present web site’s coloration scheme may be very colourful and enjoyable. Whereas I cherished this on the time, I need my web site to function a extra modern design. I additionally need to replace the photographs. These photos are from over six years in the past,” she says.
She continues, “I additionally need to take away the portion about my private artwork tasks and zine. I’ve migrated that to a unique web site.”
With these objectives and directions in thoughts, I can begin the redesign course of. That each one begins with refreshing the textual content on the location.
Rebranding and Rewriting
Whereas lots of Kaitlin’s asks relate to the design of the location, I believe refreshing the textual content presents a greater place to begin. This includes reshaping the messaging of her web site so it displays her present objectives — telling her profession story to individuals who could need to work together with her sooner or later.
Let’s begin on the house web page.
Now, let’s flip to her about web page. The textual content has been refreshed considerably just lately, mentioning her present position at HubSpot. Nevertheless, her about web page focuses an excessive amount of on her earlier expertise. I need to change the textual content to emphasise what she does as we speak.
Past that, I’ll condense her previous expertise to inform the story of her profession transition. Then, I’ll present up to date contact info for individuals who need to work with HubSpot’s Freelance Community.
Making Design Adjustments
Now that our textual content aligns with the redesign objectives, let’s dig into aesthetics. I’ve been explicitly requested to alter the colour scheme and theme of the location. I requested Kaitlin about selecting from prebuilt Wix themes appropriate together with her web site. Along with her sign-off, I began my search.
I settled on a theme with a restricted coloration scheme. Major colours are used to spotlight particular areas of the location, and all pictures are in black and white.
Past that, I’ve constructed a restricted menu. This permits us to delete the Zine tab of her web site. I may merge the audio and tales part into one web page known as “Initiatives.” This aligns higher together with her program supervisor position as we speak and focuses extra on initiatives constructed than particular person tales accomplished.
From there, I can copy over the textual content modifications I made beforehand and swap out her older photos for brand new ones, as requested.
Outcomes
I discovered working by way of this redesign to be enjoyable and genuinely useful. Creating a less complicated web site allowed the aim of the location to shine. I used to be capable of seize the evolution of Kaitlin’s profession and discover an aesthetic that fits her preferences.
“I like this a lot greater than what I created initially,” Kaitlin says. “Although I’m certain that in just a few years, I’ll need to make extra modifications and redesign it once more!”
Get Began on Your Web site Redesign Immediately
Whew! Now you are able to plan, design, construct, optimize, launch, and analyze your new web site. Apply these seven steps to revamp a web site that draws extra shoppers, wows extra guests, and converts extra prospects.
Editor’s observe: This publish was initially revealed in January 2013 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.
