Website Redesign: What to Expect and When You Need One

A website redesign project, if done right, can deliver spectacular results for your business. However, a website redesign calls for complete commitment, both from you and your web design agency in Melbourne.

Redesigning a website, for the better, involves time, effort, and expense. So it’s really important to make sure that you are redesigning it for the purposes that are worthy and beneficial for your business in the long run. A bad redesign can have huge consequences including loss of investment and brand appeal among customers.

How to decide whether your website needs updating

You have a website for your small or medium business. But you are not sure how good or how bad it is. You are also not sure if it’s really the time to upgrade your existing website.

We have compiled a list of important questions to ask yourself. If the answer to most of the questions is a “yes”, you are going in the right direction. However, if most of the answers are “No” it’s time to plan a website redesign.

1. Is your site bringing leads and helping you grow your sales?

If you answered this question even with a bit of doubt, you should immediately hire an expert web design agency to redesign it for you. After all, your website is the first place prospective customers will visit to know about you and your products and services. It’s the face of your business.

If your website does not help in converting your visitors into customers, it’s time to invest in a website redesign.

2. Is your website responsive?

Given that more and more users are relying on their mobile phones for their online fix, search engines give importance to mobile friendly websites. That’s right, Google penalises websites that are not mobile-friendly.

A mobile friendly website is one that adjusts according to the device size it is accessed on. This way, the users can easily navigate the website and find information they’re after on any device.

[Updated] Whether your website was designed five years ago or more recently, if it is not mobile responsive, you must consider a redesign.

How do you check for mobile friendliness? Simply look up your website on your smartphone. Do you have to pinch and zoom to read the content on your website? If the answer is yes, you need a website redesign.

3. Does your website have visual appeal?

Does your website have visual appeal? Is the design appropriate for your target audience? Is it compatible to all the major browsers (Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Safari)? Do the colours blend together harmoniously? Is the text easy to read?

If your answer to any of these questions is a “no”, you should consider a redesign.

What is Responsive Web Design?

It is a framework that helps the content of a website to flexibly adapt to the size of the device it’s accessed on. If your website is responsive, then no matter the device, mobile, tablet or desktop, it will adapt to the screen size to offer the user the best experience.

How to Determine if You Need a Responsive Website?

You have a separate mobile website. You are spending a lot more time than you need to, on maintaining your website. Every time you want to update your website, or publish some new content, you have to do it twice, once for your desktop website and again for the mobile version.

You have to pinch the screen to zoom in. Look up your website on your mobile device. Now, can you read the content without squinting or bringing the device too close to your eyes? Or do you have to pinch the screen to zoom in and out frequently to view the content? Not really an ideal experience, is it? Think about your visitors. It’s likely that they are doing the same, and this experience is probably leaving them frustrated. Imagine the impact this could have on your conversions.

A lot of your visitors are coming from mobile phones. Take a look at your website analytics to determine the mobile traffic your website receives. [Updated] If a significant share of your visitors are coming from mobile devices, it’s time to take some serious action.

Act Now, Get a Responsive Website

Even if any one of the above scenarios rings true for your business website, then act now. Get a responsive website; you get a single version of your website that automatically formats itself to the dimension and size of any device.

Website Redesign and What to Expect

So what should you expect from your website redesign project? Let’s take a look.

Expect a Partnership

An online presence is an ongoing, proactive task. If you want the results you desire, you need to put in the time, and the effort, and if you can’t do it, then you need a partner who can.

Your web design Melbourne agency can be your partners for success. You need to treat them as an extension of your team in order to derive maximum value from their expertise.

Trust is important in this partnership. So be sure to discuss your needs in details with your web design agency during the consultation. Ask them a lot of questions to determine if they’re a good fit for you before taking the decision to hire them.

Expect to Give Your Time

As your web design agency, we put in our all. However, we cannot give our best without you. After all, you are the one who knows what is best for your business. Be prepared to give your time to your website redesign project as you may have to work with your agency all the way.

Expect to Make Decisions

You will have to be prepared to make decisions you may have not thought of at every stage of the project to move things forward. Your agency will ask a lot of questions. Questions that will help in creating a site that attracts, engages and converts.

And you will have to be prepared to make crucial decisions. Decisions about what you want the world to know about your business, who your target audience is, what kind of an impact you want to make, what kind of feel you want to create for your website, the kind of flow you require, and more.

5 Key Factors When Going for a Website Redesign

Consider the following key factors when going for a website redesign.

01. Purpose

What are your goals for the redesign? Do you want to improve conversions? Generate more sales? Gain more visibility? Achieve greater brand appeal?

Redesigning for improved aesthetics without any regard for functionality is no way useful. Redesigning to score a point against your competitors, or for the sole purpose of redesigning, are not valid reasons either.

Have a clear vision and measurable objectives for your website redesign to achieve tangible results.

02. Examine existing website

A redesign need not necessarily be a complete overhaul. Retain design elements that have yielded desired results such as generating leads or increasing conversions.

Combine these efficient elements with the new design to build a more functional, user-friendly, and high-performing website.

03. Emphasis on Content and SEO

Well-planned content and SEO strategies are crucial to the success of your redesign. Content in different formats, including text, videos, audio, downloads, podcasts, are all useful only if they serve a purpose for the reader. Ensure that you generate useful time-relevant content.

An efficient SEO strategy uses a judicious combination of content and design to reach target audiences, and propel them into action, post a comment, fill a form, or make a purchase.

04. Monitor the performance

Do not expect instant results. Your website redesign may have been expensive and user-friendly, but it need not necessarily translate into immediate success. It takes time for search engines to recognise the website and take you to your audiences. Customers need to accustom to the redesigned website as well.

Monitor for customer feedback and make changes as necessary. Monitor the performance of the website over a period of time to assess if it is yielding desired results.

05. Work with an Expert

Website redesign is a complex and ongoing process that demands professional expertise to yield results. It is therefore crucial that you team up with an able web solutions provider.

At Digital Developments, we have a team of experts to handle your entire website redesign process. Our designers, developers, and online marketing specialists work on your existing website challenges to deliver a holistic result-oriented solution.

In Conclusion

Having worked in the industry for a long time, we know that launching a website is not an easy task for business owners. After all, you already have so much on your plate. Add to that the task of managing your website redesign project, and you are sure to become overwhelmed and exhausted.

At Digital Developments, we understand that. We work with you all the way and help you make informed decisions without being lost in the technical mumbo jumbo. We are with you from start to finish.

Contact Digital Developments today for a friendly chat, or call 0425 804 026. We’d be happy to answer your questions and discuss how your business can benefit from a website redesign.