The Ultimate Guide to Building a Website Redesign Strategy

So, you wish to begin a web site redesign. Perhaps you simply completed a model overhaul or your product was not too long ago up to date. No matter your purpose, a redesign generally is a enormous success — or not. It may also 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.

The higher you’re at defining that imaginative and prescient on the very starting, the extra profitable your redesign shall be — and the smoother your entire course of shall be as nicely.

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 can assist you strategize your web site redesign and guarantee it seems to be an enormous success — not a flop.

Many organizations decide to revamp their web site to welcome extra site visitors as their enterprise grows. Others put money into a web site redesign as half of a bigger rebranding initiative. No matter why your organization is enthusiastic about a web site redesign plan, the undertaking itself is an enormous enterprise, to not point out an essential one to get proper contemplating the vital position your web site performs in your advertising and model picture.

The truth is, new analysis has discovered that fifty% of shoppers assume web site design is essential to a enterprise’s general model. To many guests, the web site you publish is simply as essential because the merchandise you promote.

How Usually Ought to You Redesign Your Web site?

In keeping with Enterprise 2 Neighborhood, the common lifespan for a web site is 1.5 to 2.5 years. As a result of design traits change and expertise advances, that is the common period of time {that a} redesign will really feel “contemporary” and aggressive. Nonetheless, that timeframe is simply a benchmark, so you will want to find out what works greatest on your distinctive group.

The next components can decide how usually it is best to redesign your web site:

• How usually your model or objectives change. While you’re itching for a brand new web site, first ask your self, “Does this web site nonetheless signify who we’re as an organization?”
• How a lot finances you allot to design and growth. Ask your self, “Can a web site design wait, or do I’ve causes to make use of the finances on our web site now?”
• How lengthy your web site stays useful and quick. Step into your prospects’ footwear and see for those who can navigate the positioning nicely and discover every part you wish to discover with out encountering errors or lengthy web page load instances. Nearly 50% of internet sites get between 4 and 6 web page views per go to — all that searching implies that your web site’s navigation and velocity actually do matter.
• The efficiency of your web site. Ask your self, “Is that this web site changing an affordable quantity of site visitors? Do individuals keep on the web page for an affordable period of time, or do they bounce?”
• Adjustments within the trade. For instance, when Google introduced that it might be altering to mobile-first indexing, it necessitated that web sites be mobile-friendly, or they’d lose natural site visitors from Google.

Your web site is the place guests and prospects go after they wish to ask questions, learn content material, or buy services or products. For that purpose, it’s greatest to be additional ready when committing to a web site redesign.

It’s possible you’ll spend extra time constructing your web site redesign plan than you’ll on the redesign itself. For those who’re questioning what ought to go into your web site redesign technique, begin with the steps under.

Let’s unpack eight vital 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, doc your present efficiency metrics. This gives you a good suggestion of the place your present web site stands and what metrics you’ll be able to enhance upon by way of your redesign.

Analyze your present web site’s month-to-month efficiency within the following areas. The significance and relevance of every might range relying in your web site redesign objectives, but it surely’s useful to drag every metric earlier than you dive into your redesign.

• Variety of visits, guests, and distinctive guests
• Bounce fee
• Time on web site
• Prime-performing key phrases by way of rank, site visitors, and lead technology
• Variety of inbound linking domains
• Whole new leads and kind submissions
• Whole gross sales generated (in {dollars})
• Whole pages listed
• Whole pages that obtain site visitors

For those who don’t have entry to this data, I like to recommend instruments like Google Analytics and HubSpot’s Advertising Analytics for higher monitoring and visibility into your web site’s efficiency.

Moreover, make be aware of which instruments you used to measure every of those benchmarks previously. Ideally, you’ll wish to use those self same instruments when accumulating your post-redesign metrics. In any other case, you’ll be evaluating apples to oranges.

2. Decide your web site redesign objectives.

What’s the “why” behind your web site redesign? When contemplating a redesign, there ought to all the time be a very good purpose behind it.

For those who’re answering with “nicely, it’s been some time since we’ve finished one” or “my competitor simply did a redesign,” these causes aren’t adequate on their very own.

Keep in mind: It’s not nearly how your web site seems, however relatively 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 staff, designer, or company.

Take into account the next data-driven targets on your personal web site:

• To extend the variety of visits and guests (each are essential as one customer may go to greater than as soon as)
• To cut back bounce fee
• To extend time on web site
• To enhance area authority
• To extend the overall new leads and kind submissions
• To extend the overall gross sales generated
• To boost present web optimization rankings for essential key phrases

Many of those objectives are depending on each other. For instance, so as to generate extra conversions, you might also want to extend site visitors whereas lowering your web site’s bounce fee.

Additionally, check out the metrics you pulled out within the earlier step. Are there any metrics you’ll be able to enhance upon together with your new web site? Maybe you utilize your previous web site metrics to encourage new objectives, too.

3. Outline your branding and messaging.

Earlier than crafting your new web site design and content material, be crystal clear about your required branding, messaging, and distinctive worth proposition. Doing so will guarantee consistency throughout your total web site.

Anybody who visits your web site for the primary time ought to instantly perceive what you do, the way it might profit them, and why they need to keep onyour web site, so they do not flee to rivals.

Take our homepage for instance: It is instantly clear what we do, what we provide, and the way any customer can get began.

Take into consideration whether or not you intend to alter your branding and/or messaging, or if it’s going to keep the identical. For those who plan to alter it, what wants to alter? Maintain these adjustments top-of-mind as you redesign your web site.

Obtain this free workbook for steering and templates to simplify your subsequent web site redesign undertaking.

As you develop your messaging, use clear, concise language. Keep away from trade jargon which will alienate elements of your viewers and make you sound extra like a business-babbling robotic than a human.

Take into account the next instance of how we may describe HubSpot in a “gobbledygook” method:

HubSpot helps firms throughout a number of nations cut 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 modern 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 the best way individuals truly converse:

HubSpot’s all-in-one advertising software program helps over 100,000 companies in additional than120 nations appeal to leads and convert them into prospects. A pioneer in inbound advertising, HubSpot goals to assist its prospects make advertising that individuals truly love.

A lot clearer!

Moreover, as you develop your organization branding, think about what visible points of your web site should be redesigned and what can keep the identical. Have you ever created a brand new emblem, type information, or shade palette? Make sure that these are utilized to your new web site so it stays in line with different elements of your model.

For some extra inspiration, take a look at our roundup of our favourite B2B web site examples:

 

4. Outline your purchaser persona(s).

Your web site isn’t just about you. Truly, it’s hardly about you.

When your guests land in your web site, they’re asking themselves, “What’s in it for me? How may this assist me?”

Communicate to your guests in their language by crafting your web site design and content material round your purchaser personas.

As an illustration, for those who’re a advertising supervisor at a lodge wanting to herald new enterprise, you would possibly goal 5 completely different purchaser personas: an unbiased enterprise traveler, a company journey supervisor, an occasion planner, a vacationing household, and a pair planning their marriage ceremony reception.

Be sure to clearly establish your purchaser personas so you’ll be able to form your web site redesign technique across the web site guests that matter most to you.

Take a look at our helpful purchaser persona builder that can assist you create detailed purchaser personas.

Is your audience altering as a part of your web site redesign? Do your branding and content material align with this viewers? Reply these questions as you are strategizing your web site redesign.

5. Defend your search engine optimized pages.

Getting found on-line can be important to enhancing your web site’s metrics. If nobody is ready to discover and go to your web site, how are you going to improve new leads, conversions, or gross sales? Listed here are some ideas for designing your new web site with SEO (web optimization) in thoughts:

Doc your most search-valued pages.

Use your advertising analytics to determine which pages obtain probably the most site visitors and inbound hyperlinks, convert probably the most leads, and finally cowl probably the most influential subjects in your trade. For those who plan to maneuver any of those extremely worthwhile pages, ensure you create the right 301 redirects.

Create a 301 redirect technique.

Talking of 301 redirects, these are extraordinarily essential by way of retaining the site visitors and hyperlink worth related to a given web page. Create a spreadsheet to file and map out your 301 redirects (previous URLs vs. new URLs). Then hand this doc over to somebody technical for correct implementation.

Do your key phrase analysis.

For each web page in your newly designed web site, choose one key phrase/matter every web page will give attention to. As soon as you establish the key phrase(s), use on-page web optimization greatest practices to optimize your web site pages. Moreover, think about including new content material and pages to your web site that handle these specific key phrases and subjects which may be uncared for in your present web site.

Save time and rank greater on Google with our free on-page web optimization template.

6. Analyze the competitors.

Whereas we don’t suggest obsessing over your rivals, it can assist to understand how you evaluate. First, run your web site by way of HubSpot’s free Web site Grader device to generate a report card of how nicely your web site is performing. You can even use this diagnostic device to guage your rivals’ web sites, so that you’re conscious of their strengths and weaknesses.

Subsequent, check out your rivals’ web sites, and pay attention to what you want — and what you don’t. This course of is that can assist you notice what you are able to do higher in your web site. When you conduct your aggressive evaluation, put collectively an inventory of motion objects highlighting some areas for enchancment and how one can set your self aside out of your rivals.

7. Take stock of your high-performing content material.

Whereas a redesign is a good way to enhance the efficiency of your web site, there are sadly numerous methods through which it could actually damage you. Your present web site seemingly comprises many high-performing content material property that you have already constructed up, and shedding their effectiveness due to a redesign can severely harm your advertising outcomes.

As an illustration, such property would possibly embody your:

• Most-shared or considered content material
• Excessive-traffic pages
• Finest 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 possibly can doubtlessly lose a number of web optimization credit score, which might make it more and more troublesome so that you can get discovered on search engine outcomes pages (SERPs).

Remember that many net designers don’t think about this step as a result of they’re neither entrepreneurs nor web optimization specialists. Don’t hesitate to remind them about this, and assist them alongside by auditing your web site and offering them with an inventory for sustaining or updating vital pages in your web site.

8. Select the best software program.

The ultimate (however arguably most essential) step of the web site redesign course of is choosing the proper software program with which to create and host your web site. This software program is often 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.

CMS software program is helpful for a couple of causes. Whether or not you’re a novice digital marketer or a grasp net developer, a CMS can simply assist you to create a beautiful, useful web site. Selecting the best CMS is determined by your online business, corresponding to what CMSs you’re already aware of and what options your web site redesign requires.

There are a whole lot of CMSs to select from, together with CMS Hub — the one mixed CMS and CRM. Or you’ll be able to assessment among the greatest CMS platforms to study your choices.

Get Began on Your Web site Redesign At the moment

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 pulls extra shoppers, wows extra guests, and converts extra prospects.

Editor’s be aware: This submit was initially revealed in January 2013 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.