The Final Information to Constructing a Web site Redesign Technique

So, you wish to begin a web site redesign. Possibly you simply completed a model overhaul or your product was just lately up to date. No matter your cause, a redesign could be a big success — or not. It may also be a protracted and tedious endeavor, which is why each redesign wants to start out with a transparent imaginative and prescient and/or drawback to resolve.

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

Whether or not you’re working with an company, redesigning your website 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 spend money on a web site redesign as half of a bigger rebranding initiative. No matter why your organization is concerned about a web site redesign plan, the mission itself is an enormous endeavor, to not point out an essential one to get proper contemplating the crucial function your web site performs in your advertising and model picture.

Actually, new analysis has discovered that fifty% of shoppers suppose 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 Typically Ought to You Redesign Your Web site?

In accordance with Business 2 Community, the common lifespan for a web site is 1.5 to 2.5 years. As a result of design traits change and know-how advances, that is the common period of time {that a} redesign will really feel “recent” and aggressive. Nonetheless, that timeframe is barely a benchmark, so you will have to find out what works finest on your distinctive group.

The next components can decide how typically it’s best to redesign your web site:

• How typically your model or objectives change. Whenever you’re itching for a brand new website, first ask your self, “Does this web site nonetheless characterize who we’re as an organization?”
• How a lot funds you allot to design and improvement. Ask your self, “Can a website design wait, or do I’ve causes to make use of the funds on our website now?”
• How lengthy your web site stays practical and quick. Step into your prospects’ footwear and see in the event you can navigate the location nicely and discover all the pieces 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 looking signifies that your website’s navigation and pace actually do matter.
• The efficiency of your web site. Ask your self, “Is that this website changing an affordable quantity of site visitors? Do folks 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 will 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 once they wish to ask questions, learn content material, or buy services or products. For that cause, it’s finest 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. Should you’re questioning what ought to go into your web site redesign technique, begin with the steps under.

Let’s unpack eight crucial 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 offers you a good suggestion of the place your present web site stands and what metrics you may enhance upon by means of your redesign.

Analyze 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 it’s useful to drag every metric earlier than you dive into your redesign.

• Variety of visits, guests, and distinctive guests
• Bounce charge
• Time on website
• Prime-performing key phrases when it comes to rank, site visitors, and lead era
• Variety of inbound linking domains
• Complete new leads and type submissions
• Complete gross sales generated (in {dollars})
• Complete pages listed
• Complete pages that obtain site visitors

Should you don’t have entry to this info, I like to recommend instruments like Google Analytics and HubSpot’s Marketing Analytics for higher monitoring and visibility into your web site’s efficiency.

Moreover, make word of which instruments you used to measure every of those benchmarks previously. Ideally, you’ll wish to use those self same instruments when amassing 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 cause behind it.

Should you’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.

Bear in mind: It’s not nearly how your website appears to be like, however moderately 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 crew, designer, or company.

Think about the next data-driven goals on your personal web site:

• To extend the variety of visits and guests (each are essential as one customer might go to greater than as soon as)
• To scale back bounce charge
• To extend time on website
• To enhance area authority
• To extend the full new leads and type submissions
• To extend the full gross sales generated
• To reinforce present web optimization rankings for essential key phrases

Many of those objectives are depending on each other. For instance, in an effort to generate extra conversions, you might also want to extend site visitors whereas lowering your website’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 utilize your outdated 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 complete web site.

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 onyour website, so they do not flee to opponents.

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 propose to alter your branding and/or messaging, or if it’ll keep the identical. Should you plan to alter it, what wants to alter? Maintain these modifications top-of-mind as you redesign your web site.

Download this free workbook for guidance and templates to simplify your next website redesign project.

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

Think about the next instance of how we might describe HubSpot in a “gobbledygook” approach:

HubSpot helps corporations throughout a number of international locations 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 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 folks truly communicate:

HubSpot’s all-in-one advertising software program helps over 100,000 companies in additional than120 international locations entice 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, take into account what visible elements of your web site should be redesigned and what can keep the identical. Have you ever created a brand new emblem, fashion information, or colour palette? Make certain these are utilized to your new web site so it stays in line with different components of your model.

For some extra inspiration, try our roundup of our favourite B2B web site examples:

 

4. Outline your purchaser persona(s).

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

When your guests land in your web site, they’re asking themselves, “What’s in it for me? How might 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 example, in the event you’re a advertising supervisor at a lodge wanting to herald new enterprise, you would possibly goal 5 totally different purchaser personas: an impartial enterprise traveler, a company journey supervisor, an occasion planner, a vacationing household, and a pair planning their marriage ceremony reception.

Ensure you clearly determine your purchaser personas so you may form your web site redesign technique across the web site guests that matter most to you.

Check out our handy buyer persona builder to help you create detailed buyer 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 bettering your web site’s metrics. If nobody is ready to discover and go to your website, how will you enhance new leads, conversions, or gross sales? Listed here are some ideas for designing your new web site with search engine marketing (web optimization) in thoughts:

Doc your most search-valued pages.

Use your marketing analytics to determine which pages obtain probably the most site visitors and inbound hyperlinks, convert probably the most leads, and in the end cowl probably the most influential matters in your trade. Should you plan to maneuver any of those extremely precious pages, be sure you create the correct 301 redirects.

Create a 301 redirect technique.

Talking of 301 redirects, these are extraordinarily essential when it comes to retaining the site visitors and hyperlink worth related to a given web page. Create a spreadsheet to report and map out your 301 redirects (outdated 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, decide one key phrase/matter every web page will give attention to. As soon as you identify the key phrase(s), use on-page web optimization finest practices to optimize your web site pages. Moreover, take into account including new content material and pages to your web site that deal with these explicit key phrases and matters which may be uncared for in your present website.

Save time and rank higher on Google with our free on-page SEO template.

6. Analyze the competitors.

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

Subsequent, check out your opponents’ web sites, and be aware of 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 a listing of motion gadgets highlighting some areas for enchancment and how one can set your self aside out of your opponents.

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 wherein it might damage you. Your current web site possible accommodates many high-performing content material property that you’ve got already constructed up, and shedding their effectiveness due to a redesign can severely harm your advertising outcomes.

As an example, such property would possibly embrace your:

• Most-shared or considered 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 website that has collected a excessive variety of inbound hyperlinks, you can probably lose loads of web optimization credit score, which might make it more and more tough so that you can get discovered on search engine outcomes pages (SERPs).

Understand that many internet designers don’t take into account 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 website and offering them with a listing for sustaining or updating crucial pages in your website.

8. Select the precise software program.

The ultimate (however arguably most essential) step of the website redesign process is selecting the best 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 number of causes. Whether or not you’re a novice digital marketer or a grasp internet developer, a CMS can simply make it easier to create a stunning, practical web site. Selecting the best CMS relies on your small business, equivalent to what CMSs you’re already aware of and what options your web site redesign requires.

There are a whole bunch of CMSs to select from, together with CMS Hub — the one mixed CMS and CRM. Or you may overview a number of the finest CMS platforms to find out about your choices.

Get Began on Your Web site Redesign At present

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 word: This submit was initially revealed in January 2013 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.