So, you need to begin an internet site redesign. Perhaps you simply completed a model overhaul, or your product was not too long ago up to date. No matter your cause, a redesign could be a large success — or not. It will also be an extended and tedious endeavor, which is why each redesign wants to start out with a transparent imaginative and prescient and/or drawback to unravel.
I’ve spearheaded a number of web site redesign initiatives 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 your complete course of shall be as properly.
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 successful (not a flop).
Many organizations resolve to revamp their web site in an effort to drive extra site visitors as their enterprise grows. Others spend money on an internet site redesign as half of a bigger rebranding initiative.
No matter why your organization is desirous about an internet site redesign plan, it is prone to be a large mission. It’s additionally an endeavor that’s very important to get proper, contemplating the crucial position your web site performs in your advertising and model picture.
In actual fact, in response to a current report, 50% of shoppers imagine that their emotions a few enterprise are influenced by the design of its web site. To many guests, your web site could also be simply as essential because the merchandise you promote.
How Usually 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 typical lifespan for an internet site is simply 1.5 to 2.5 years.
In fact, that timeframe is just an estimate, and you will have to find out what works finest to your distinctive group. However if you happen to wait too lengthy, your present web site design is liable to now not really feel “recent” and aggressive.
The next elements can decide how usually it is best to redesign your web site:
- How usually your model or objectives change. Whenever you’re itching for a brand new web site, 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 web site redesign wait, or do I’ve causes to make use of the funds on our web site now?”
- How lengthy your web site stays purposeful and quick. Step into your prospects’ footwear and see if you happen to can navigate the positioning properly and discover the whole lot you need to discover with out encountering errors or lengthy web page load occasions. 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 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 business. For instance, when Google introduced that it might be altering to mobile-first indexing, web sites needed to turn out to be mobile-friendly or danger shedding natural site visitors from Google.
Your web site is the place guests and prospects go after they need to ask questions, learn content material, or buy services or products. As such, it’s finest to be additional ready when committing to an internet 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. If you happen to’re questioning what ought to go into your web site redesign technique, begin with the next steps.
Tips on how to 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 property.
- Select the precise software program.
Under, I’ll unpack these 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, it’s essential to doc your present efficiency metrics. This will provide you with a good suggestion of the place your present web site stands and what metrics you’ll be able to enhance upon via your redesign.
If you happen to’re undecided the place to start out, 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 fluctuate relying in your web site redesign objectives, however I’ve discovered that it may be useful to have a look at many of those metrics earlier than diving right into a redesign:
- Variety of visits, guests, and distinctive guests.
- Bounce price.
- Time on web site.
- High-performing key phrases when it comes to rank, site visitors, and lead technology.
- Variety of inbound linking domains.
- Complete new leads and kind submissions.
- Complete gross sales generated.
- Complete pages listed.
- Complete pages that obtain site visitors.
If you happen to don’t at present have entry to this data, I’d recommend utilizing instruments like Google Analytics and HubSpot’s Advertising 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 manner, you should utilize those self same instruments once more when gathering 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, “properly, it’s been some time since we’ve achieved one,” or, “my competitor simply did a redesign,” that’s not ok. In terms of investing in an internet site redesign, there ought to all the time be an excellent cause to do it.
Bear in mind: It’s not nearly how your web site seems to be but in addition the way it works. Be crystal clear about why you’re doing an internet site redesign, and tie these objectives to measurable outcomes. Then, talk your objectives along with your workforce, designer, or company.
Contemplate the next data-driven targets to 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 price.
- To extend time on web site.
- To enhance area authority.
- To extend new leads and kind submissions.
- To extend complete gross sales generated.
- To reinforce 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 may additionally want to extend site visitors, whereas lowering your web site’s bounce price.
Additionally, check out the metrics you pulled out within the earlier step. Are there any metrics you’ll be able to enhance upon along with your new web site? Maybe you should utilize 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 gives its prospects, and the way any customer can get began:
Take into consideration whether or not you propose to vary your branding and/or messaging within the close to future or if you happen to anticipate it should keep the identical for some time. If you happen to do plan to vary it, what is going to it’s good to change? Maintain these adjustments top-of-mind as you redesign your web site.
As you develop your messaging, use clear, concise language. Keep away from business jargon which will alienate your viewers and make you sound extra like a business-babbling robotic than a human.
For instance, right here’s a “gobbledygook” manner that somebody might describe HubSpot:
HubSpot helps firms throughout a number of international markets 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 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 truly say:
HubSpot’s all-in-one advertising software program helps over 100,000 companies in additional than 120 nations entice leads and convert them into prospects. A pioneer in inbound advertising, HubSpot goals to assist its prospects make advertising that folks love.
A lot clearer!
Moreover, as you develop your firm branding, take into account which visible facets of your web site should be redesigned and what can keep the identical. Have you ever created a brand new brand, fashion information, or shade palette? Ensure that these are utilized to your new web site, so it stays per 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 might this firm assist me?”
So don’t make your web site all about you. As a substitute, converse to your guests of their language by crafting your web site design and content material round your purchaser personas.
For example, if you happen to’re a advertising supervisor at a resort wanting to usher in new enterprise, you would possibly goal 5 totally 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 you clearly establish your purchaser personas, so you’ll be able to form your web site redesign technique across the sorts of web site guests that matter most to you.
What I like: Try HubSpot’s useful purchaser persona builder that will help you create detailed purchaser personas.
Lastly, ask your self: Is your audience altering as a part of your web site redesign? And in that case, do your branding and content material align with this new viewers? Answering these questions shall be very important as you’re strategizing about your web site redesign.
5. Shield your search-engine-optimized pages.
Getting found on-line is important to bettering your web site’s metrics. In any case, if nobody is ready to discover and go to your web site, how will you improve new leads, conversions, or gross sales? Listed here are three of my prime ideas for designing your new web site with search engine marketing (web optimization) in thoughts:
Doc your most search-valued pages.
First, use advertising analytics to determine which of your web site’s pages at present 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 an inventory of those extremely priceless pages, and if you happen to plan to maneuver any of them, ensure you create the correct 301 redirects.
Create a 301 redirect technique.
Subsequent, 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 a technical skilled to ensure all the required redirects are correctly carried out.
Do your key phrase analysis.
Lastly, when crafting your newly designed web site, choose one key phrase or matter for every web page to concentrate on. When you establish these key phrases, use on-page web optimization finest practices to optimize your web site pages.
You too can take into account including new content material and pages to your web site that deal with key phrases or subjects which may be uncared for in your present web site.
Save time and rank larger on Google with our free on-page web optimization template.
Professional tip: HubSpot’s web optimization Advertising Software program can provide you insights into your web site’s present web 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 could be useful. To that finish, I’d recommend working your web site via HubSpot’s free Web site Grader device to generate a report card on how properly your web site is performing.
You possibly can then use this diagnostic device to judge your rivals’ web sites, so that you’re conscious of their strengths and weaknesses in addition to your individual.
Professional tip: HubSpot’s Web site Grader device is an effective way to realize perception into the efficiency of your present web site.
Subsequent, check out your rivals’ web sites, and be aware of what you want — and what you don’t.
When you conduct these aggressive analyses, you should utilize the insights you’ve uncovered to place collectively an inventory of motion gadgets highlighting some areas for enchancment and methods you should utilize 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, if you happen to’re not cautious, it may possibly find yourself harming your web site’s efficiency.
It’s because your current web site probably incorporates many high-performing content material property that you just’ve already constructed up, and in case your redesign causes them to turn out to be much less efficient, it may possibly severely harm your advertising outcomes.
Professional tip: HubSpot’s web optimization Advertising Software program may also help you establish your current top-performing pages, so that you don’t find yourself harming your efficiency via your web site redesign.
For example, these high-performing property would possibly embrace 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 accrued a excessive variety of inbound hyperlinks, you possibly can probably lose a number of web optimization credit score, which might make it tougher to 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 web optimization specialists. As such, don’t hesitate to remind these stakeholders about web optimization issues and assist them alongside by auditing your web site and offering them with an inventory of crucial pages to you should definitely keep or replace.
8. Select the precise software program.
The ultimate — and 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 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. In fact, figuring out which CMS is correct to your wants will rely in your distinctive enterprise, the options your web site redesign would require, and your degree of familiarity with totally different CMS instruments.
There are a whole bunch of CMSs to select from, together with HubSpot’s CMS Hub (the one mixed CMS and CRM, or buyer relationship administration). You too can assessment a few of the finest CMS platforms to study extra in regards to the vary of accessible choices.
What I like: HubSpot’s CMS Hub offers you the instruments it’s good to 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 internet redesign, let’s put the whole lot into motion. Whereas I don’t have entry to a web based ecommerce web site or digital enterprise, I used to be in a position to cellphone a pal for a mission.
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 mission.
Discovery: The Targets of the Web site
Earlier than truly making adjustments to the positioning, I must know what Kaitlin’s objectives are. To search 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 function of your web site?
- Who’s your viewers?
- Are there any particular adjustments you want 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 totally 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 elucidate how the abilities from my previous profession have transferred to my new one,” Kaitlin says.
What’s the imaginative and prescient for or function 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 influence of my initiatives,” Kaitlin says.
Who’s your viewers?
“The viewers must be individuals who need to work with me sooner or later. I run a contract program at HubSpot. Individuals who need to be part of ought to be capable to learn the way from my web site,” Kaitlin says.
Are there any particular adjustments you want to see?
“The present web site’s shade scheme could be very colourful and enjoyable. Whereas I liked this on the time, I need my web site to characteristic a extra smooth design. I additionally need to replace the pictures. 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 initiatives and zine. I’ve migrated that to a distinct 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 positioning.
Rebranding and Rewriting
Whereas a lot of Kaitlin’s asks relate to the design of the positioning, I believe refreshing the textual content gives a greater place to start out. This entails 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 not too long ago, 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 at this time.
Past that, I’ll condense her previous expertise to inform the story of her profession transition. Then, I’ll present up to date contact data 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 vary the colour scheme and theme of the positioning. 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 shade scheme. Main colours are used to spotlight particular areas of the positioning, and all images are in black and white.
Past that, I’ve constructed a restricted menu. This enables us to delete the Zine tab of her web site. I may also merge the audio and tales part into one web page known as “Tasks.” This aligns higher together with her program supervisor position at this time and focuses extra on initiatives constructed than particular person tales accomplished.
From there, I can copy over the textual content adjustments I made beforehand and swap out her older photos for brand new ones, as requested.
Outcomes
I discovered working via this redesign to be enjoyable and genuinely useful. Creating a less complicated web site allowed the aim of the positioning to shine. I used to be in a position to 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 positive that in a couple of years, I’ll need to make extra adjustments and redesign it once more!”
Get Began on Your Web site Redesign At this time
Whew! Now you are able to plan, design, construct, optimize, launch, and analyze your new web site. Apply these seven steps to revamp an internet site that pulls extra shoppers, wows extra guests, and converts extra prospects.
Editor’s notice: This submit was initially revealed in January 2013 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.
