Website Redesign

Ideas for evaluating, improving and updating your website

It is obvious that websites need continuous improvement. Just browse around for a few minutes and discover the sites that are looking old and obsolete. But there are many other reasons to redesign your site. Some of them are not obvious but are at the core of the site. This website redesign guide is really for anyone involved with websites. It will help you get the deep meaning of the site as well as more practical issues.

This guide will help you redesign a website according to your audience's needs and changing perceptions. It is no longer good enough to have a static website. It must capture their attention, have new information, and engage the visitor or 'adios' they are off to your competitors site.

EVALUATE EXISTING SITE
What are the success and failures of your existing site? Gather a few people to get an honest evaluation of your existing site. Write three successes and three failures. Then write down your dreams and goals for the new site.

BRAINSTORMING
What new and fresh ideas are missing? Brainstorm with a team of people to get fresh ideas. Write down five ideas that came from the brainstorming.

WHY PEOPLE NOW VISIT
Why are people visiting your site? Generally they are coming for information or are in need of your company's product or service but there can be many other reasons. List three reasons.

DOES IT GRAB ATTENTION?
Do you think visitors remember your site? Does it have something that gets attention and is memorable? If he/she does not bookmark your site what will get them back? You should give your visitor something to remember so that he can find his way back to your site. Write one thing that will be remembered about your site.

TARGET AUDIENCE
Who is the target audience? Decide whom you want to target with the site. Who is your customer or audience? Try and get into their shoes and think like they think. What are their needs or points of interest? How can they be served? List the top three categories of people. Write three one sentence descriptions of different people in your target audience. Then write a few words that might interest these people and cause them to respond to your site.

THEME AND 'LOOK AND FEEL'
What is the mood or emotion that you want to communicate? Decide on the overall theme and "look and feel" of the site. For example: humor, professional, academic, family, technical, etc. Write three adjectives to describe the way you want your site to feel.

CONTENT
This is probably why most people come to your site. They come to read your content. It should be clear and well written. A very high percentage of websites are providing poorly written content. The first generation of websites were written by the guy who knew HTML but not much about graphic design and writing. Now people realize that it takes a team effort to make a quality web page. Part of the team should be a good writer. Redesigning requires having several outsiders read your content to see if it is clear, up-to-date, accurate and communicates what it is supposed to. Then rewrite the content. Another tip is to provide more than just your company information but provide articles that attract people to the site.

NAVIGATION
Can the visitor find what is needed quickly and easily? As a first generation site grows it often outgrows its navigation. A good redesign will help. The new design needs careful thought so that the visitor will not get lost or be more than two clicks away from what he/she needs. There are many factors to consider. Here are a few examples. It is obvious that buttons are clickable? What links should always be available to the user? Is the information divided into logical categories and prioritized? Is old content archived and easy to find?

FRESH NEWS
Do your visitors feel they are visiting an active site? Sitting in a doctor's waiting room with old newspapers might make you wonder about the competence of the doctor. In the same way, visiting a site that was last updated in 1996 is a sure way to lose visitor trust. When redesigning the website build in ways to keep it fresh, but keep in mind that publishing dates can work against you. Don't create too much extra work for yourself unless you are a workaholic.

SPEED
What needs to be compromised for the sake of speed? Site speed and server speed is the major bottleneck on the Internet. Only so much information can travel through a small phone line. This is what limits the size of pictures, amount of sound, and many other aspects of the Internet. In redesigning a site this is an all-pervading thought. It is the rare exception when the visitor will wait for a site to load. Consider the size of every piece of the site and determine if it can be made smaller or eliminated.

GRAPHICS AND ANIMATION
Are the graphics able to load fast? Do the graphics communicate a concept? A website redesign should involve an evaluation and possible redevelopment of graphics and photos. The present graphics may be unnecessary or may be unclear or too large. In any case each one should be reconsidered. New software makes it possible to make better graphics that are smaller and load faster.

HIRE THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO REDESIGN YOUR WEBSITE
Will you select a team with the right mix of experience and talent? From the looks of the websites of many of the companies offering their design and development services it appears that many are one person operations. Either they are tech-gurus and lack the aesthetic abilities or they are artistic types that lack the technical know how to build a complex site. Building or redesign a website is best done with a team. A team can synergize their abilities and create a much better site. Your website is your signature. It is often the only way for people to evaluate who you are. Your profits depend on the quality of your site. Don't regret a poor decision in choosing who redesigns your website.