Design trends change at a fast pace, and you need to keep yourself abreast of the changing trends. A timely analysis of your website design will help you in taking the call if you need to redesign your website or not. If your design looks straight out of the ’90s, with functionality from the stone age, its time to redesign.

But the big question is – how to get started and from where? Therefore, we created a website redesign checklist to help you through the redesigning process.

First things first, put your website under a design microscope and analyze if it’s time for a change. When was the last time you changed your web design? With the internet evolving all the time, it’s challenging to keep your website modern without updating it regularly. If you can’t easily remember the last time your website had a makeover, it’s time to take a look at our website redesign checklist.

Is your website mobile-friendly?

Mobile-friendly websites mean offering a consistent experience for visitors across all devices and screen resolutions; whether they access your site via desktops, tablets, or mobile devices.

Everyone has a mobile these days, even the kids. Mobile searches are higher than ever. A study revealed that in 2018, 52 percent of website traffic came from mobile phones. It means that more visitors come to your website via a mobile device, rather than on a desktop. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re missing out on a substantial amount of leads and revenue.

Not to forget, in November 2016, Google rolled out its mobile-first index, which changed the Google ranking system altogether. Google now primarily looks at the mobile version of a website for indexing and ranking. 

Read More About Mobile Indexing Here

Is your website not driving revenue?

The core objective of a business is to generate revenue. Your website should be a lead-driving, and revenue-increasing machine. If that’s not happening, you likely need a website redesign. Well, one may argue that low revenue can be because of many reasons, but lack of website traffic and leads is a significant cause. And, even if your website design isn’t the main cause of your low leads and traffic, it won’t hurt upgrading the design.

Has Your business changed?

Your website should be an accurate representation of your business. If you have changed your business or modified some part of it, then redesigning is a good option. If you offer new products, or you’ve changed locations, or changed your branding, your website should reflect that.

Read More About Startup Business Branding Here

Now, if you decide to redesign your website, you need to follow the below-mentioned process:

1. List down what’s wrong with your site

It is the foundation of the redesigning process. You’ll want to make a list of everything that you feel is wrong with the current version of your website. The list should be comprehensive, covering everything from the design to the verbiage, and everything else. This step will not only help you in uncovering all the design shortcomings, but it can also help you discover other site performance issues. 

For example, you may find that your page upload speed is sluggish. This may not be a design issue, but it’s a problem nonetheless, which could repel visitors from your website.

2. Create a plan

Once you have made a list of all the aesthetic design issues, you need to come up with a game plan. Brainstorm some aesthetic elements that you’d like to implement instead of the present ones. Like, if you have listed that the color of your text doesn’t stand out against the background, write a suggestion against it of how you might want to fix it.

Or maybe you’ve decided that your navigation bar is overcrowded with too many components. You could make a note suggesting streamlining the navigation.

3. Take services of a web design agency

Not everyone is proficient in web designing, or has web designers on board. If you have experience with web designing, nothing like it; however, if you don’t have the resources and knowledge, it’s best to take the professional services of a reputable design agency. 

Not only will they create a stunning website for you, but they can elevate the user experience of your website to the next level. Not only they will do a great job, but they will also do it much more quickly than a fairly new and inexperienced team.

When you’re looking for a website agency to redesign your website, find one that has been in the business for a decent amount of time. Review their portfolio and list of clients to get an idea about their work. A couple of meetings can set the right expectations, and will help the design house to offer a custom quotation to you, based on the requirements.

4. Communicate your brand, goals, and taste to the design team

If you don’t communicate your brand, your thinking and what you wish to achieve, you will never reach your dream design. Sit down and talk to your website designer about the lists you’ve made and let them know how you’d like to go ahead with the changes to better fit your style.

Web designers have tons of ideas floating in their head; keep an open mind and explore all possible options, tailored for you. After all, they are experts. Ensure that you share your current style guides with them. This will help them to implement your existing color scheme, fonts, and styles in the new design.

5. Provide feedback to the designer

Your website designer will likely start with a wireframe or a watered-down version of your website. This is the best time to be open with them about what you like and what you don’t like about their design. It will help them to come up with a perfect design in the least number of iterations.

6. Conduct user testing

After users have had a chance to use your website, it’s time to do some user testing. This can help you understand user behavior on your site so that you can determine what users’ perception of your website. 

Conduct click analysis to understand which buttons are getting the maximum number of clicks, and which are the ones hardly getting any traction. The color or verbiage on the button can be the problem. User testing can help you determine the small details that can make or break your design in the eyes of your audience.

7. Ready, set and go

After the user testing is completed, you’re all set to fly high with your revamped design. Continue the analytics for the initial phase to determine the success of your redesigning exercises. Minor adjustments can be made based on these observations.

Need help redesigning your website? Talk to us.