A well-executed website redesign can greatly improve your business results, but it can also take a lot of time and energy to do it right. Once you’ve decided to pursue a website redesign, it’s important for you to properly plan your website redesign to avoid costly mistakes down the road.
You can save your company valuable time and money by steering clear of the following redesign mistakes.
Mistake #1: Failing to Set Clear Goals
Before you pursue a website redesign, you should have a reason to do so. First identify where your current website falls short and what you would like to accomplish with a new website. Some of the many goals you could set are:
- Increase site visits by X% in the next month
- Increase leads by X% in the next quarter
- Increase sales revenue by X% in the next year
Set clear goals and priorities for your redesign project and use these goals to keep you on track throughout the redesign process.
Mistake #2: Lack of Initial Planning
Avoid the mistake of moving ahead too quickly with your redesign process without a proper plan and strategy. Develop your redesign strategy by:
- Auditing your current website’s performance
- Outlining your target audience
- Evaluating your competitors
- Reviewing your website’s content
- Taking inventory of your website’s assets
- Identifying ways to achieve your goals with redesign
Mistake #3: Not Benchmarking Your Performance
You should audit the existing site analytics data to understand what currently works well and identify what could be improved. Monitor these benchmarks after your redesigned website is launched so you can compare results. Some basic benchmarks to record include:
- Page views
- Visitors
- Bounce rate
- Time on site
- Pages per session
- Conversion rates
- Site speed
Mistake #4: Failing to Define Your Requirements
You may have a fantastic redesign idea for your website, but it may require special technical skills or software to implement. Outline the scope and requirements of your redesign project before you meet with web design agencies to get proposals for your project. The agency can only deliver an accurate cost estimate if you provide them with correct project details.
Mistake #5: Setting an Inadequate Budget
It is quicker and easier to design a website today; however, most companies are requiring more advanced and custom features to meet their objectives. Think about what types of features will help your business and ask your web design agency for their recommendations. The quantity and complexity of features you want will impact the budget required for your redesign project.
Mistake #6: Having Unrealistic Time Expectations
Many web projects require multiple steps and processes carried out by different teams and specialists. In addition, many tasks cannot get started until a previous task is completed and signed off (think of building a house). Ensure you include input from all parties to keep your deadlines attainable.
Mistake #7: Not Testing Your Website Before Launch
There are a number of metrics you should measure before launching your website, otherwise you may face a troubled launch laden with performance and technical issues. In order to ensure a great website launch:
- Test your website across multiple devices
- Proofread every page thoroughly
- Check for broken links
- Ensure 301 redirects are working
- Set up a 404 redirect page
- Optimize for SEO best practices
- Install Google Analytics
- Test that forms are working properly
Talk to a web design expert today
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