Description: Sometimes a site needs a website redesign. This blog is meant to make you aware of the components to look out for that may show your website needs to be redesigned.
Introduction to Website Redesign
For those of you that already have a “finalized” website (this is in quotes because my teacher says a website is never finished), your journey isn’t necessarily over. Even when your website is fully designed, there’s a chance you’ll eventually have to redesign it. It may not be the whole thing, it could just be minor changes, or maybe you need a complete makeover. Either way, website redesigns are something necessary. But, how do you know when you need one? Also, why would you need one?
What is a website redesign?
To start, a website redesign is a way to improve your website’s appearance and user experience. It involves changing significant elements, like the actual code, layout, and content. This isn’t limited to small websites either. My new portfolio is actually a complete redesign when compared to my first portfolio!
Huge companies have taken time to redesign their site. These big companies are already making millions and are always looking for efficient ways to make more. If they’re willing to spend time and money on these redesigns, they may be something truly beneficial. Either that, or they don’t know what else to spend the money on. Anyways, according to UpTop, a website redesigning typically ranges from $2,000 to $10,000. To these large businesses, this may not seem like a lot, but it’s still something they’re willing to spend time on.
Here are examples of popular companies who went through website redesigns: Instagram, Twitter, & Reddit (these are mostly used on apps, but still have websites), Mailchimp, Apple, Skype, even the White house’s site went through a website redesign.
The Apple site in 2015 vs…
From: Archive + Version Museum
The apple site in February of 2024
Why should you do a website redesign?
Website redesigns are used to improve the features your site has, and to improve the overall impact and reach of your website. If a business is rebranding, that’ll likely involve having to redesign their website. But why do businesses rebrand? To put it simply, it’s a strategic plan used to grow a business by gaining customer support, establishing a new market strategy, separating themselves for competitors, etc. All of which improve their goal of connecting with their audience and improving the traffic and conversions when users interact with their site.
So, website redesigns are similar. If your site doesn’t really match your target audience, or doesn’t perform effectively, a website redesign can target and solve that. It’s not always about fixing things though; it can be about improving things you already have. Such as SEO, responsiveness, and security.
Why would you need a website redesign?
If your website isn’t performing well, you may want to think about a website redesign. I don’t mean when you’re just starting, I’m talking about things such as attracting the wrong audience. If you’re attracting users different from your target audience, your website probably wasn’t designed for your audience. If you have a problem with conversions, maybe users are having problems with navigating the site. Another thing could be if user experience was ignored when designing a site, which should be one of the most important focuses in any website.
Still, having these problems doesn’t mean you have to completely redesign and rebrand. It’s not a bad idea to focus on individual problems and focus on improving those one at a time. It may not be the best time to completely rebrand a site for your business, so you should know that it’s not your only option. Just be aware and understand that the time may come. Something as simple as your website being old could make a redesign necessary!
Conclusion
A website redesign is a fantastic way to focus on rebranding to improve a user’s experience, and/or the effectiveness of your site. It has “redesign” in the name, but it isn’t all about the appearance. Whether your site is performing well, or you want to improve your SEO, a website redesign can help with that. Don’t forget, the overall goal of a website redesign is to improve its functionality and appearance to improve a user’s experience. It’s always important to consider a user’s experience on your site. So, when you can improve it, or it needs to be improved, consider the steps to improve that. When you improve a user’s experience, it’ll improve other parts of your site as it is an essential part of website design.
