Websites – The Difference Between Redesign & Rebuilds
Whether you are redesigning your own or working with an agency, getting insight as to what is working and where the struggles are is crucial in understanding where to go and how to get to the top of your search.
Website redesigns are a big undertaking. They take months of planning and preparation to execute properly. A website refresh is a much simpler and quicker process. It can be done in a few weeks or months, but it doesn’t involve any major changes to the fundamental design or content of the website.
In this article, we will explore the differences between redesigns and refreshes and help you decide which one is right for you.
Website Redesign
A website redesign is an update to your site’s fundamentals, including its design, content, and customer intent time research process goals.
There are three main goals for a website redesign:
~Update the site’s design
~Improve customer experience
~Increase conversion rates
Website Refresh
A typical website refresh consists of minor updates that do not involve any major changes to the site’s fundamentals. Refresh projects usually consist of adding new features or enhancing existing ones; updating outdated content; fixing bugs; improving usability issues; etc.
The design of a website can often be overlooked, but it has a significant impact on the overall user experience. When designing or refreshing a website, it is important to keep in mind the goals of the site. A website should be designed with these goals in mind and not just look pretty. A website can look pretty and still provide a terrible user journey – not all things have been created equal in the world of digital marketing.
A redesign should be an iterative process that looks at both design and content. It should take into account the needs of your target audience, how they interact with your site, and how you want them to feel when they visit your site.
It is important that you are aware of what resources are available to you before starting a redesign project. There are many great tools available that can help you create high-quality graphics without any previous graphic design experience.
Updating your website
Websites are a crucial part of any business. They are the digital representation of your company and the first thing that visitors see when they come to your website. It is important to maintain them and keep them up-to-date so that you can attract new customers, maintain existing ones, and stand out from competitors.
There is no one correct answer to how often you should refresh or rebuild your website. This depends on a number of factors including industry, website performance, and customer needs.
Digital Presence and Goals
In the era of digital transformation, it is not enough to just create a website and then forget about it. You need to make sure that your website is constantly updated and relevant to the needs of your customers. The key to this process is understanding how people use your website, what are their goals and what they like or dislike about it. A website redesign is not just about aesthetics and usability, it also needs to be aligned with the company’s goals. The design should reflect the brand values and also have a clear intent.
Baseline Audits – The starting point for your website project
To redesign the website, you need to start with an audit. This will give you a clear picture of where you stand in terms of user experience. Then you should identify the goals that your website needs to achieve. This will help you decide which features are important for your audience and which ones can be removed or changed in order to make the experience more efficient for them.
Understanding your competitive market
The next step would be competitor research – understanding how different brands are using their websites and what they offer in terms of content, visuals, and user experience (UX). You should also plan out how you use your website – figure out where people go when they land on your amazing website.
The best time to consider a refresh or rebrand is when the website has been around for a while. This is because it’s easier to measure the success of the website and see where improvements can be made.
Ways to Improve Your Website
Search Engine Optimization and Content Creation
It’s important to remember that SEO and content are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they are both important aspects of web design and should be considered together when designing a website. Consider how your customers find you on browsers – what are common terms that are used? Welcome to understanding keywords, as this is how queries are used to search on Google, or other browsers. WordPress explains an easy SEO process for those who feel like it sounds “greek”
Strategic Content Planning for Marketing
A good strategy for blog posts, content calendars, and social media posts is to build them out as soon as possible with the intent based on providing key information. There is a method to our madness, as everything should follow a structure. Understanding why some topics are more common than others will allow you to develop topics that your audience is interested in. Providing Keyword intent typically falls within four categories when it comes to content:
Transactional
Commercial
Navigational
Informational
Building a strategy to include very curated intent actionable journeys will assist in building brand recognition, and trust and provide valuable information that speaks to client retention.
You know the saying “If you give a man a fish, he will be hungry tomorrow. If you teach a man to fish, he will be richer forever.” Foreign aid—“You give a poor man a fish and you feed him for a day. You teach him to fish and you give him an occupation that will feed him for a lifetime.” (Chinese proverb.)
So, what we are saying is you will learn and call the shots in no time. Kidding, but not kidding at the same time.
Website CRM options
A redesign or refresh can be a large and expensive undertaking. One of the most important factors in determining the cost is the platform you are using. If you are using a CMS, then it will be easier to get your site up and running again quickly with minimal development work. However, if you are using a custom-built site or any other platform, then it will take more time and money to get it up and running again with new features.
A few options that our team at In Front recommends:
The CRM is another variable that influences how much your redesign or refresh should cost. A CRM that has many features may require more development work than one with fewer features. The custom-designed website or theme you choose also affects how much your project will cost because some are easier to customize than others.
And finally, the design of your website can also affect how much time and money is needed for the project because some designs require more customizations than others, simply based on functionality. Sometimes all the animation and fun experiences are not worth the cost associated with this.
Overview
So, now that you have a bit of information to consider, it is time to ask:
Do you need a new website?
Could your website use a refresh?
Does your content need to be SEO-optimized and consistent for your brand narrative?
Is the average page session quite low?
What is your budget?
If you are curious about any of the above, reach out to one of our capable account managers now to discuss a complimentary baseline audit for your business.
Whether you are redesigning your own or working with an agency, getting insight as to what is working and where the struggles are is crucial in understanding where to go and how to get to the top of your search.
If you want to pick someone’s brain for anything from social media to display advertising, pick John's. Today, John’s putting businesses in front of millions of users and he can do the same for your business.
