Website Re-design - Top 10 Tips
The process of redesigning a website is quite different to designing a website for the first time. Following are some of the key issue that should be considered when redesigning a website.
Choose the right web design company
There are many web design companies that specialise in website redesign. Hiring the right web design company to redesign your website will play an important role in deciding the success of the new website. It is advised to hire a web design company that understands your needs and the market. It is better to hire a professional web design company for the task rather than the web design company with the cheapest quote. The overall quality of the service and design far outweigh the slightly higher costs involved.
Evaluate your existing website
An important step when considering to redesign your business website is to evaluate your existing website. This can help you to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your current website. The web design company you commission to redesign your website can assist with identifying the major weaknesses of your current website so that they can be addressed in the new design.
Focus on Search engines optimisation
There is little doubt that search engine marketing will play a crucial role in the success of any website. Search engine marketing and optimisation should be at the heart of the redesign process. Web Design Company should ensure the new design is search engine friendly. Using keyword research techniques your web design company should be able to help you identify the top keywords for your website and ensure the new design is optimised for the keywords.
Identify your customers
Being able to study and analyse customers and users of your website offers a distinct advantage when redesigning a website as opposed to designing for the first time. Using sophisticated website statistics and reporting tools such as Google analytics, you can easily identify where your users come from and what they do on the website. This can help identify the strengths and weaknesses of the website and provide a useful insight on what areas or pages need improvements. The new design should address these issues effectively and help retain users on your website.
Identify your target market
Identifying the target market of your business is vital to ensure your website specifically addresses the needs of your intended audience. You should identify and categorise your target audience into groups. Both, the new design as well as the content should address the needs and expectations of the target groups individually. Websites that are designed specifically with the needs of the target audience are more effective and tend to have higher rates of retention and conversion.
Research your competition
There is a lot that can be learnt from your leading competitors. Analysing the competition will not only provide valuable information on websites design but also on technology and usability concepts being applied. With the help of search engines such as Google it is easy to identify the top competitors in your industry.
Ensure the new design is modern and professional
The visual appeal of your website is should always be an important consideration. There is nothing more damaging for your business brand than an old and outdated design. Irrespective of what your business does, it is improtant for your website to look modern and professional. The current trend is for clean-cut and minimalist designs.
Focus on Quality of content
The content on your website is on of the most important factors. Quite often it is the content that drives users to visit your website in the first place. An effective approach is to provide additional articles and resources that are beneficial to your users and not just information about your products or services.
The web design company commissioned for the redesign of your website should be able to advise you on how to write content that is rich in keywords.
Use your website to Interact with your audience
It is equally important to ensure your business is able to interact with its customers via the website. A website can be an effective and vital tool to communicate with customers. Today, websites are dynamic and offer many rich features that can allow your business to receive feedback from your customers or even interact with them in real-time. The website should encourage users to communicate with the business. Calls to action statements on your web pages prove effective to encourage response from customers. Call to action statements that promote action from customers and can include anything from register for newsletter, Apply Online, Request a call back to complete a survey.
Only the factors that your business should consider when redesigning its website are discussed above. There are many other issues that need to be addresses. However the above will prove useful to ensure your business is able to maximise the benefits form the redesign. For up to date news on web design, follow Web Design Uk on Twitter.