Are you planning to redesign your website? Yes? Great! Before you get started, there are some things you need to take into account. Our comprehensive Ultimate Website Redesign Checklist will help make sure your site is ready for the changes ahead. This handy guide covers everything from content audits and user experience design to information architecture and branding. We highly recommend going through it step-by-step so that your website redesign goes as smoothly as possible.
But, before we get started, let’s define these terms in the context of digital marketing.
- Content audit: A content audit is a process of evaluating and assessing the quality of your website’s content. This includes evaluating your content’s accuracy, completeness, and relevance to your target audience.
- User experience design: User experience design (UXD) is the process of designing websites and other digital products that are easy to use and meet the needs of your target audience. UXD focuses on creating a smooth and intuitive user experience from start to finish.
- Information architecture: IA involves creating a logical hierarchy for your content, as well as designing effective navigational menus and search tools.
- Branding: Branding is creating a unique identity for your company or product that sets you apart from the competition. Branding involves developing a consistent visual style, messaging, and marketing strategy that communicates your unique value proposition to potential customers.
To ensure your website redesign goes as smoothly as possible, follow these 11 checklist steps:
1. Define Your Goals
Before you even start thinking about your website redesign, ensure you clearly understand your goals. What do you want to achieve with your redesign? Are you looking to increase traffic, generate leads or sales, or improve customer satisfaction? Once you know your goals, you can start planning how to achieve them.
This will help you make better decisions throughout the project and ensure that your end result is aligned with your goals. Ensure your goals are measurable so you can track your progress after launch.
2. Do Your Research
No matter how well you think you know your audience, it’s always important to do some research before starting a website redesign. Evaluate your current website and determine what is and isn’t working. Talk to your users, look at your analytics data, and see what other people in your industry are doing.
- How does your current website stack up against your competitors?
- What are people saying about your website?
- What are the most popular pages on your site?
Answering these questions will help you better understand where you need to improve. Take note of any areas that need improvement, such as the navigation, design, content, etc. This research will give you a better understanding of what your users want and need from your website, and it will also help you come up with ideas for your redesign.
3. Create a Wish List
Once you know your goals and have done your research, it’s time to start thinking about what you want to include in your redesign. What features would you like to add? What content would you like to include? What design elements would you like to change?
Start by creating a wish list of everything you’d like to do with your redesign. This will help you narrow down your focus and ensure that everything you do aligns with your goals.
4. Make a Plan
Once you have a good understanding of your goals and what you want to achieve with your redesign, it’s time to start creating a plan.
- What needs to be done first?
- What can wait until later?
- How much time and money do you have to invest in the project?
- What pages do you want to include in your new website?
- What content will you need?
- How will you structure your navigation?
Answering these questions will help you create a timeline, blueprint, and budget for your redesign. This will help you create a plan for your redesign that considers all of these factors. It will also help you ensure that everything is taken care of before launching your new website.
5. Gather Your Content
One of the most important parts of any website is the content. This includes everything from text and images to videos and infographics. Once you have a plan for your new website, it’s time to start gathering content. If you’re starting from scratch, you’ll need to write all new content. If you’re updating an existing website, you’ll need to gather all of the existing content and decide what needs to be updated or replaced. Either way, this is a critical step in the redesign process.
6. Find the Right Team
No matter how big or small your website redesign project is, it’s important that you find the right team to help you through it. If you’re overhauling your site, you’ll need designers, developers, copywriters, and more. If you’re just making a few minor changes, you might be able to get away with a smaller team.
Either way, you must find people who are experienced and whom you can trust to help you achieve your goals. The right team will make all the difference in the success of your redesign.
7. Set Realistic Expectations
One of the most important things to keep in mind when redesigning your website is to set realistic expectations. It’s important to remember that a website redesign is a big project, and it’s not going to happen overnight. It will take time, effort, and money to get it done right.
Setting realistic expectations from the start will help you manage your expectations and avoid getting discouraged along the way.
8. Choose Your Platform
Now that you have a plan and all of your content, it’s time to choose your platform. There are a number of different website platforms to choose from, so take some time to research your options to choose one that will work best for your needs. Consider factors like cost, ease of use, and features before making your decision. Once you’ve selected a platform, you can start building your new website.
9. Prepare for the Launch
Once you’ve finished your redesign, it’s time to start preparing for the launch. This includes creating a launch plan, testing your site, and ensuring everything is ready to go. Ensure to test it thoroughly before launching it to the public. Ask friends and family to test it out and give you feedback.
Run through all the pages and links to ensure everything is working properly. And most importantly, make sure your website is mobile-friendly. With more and more people accessing the internet on their phones and tablets, it’s critical that your website looks good and works well on all devices. To see if your current website is mobile-friendly, use this Google tool. The better prepared you are for the launch, the smoother it will go.
10. Launch Your New Website
After your hard work, it’s finally time to launch your new website! This is after you’ve tested your new website and ensured everything is working properly. Make sure you announce your website launch to your users and give them a heads-up on what to expect. Promote it through your social media channels, and don’t forget to update your Google listing!
11. Monitor, Evaluate, and Adjust
After your redesigned website goes live, it’s important to evaluate the results and make adjustments as needed. This could involve anything from changing the design or layout to adding new content or features. Keep an eye on things and make sure that everything is working as it should. And most importantly, don’t be afraid to experiment. By constantly evaluating and improving your website, you can ensure that it always meets your business’s and visitors’ needs.
Wrapping It Up!
As you can see, there’s a lot to think about before you start your website redesign project. Redesigning your website can be an overwhelming process. But it doesn’t have to be if you take the time to prepare and plan ahead. Use this ultimate website redesign checklist as a guide to help make the process smoother and less stressful. And if you need help along the way, our team is always here to answer any questions or lend a hand. Ready to get started? Let’s talk!
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