If it’s been years since your website was designed, you’re not getting as many visitors or conversions as you’d like or it’s not mobile responsive or secured with HTTPS then it’s definitely time to speak with a web designer about updating your website.
Here is a short 10-point checklist that you can use while redesigning your website, if you have any questions along the way please feel free to reach out to our Brisbane web design team anytime.
Audit Your Existing Website
Before you start working on your new website design, you’ll want to audit your existing site to see what other areas can be improved during the redesign.
This doesn’t only include the design and user experience of your existing website but other areas like your websites content, search engine optimisation, security and loading speed.
You could either complete these checks yourself with a visual inspection or you can request a professional website analysis from us today.
Review Your Analytics
Look at your website analytics to identify what pages or content on your existing website is working.
Your analytics will also reveal details about who your visitors are, how they found your website and what they do once there.
You’ll also want to confirm your website visitors are your ideal target audience, if they’re not then you’ll need to adjust your marketing or content.
Identify Your Goals
Now that you have a complete picture of your existing website, you’ll be able to identify some realistic goals for your website redesign project.
It can be helpful to set SMART goals as it keeps you on-track and accountable, these are goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.
For example: 20% increase in sales in 6 months, 30% increase in membership this year, reduce admin costs by 15% in 3 months.
Develop A Persona
Your website is not for you, it’s for your customers.
Developing a persona of your ideal target customer can be incredibly helpful when it comes to redesigning your website.
You’ll need to put this ideal customer / persona above your personal preferences when it comes to your websites new design.
Things to add to your persona include their name, demographic info, job title, interests / hobbies, personal motivations and buying behaviours (price conscious for example).
Do Keyword Research
Keyword research is crucial in optimising your website for search engines while also gaining keen insight into your customers common searches.
For on-page optimisation, choose a unique primary keyword for each page on your website along with a few secondary ones and include them in the URL, title tag, headings, alt tags and page copy.
Keep it natural however, if you start ‘keyword stuffing’ by adding the same few keywords everywhere on your page then it will only hurt your rankings in the end.
Create A Style Guide
A style guide can be a helpful tool when clarifying the general look of your website’s new design while also helping keep it consist across every page, especially if there is more than one person working on the redesign.
It doesn’t have to be complicated either, it can be as simple as a colour scheme, typography options and formatting choices.
You can also include choices about button colours and styles or what images and icons should be used.
Whatever you decide to include, a simple style guide will be a useful reference throughout your websites redesign.
Consider User Experience
User Experience or UX is a term used to describe design that centres around the user.
For example, if a websites design is very minimal and stylish it may be hard for a new user to find what they’re looking for.
You can test this by simply asking a friend to go through your new design to see if they encounter any problems or by putting yourself in the mindset of a new user and going through it yourself.
Prioritise Mobile Responsiveness
A mobile-friendly website is essential in 2023, search engines like Google will actually lower your rankings if it’s not mobile responsive.
With over half of all website traffic now coming from mobile devices it’s crucial your website is usable by all of them.
Double check how all your design elements look on desktop, tablet and mobile devices to make sure your brand looks its best on all of them.
Complete User Testing
Once your website redesign is complete, you’ll want to complete some user testing before you launch.
It’s important you get a few sets of fresh eyes to go over your website to help spot any small issues you may have missed earlier.
Encourage your testers to use different devices or browsers to make sure you get the most thorough results possible.
Find The Right Web Designer
This final step can be skipped if you’re redesigning your website by yourself using a builder like Wix, Squarespace or Weebly but if you’re looking to take your website to the next level then you’ll need to find a web design team to work with.
That’s where White Peak Digital and our Brisbane web design team can help.
We’ll complete every step on this checklist for you while still working with you on your goals and ideal target market to ensure your websites long-term success.
If you have any questions about our Brisbane web design team then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today.
We look forward to hearing from you.
To your success,
Jackson
