Redesigning your website can be a good way to refresh your business, promote a new product or update your business offering.
Here at Plesilium we have helped hundreds of different businesses and organisations create new websites, so we’ve put together our experience and ideas about redesigning a website to benefit any business.
So, why do you want a website redesign?
Don’t just redesign your website for the sake of it. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. If you get significant views and conversions from your site, then there really isn’t a real need to update your site. On the other hand, if you want to stand out from your competitors rather than blending in then this can be a valid reason to update your site.
All websites will need updating at some point, even the simplicity of the most popular search engine Google.co.uk regularly change their logo depending on what is happening in the world or update their logo by using a different font.
Following the trend
Trends come and go, and some more quickly than others. Do you pay attention to the trend or is it going the be a short-lived fad that will disappear before you’ve had time to make the change?
Updating your website to follow a trend can have many benefits. New trends can bring new technologies, improve your website’s performance, improve accessibility and lower maintenance costs. Sometimes following a trend can improve your ranking in search engines such as a responsive website and mobile friendly pages.
Is your website flexible enough?
A flexible website will grow with your business, speed up decision making and is easy to maintain.
If it’s a chore to update your site and is difficult to navigate and get your message across then your site isn’t flexible enough. Think about a site that is easy for everyone to use, your customers as well as your business. If it doesn’t then you’re doing it wrong.
Blending in or standing out?
This is totally dependent on your business, your personality and how you want to be perceived. Blending in and following the designs of your competitors is a safe option, a tried and tested formula which customers are used to.
On the other hand, if you want to stand out, be a bit different then this is fine too! Being ‘different’ gets you noticed and can make people want to know more about you and your business. There are no rules, but it’s best to keep in mind the points made earlier, to have a flexible site that uses the latest technologies and a site that visitors can find the information they are looking for.
In our experience simplicity seems to be the way to go. Dropbox, Google, Mahno and Lars Tornoe all have simple and yet stylish websites that work for their business.
A new design will make people talk about my business
Yes, this may be true but you need to ensure your product, services, sale and marketing are all in place before embarking on a website refresh, especially if there is no genuine reason to do it.
People do talk about new website designs, particularly if it has millions of users such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Some people like change, so people don’t, so if you are going to change your site figure out why people like your site and develop it from there, without losing its identification.
Conclusion
Whatever the reason to redesign your website ensure you allocate enough resources to its development. Redesigning a website will take time to identify the problem, find solutions, make a final decision, measure the results, make conclusions and fix the issues. If there aren’t any issues you haven’t been looking hard enough. If you’ve never designed a website before or don’t know how to go about it Plesilium Ltd is a great place to start.