Website Redesign Checklist

There comes a time when a website needs to be redesigned. Whether it is a case of improving site performance, increasing sales and conversions, or enhancing the overall user experience, a well-designed website is essential for any business that wants to succeed online.

A website acts as a virtual shopfront, giving potential customers their first impression of your brand. A high-quality website should be visually appealing, easy to navigate, packed with valuable content and optimized for search engines.

However, redesigning a website is not an easy task. It requires careful planning, execution, and management. That’s where the web team at Madcraft comes in. We have the experience and expertise to help you through every step of the process with our checklist.

TL;DR: Website redesign checklist

Responsive Design: Optimize your redesigned website for all devices with a responsive design.
Promotion strategy: Plan a launch promotion strategy to generate attention for the new site.
Utilize Digital Channels: Use social media, email campaigns, press releases, blogs, and launch events to promote the redesign.
Long-term Success: A well-executed website redesign can help businesses achieve their online goals and engage their target audience for long-term success.

What is a website redesign?

The redesign of a website can involve updating, revamping, or completely reworking the visual appearance, structure, functionality, and content of your website.

This does not necessarily mean starting from scratch; it can be about modernizing your existing site to make it more user-friendly, achieve specific business goals, and stay ahead of the competition.

Businesses seek out website redesigns for various reasons:

To enhance the website’s performance: A slow or outdated website can frustrate visitors and drive them away. A revamp can improve a site’s loading speed, navigation, and performance across all devices.
To improve User Experience (UX): All websites should be easy to use and navigate and provide visitors with the information they need quickly. A redesign can enhance a website’s user experience by making it more user-friendly, informative, and engaging.
To incorporate new features or technological advancements: As technology evolves, new features and functionalities become available for websites. A reworked site presents the opportunity to incorporate these new features into a website, such as an eCommerce platform, or a social media integration.
To align with current design trends: Design trends change over time, and keeping your website up-to-date is important. A redesign can help to ensure that your website looks modern and professional.
To meet the changing needs and expectations of the target audience: A target audience’s needs and expectations are constantly changing. A revised site design can ensure that a website meets those needs and exceeds those expectations.

Is your website due for a redesign?

It’s not always easy to admit that your website needs a redesign, but it’s important to be honest with yourself. If your website is outdated, poorly designed, or not meeting your business goals, it’s time to make a change.

Telltale signs that it’s time for a website redesign:

Outdated website: If your website hasn’t been updated in several years, it’s likely to look outdated and unprofessional, which discourages visitors from staying on your site and learning more about your business.
Not mobile-friendly: With the increased use of smartphones and tablets to access the internet, mobile-friendliness capabilities is not a luxury, it’s a must-have on your site. If your website is not optimized for these devices, you’re likely to lose out on potential customers.
The website is not aligned with the brand. If your website doesn’t align with your brand identity, it can create confusion and mistrust among visitors.
Not converting visitors into customers. If your website is not generating leads or sales, it’s not doing its job. A poor conversion rate can be a clear indication something is wrong.

If you’re experiencing any of these problems, it’s time to consider a website redesign. We can help you create a modern, user-friendly, and effective website to achieve your business goals.

Website Redesign Checklist

1. Audit your current website

Before you can redesign your website, you need to understand why your current website is not performing well or meeting your business goals. The best way to do this is to conduct a website audit. A website audit is an analysis of your website’s performance, content, design, functionality, and SEO. It can help you to identify areas on your existing site that need improvement and make informed decisions about your redesign.

One of the most important aspects of a website audit is the SEO audit. An SEO audit can help you to identify technical and on-page SEO issues that are preventing your website from ranking well in search engine results pages (SERPs).

By addressing these issues before you redesign your website, you can ensure that your new website is built on a solid SEO foundation.

Platforms like SEMrush, Google Search Console and Screaming Frog are all great resources for conducting a site audit. If you are unsure of how to conduct a website audit on your own, you can hire an SEO specialist to help you.

2. Hire a reputable website redesign agency

Unless you have experience in web design and development, it’s best to leave your website redesign to the professionals. A reputable redesign agency can help you to create a website that meets your specific business goals.

Working with a web design agency is highly recommended. They can save you time and money, and they have the experience and expertise to deliver a high-quality website built with the latest technologies and best practices.

When choosing a web design agency, it’s important to do your research and select an agency that has a proven track record of success. You should also consider your specific business needs and budget when making your decision.

Tips for choosing a web design agency:

Read reviews from previous clients.
Look at the agency’s portfolio of work.
Ask about the agency’s experience with websites in your industry.
Get a detailed proposal that outlines the scope of work (SOW) and the cost.
Make sure that you are comfortable with the agency’s team and that you feel confident that they can deliver the results you are looking for.

Hiring a web design agency is an investment, but it is one that can pay off in the long run. A high-quality website can help you to attract more customers, generate more leads, and increase your sales.

3. Define clear goals and KPIs

It’s important to understand what success looks like to you before you start reworking your website. What are your specific goals for the new site? What key performance indicators (KPIs) will you use to measure success?

Questions to ask to help identify redesign goals:

What is the sole purpose of redesigning your site? Do you want to increase your online presence, generate more leads, or something else?
What are the most important things you want users to be able to do on your website?
What kind of experience do you want users to have when they visit your site?
What are your expectations for the redesign? Are your goals realistic and achievable?

It’s also important to set realistic expectations for your website redesign. Don’t expect to see dramatic results overnight. It may take time for a new website to be indexed in search engines – sometimes a matter of days but can also be several weeks. It often depends on the volume of traffic that the website typically attracts, the frequency of new content creation, the crawl rate and thus whether it has a low or high crawl demand.

4. Develop and plan out a content strategy

When remodelling your website, it’s important to consider what you want to communicate to your target audience. Your website’s content should be aligned with your brand’s tone, values, and personality.

The best way to achieve this is to develop a content strategy. A content strategy is a plan for creating and distributing content that is relevant and valuable to your target audience.

Questions to ask when developing a content strategy:

What are my brand’s core values?
What kind of tone do I want my website to have?
What kind of content would my target audience find most valuable?
How will I distribute my content?

Once you have a good understanding of your target audience and your brand’s messaging, you can start to create content that is aligned with your overall goals.

5. Perform user testing

User testing is essential to see first-hand how potential customers interact with your web experience and identify areas where you can improve.

There are many ways to conduct user testing, such as heat mapping tools, surveys, and interviews. You should conduct user testing throughout the website redesign process, gathering all feedback to ensure that you are making changes that improve the user experience.

Platforms like HotJar and Crazy Egg are all great resources to test user journeys on your new web redesign.

6. Launch and promotion

Let people know you have redesigned!

It’s important to pre-plan your launch promotion efforts, this will help to ensure that everything goes smoothly and gives the new website gets the attention it deserves. You should develop a marketing strategy that outlines your goals, as well as the tactics you will use to achieve them.

How to promote your website redesign launch

Social media: Drum up interest by announcing the launch through social media campaigns. Run teaser ads on social media, post behind-the-scenes photos and videos, and host a contest or giveaway.
Email campaigns: Encourage exploration and engagement by emailing subscribers, announcing the launch and motivating them to visit your new website. Including a link to the new website, as well as the benefits that they can expect is a good idea for a campaign.
Press release: Issue a press release to announce your launch to the media. Make sure to highlight the new features of your revamped site, as well as any positive feedback you have received from beta testers or other users.
Blog: Write a blog post about the website redesign. In your post, you can share the reasons why you decided to rework your site, the new features and benefits that you have added, and your thoughts on the overall process.
Launch event or webinar: Generate excitement and anticipation by hosting a launch event or webinar. At your event, you can give a tour of your new website, answer questions from your audience, and offer special promotions.

By following this checklist, businesses can ensure a smooth and successful website redesign that meets their goals, engages their target audience and helps them achieve their online goals. By taking the time to plan and execute a well-thought-out website redesign, businesses can reap the rewards for years to come.