A website is a product’s “business card” on the Internet. The success of a product can largely depend on how user-friendly it is. This is why an up-to-date design and straightforward interface are one of the ways to increase traffic and brand loyalty. Updating the composition and structure of the site is possible by doing a website redesign. In the article below, we tell you what it is, when it’s necessary, how the process takes place, and about website redesign cost.
What is a website redesign?
Website redesign is an action aimed at changing the design and improving functionality. The main purpose of redesign — improving the usability of the resource. Improving usability can be carried out by making various changes. For example, developing more aesthetic design layouts, etc.
When is a site redesign necessary?
A website redesign can be carried out at will, without any time limit. But, on average, the life of the site in one version of the design is about 2-4 years.
Worth thinking about redesigning, if:
- The project enters a new market and the target audience is becoming more widespread. For example, the online store expands its product range and begins to sell a wider range of products, not just highly specialized items.
- The scope of activities is scaled up, the list of services and the range of products of the company grows. Adding information about this requires revision of new pages, so the service redesign may be relevant.
- There is a drop in traffic and conversion because of awkward functionality and outdated design. In the development studio it is possible to attract an art-director, who will develop a design concept based on modern and up-to-date design trends.
- The website differs unfavorably from competitors’ sites, which leads to the loss of users and potential clients. In this case, the modernization of the site can be a good solution.
- Often sites are implemented at the start of the project without complex functionality and with a fairly simple design, which is justified at the test stage of the market. But over time, the company may grow and scale so that the old site no longer fits the overall brand concept and requires a new site.
In this situation, when developing another site from scratch, it is possible to take advantage of website redesign, which is less resource-intensive.
Why do I need a website redesign?
A quality redesign will improve usability. This will help to increase traffic and loyalty. Comprehensible site navigation and pleasant up-to-date design are the most conducive to targeted actions.
Also, website redesign strengthens the position of the site in search results and makes SEO promotion more effective. Adaptivity (correct display of site pages on screens of different formats) will be positively considered by search engines, making the site more visited.
An up-to-date website design increases trust in a project or brand. This is why it is important to update the design regularly and use some website design tools to make it better.
Types of redesign
Redesign can be:
- Visual or superficial — this is a change in design, color theme, and appearance of the site. Suitable in cases where the old site is convenient, but the design is outdated and does not correspond to trends, reducing user traffic and user confidence.
- Functional: the goal is to add new features. This is where the structure needs to be refined and scaled up. This usually happens when the project scales up and user traffic increases significantly, which requires the automation of processes. For example, the connection of the payment system.
- The technical redesign is necessary to remove bugs and optimize the loading speed of the pages. This is an important stage because a technical failure of the site has a direct impact on reducing traffic and user loyalty to the service.
- Conversion redesign — finding and removing the causes of falling conversions and lower traffic. The reasons may be absolutely different: from irrelevant design to inconvenient feedback forms.
- Full redesign: everything changes, from structure to content. It makes sense in situations where the site has not been updated for a very long time, or the customer is not satisfied with the state of the site at the moment.
- The process of a redesign can be involved simultaneously several types of the redesign. This is possible thanks to the presence of a team of specialists in various fields. For example, a developer can implement new features with the designer creating a design concept. This reduces the time and money for the service redesign because in IT the cost is usually calculated based on hours spent on achieving the result.
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What does a website redesign consist of?
As a rule, a redesign includes the following actions:
Changing user scenarios;
- Changing the style of visual elements, fonts, logos, etc.;
- Changing the content: replacing texts, images to higher quality, removing obsolete materials;
- Changing the structure: adding new pages, navigation bar.
What is the process and how to make a redesign?
The work begins with an audit of the site. In the process of auditing:
- the work of all pages, individual graphic elements is done;
- the relevance of the design and its relevance to the target audience is analyzed;
- the site structure is analyzed: the presence of cues, pop-ups, and other navigational elements;
- the behavior of the audience on the site is analyzed;
- evaluated the presentability, and uniqueness, as well as the “friendliness” of the site, i.e. how easily the user can navigate it;
- the sources of traffic are analyzed, and the reasons for the decrease in traffic and conversion are found.
After the audit, the wishes of the customer are considered. It is important from the very beginning to consider all the nuances, which are recorded in the terms of reference. Both specialists and the customer of the project took part in drafting the ToR. The best way to consider all the details is a brief redesign.
After drafting the terms of reference, direct work on the project begins. Team specialists perform the necessary steps to create a high-quality redesign.
Not unimportant will be a testing phase. It is worth checking how correctly the site is working, and if necessary, removing all the bugs. This is done by professional testers under the supervision of a project manager, who oversees the entire process and communicates with the customer, providing him with reports on each stage, and holding demo sessions.
After testing, the final launch of the project takes place. But this is not the end of the work. First, additional testing is performed after the release. And secondly, developers and team can help in developing the project, finalizing the new features on request.
How much does a website redesign cost?
Website redesign — a process that involves long work, not just one specialist. The cost of a redesign is individual and will depend on:
- the amount of work;
- the type of redesign;
- deadlines for implementation.
As a rule, a website redesign requires a team of developers, so the best option would be to order a redesign in the development studio, which has a ready team of specialists with well-established business processes. In the case of individual freelancers it will cost less, but the risk of a negative result. Also, a team of employees will have to work independently, which will take time.
Bottom line
- Websites need regular upgrades. From time to time it is worth evaluating it, to track the conversion rate and traffic, to redesign it in time.
- Website redesign — a process that will be done more effectively by a team of specialists, rather than disparate performers.
- The cost of website redesign is purely individual and depends on various factors that are worth considering when ordering.
