In our recent Cultivate blog post, “10 Reasons to Redesign Your Website,” we discussed the tell-tale signs that your website is due for a makeover and what actions to take once you have noticed them.
If you have determined your website needs a refresh, before sketching out a new homepage or diving into copywriting, we suggest taking a moment to think strategically about what you want to accomplish through a website redesign, beyond the “new look and feel” objectives we hear articulated by many of the prospects who approach us for web design help.
There is a 10-step process we recommend following to logically and logistically plan for a website redesign, while also marshaling the human and financial resources needed to launch a digital renovation project and successfully see it through to completion:
How to Plan for a Website Redesign – 10 Steps
- Define the business objectives for your website redesign
- Assess your current website’s design and UX
- Set a budget for your website redesign
- Select a project team to oversee your website redesign
- Engage key stakeholders and secure their support for your website redesign
- Create a detailed website redesign project timeline
- Establish a website redesign content plan that enhances SEO
- Consider how your brand will be reflected in the website redesign
- Select a web partner to assist with your website redesign project
- Determine ongoing support needed for your redesigned website
STEP 1: Define the business objectives for your website redesign
The idea of updating your website on a regular basis to keep it fresh and surprising for visitors is an easy sell to most site managers. But given the inherent investment of time and money, your boss may take some extra convincing.
Before approaching company leadership with a plan to redesign your website, make sure the remodeling process will advance both your website aesthetic and your business goals.
Begin by taking stock of your current website’s performance and ways a redesign could improve it. For instance…
- Does your website generate adequate leads for your business?
- Does your website make it easy for customers to explore your products, evaluate your services, and transact with you?
- Does your website well represent your brand, mission, and value proposition?
If the answer to any of the above questions is “no,” then consider how a website redesign will convert those responses to “yes” and what aspects of your current website design – from navigation to page layouts to call-to-action areas – may be getting in the way of what you need your website to do. Prioritize those changes as you make a list of what needs fixing, so you can triage accordingly.
STEP 2: Assess your current website’s design and UX
This step will likely take place in tandem with Step 1 and will provide you with the data you need to make your case for a redesign. Conduct a thorough audit of your existing website design and user experience (UX), and in doing so, evaluate the following:
- User experience for both external site visitors and internal site managers
- Content available on the site and how its organized and displayed, including text and multimedia assets
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of site content, including page titles and metadata
- Site speed and page load times (make note of any content or site features that hinder page loads)
- Analytics data to review visitor time spent on key landing pages and whether those pages/posts are driving conversions (e.g., purchases, sign ups, downloads) or causing visitors to exit the site prematurely
- ADA / WCAG accessibility compliance and whether your website meets current guidelines
STEP 3: Set a budget for your website redesign
Before you engage a website designer/developer (see Step 9) to discuss the particulars of a site revamp, you should have an estimate of what you are comfortable investing in the endeavor. If you have previously budgeted for a website build, revisit those numbers as a starting point.
From there, break down the individual services that will be involved in the project and who will be responsible for completing them – whether inside or outside your organization – so you can assign a dollar value to each line item. Decide which of the following elements are essential to the success of the project:
- Website strategy sessions
- Content mapping
- Technology stack updates (content management system, customer relationship management software, e-commerce tools, etc.)
- Wireframing
- Templated page designs
- Development of page templates and other content types
- Content creation / copywriting
- Content loading / migration
- SEO updates
- ADA / WCAG evaluation and adjustments
Add to the selected items above a budget for pre-launch testing and quality assurance, along with a contingency fund for the unexpected. Finally, if you plan to continue working with a web partner after your site’s relaunch, pencil in a budget for ongoing support, including website hosting and routine maintenance.
Beginning a conversation with a web design and development agency, knowing what you can afford to spend, helps your agency partner better craft a project proposal that meets your business objectives without harming your bottom line.
STEP 4: Select an internal project team to oversee your website redesign
Your website redesign project will need a team to oversee it, so identify and recruit those players early on. You will likely need a mix of creative and technical expertise, and it is best to directly involve those staff members who manage the site on a regular basis.
Once your project team has been identified, set the ground rules for how responsibilities will be allocated, tasks will be assigned, and decisions will be made – and if there is disagreement on any issues, how conflicts will be resolved – so you can collectively focus on perfecting your website redesign plans rather than managing internal politics.
Also, make sure that you have budgeted for the time it will take your project team to be involved in planning meetings, review sessions, web content creation and migration activities (if handled internally), and all of the big and small tasks involved in planning and executing your website redesign. Chances are, this assignment will overlay core responsibilities for many individuals on your project team. Confirm your executive leadership understands the time commitment and that department heads support their direct reports’ participation.
STEP 5: Engage key stakeholders and secure their support for your website redesign
While your CEO and other executive leaders may not be directly involved in your website redesign project, it is wise to seek their input and support before you engage in earnest. They can offer feedback on their own experiences with your website, and incorporating their thoughts and wishes into your redesign plan strengthens your case before the finance team or board of directors prior to budget approval.
If you are a marketing leader and will be heading your internal project team, make sure you have the buy in of your technical lead (IT, data administration, etc.), so you have locked in key allies who can advocate for the resources you need from start to finish.
Once you have started your website redesign project, schedule regular check-ins with all stakeholders and loop them into project communications and progress reports. Give this special audience nothing to wonder about, and they will find little to worry about, which means you can go about the business of remaking your website without second-guessing.
STEP 6: Create a detailed website redesign project timeline
This is a crucial step and one to that will factor into your project budget. It is probably best to start with a target completion date and then work your way back to a start date. Does your website relaunch date need to connect with another important business happening, such as a rebrand, new product launch, or the start of a new performance season? If so, set an end date and reverse engineer your timeline.
Conversely, is your project launch tied to a budget approval, a time when new funding will be available, or a new web-related hire joining your team? If so, determine the earliest date you can begin and build your timeline going forward.
If you are redesigning an existing website and not changing your supporting technology, allow at least 4-6 months from the time you kick off the project to your anticipated relaunch date. And if you know your project team will need extra time to provide feedback on wireframes and/or web designs – or to load content into the new site – be sure to build that padding into your timeline.
STEP 7: Establish a website redesign content plan that enhances SEO
Sound SEO strategy is vital to the performance of your website content in search engines, and any website redesign project should be viewed through an SEO lens so that navigational updates, new page layouts, and new content areas add to rather than detract from your previous SEO efforts.
Our crew recently reported on noticed changes to SEO in recent months, due to the introduction of artificial intelligence in Google-generated search results among other discoveries that have led many to believe organic SEO is not as potent as it used to be. If you do not have an internal SEO expert – or find it difficult to keep up with the ever-changing SEO landscape – consider recruiting an outside SEO agency to review your website redesign plans.
Effective SEO is increasingly reliant on original content creation that is written with authority, and if your website redesign plans include the debut of new content sections, good SEO counsel can ensure you are building that content with authority and searchability in mind. (Note: Our SEO partners at Fire&Spark wrote the book on Authority First SEO™.)
STEP 8: Consider how your brand will be reflected in the website redesign
If your website redesign is part of a larger rebranding project, then presenting your organization’s new visual identity is an essential element of that “new look and feel” you are seeking.
Ensure your chosen website design team has all the tools they will need, from new logos and taglines to updated color palettes and font styles, to translate your rebrand digitally. These new creative assets should be approved and in hand before you begin your website redesign project.
If you are updating your site and not overhauling your brand, make sure your brand guidelines are current and that you can clearly communicate what (if any) liberties can be taken with those standards as your web design team reimagines your site visually. Help designers understand the degree of change you are seeking: Do you want a slight refresh or a total makeover? That will help establish expectations and mitigate costly revisions as they get to work.
STEP 9: Select a web partner to assist with your website redesign project
If you need to outsource website design and development work, you may want to engage a professional digital agency at the beginning of this process and leverage the experience and insights of web design and development professionals as you navigate each of the steps above.
That said, our crew recommends that you reach internal consensus on as many of the previous eight steps as is possible before bringing an outside agency into the conversation. This will help you establish project parameters and set financial guardrails before you spend a penny on third-party counsel. Most digital agencies charge an hourly rate, and you will quickly burn through project dollars if you involve your agency partner in discussions best left to internal decision makers.
If you have ample resources and would benefit from professional guidance during your project’s planning phase, Culture Foundry offers Wayfinding Workshops, which are focused one- to two-day strategy sessions that bring together your organization’s key decision-makers to discuss your digital strategy and how to optimize your website to support it. Wayfinding Workshops can be tailored to your organization’s individual needs and goals and can be conducted in person or virtually (or both) to ensure maximum participation.
If you would like more information about Wayfinding Workshops and scheduling one for your team, complete the form below!
STEP 10: Determine ongoing support needed for your redesigned website
As we have previously stated, websites are never “done,” and as you assemble the logistical plan and associated budget for your website redesign project, include the support you will need post-launch to keep iterating your new site. If you want to change where and how your website is hosted, be sure to address that alteration in your plan documentation.
Most website content management systems require regular software and plugin updates, and if you lack the internal resources to keep up with that maintenance, include your requirements for ongoing support and technical updates in the scope of work you put before your leadership team for approval.
Culture Foundry offers a variety of hosting and maintenance packages, including 24/7 website monitoring with a guaranteed response time within two (2) hours, should an incident occur that could trigger site downtime or impair critical site functionality. Our crew can help you assess your ongoing support, hosting, and site maintenance needs and recommend an affordable package that meets your needs.
Conclusion
The process of redesigning a website can be a daunting task, given all the things to consider before you hit the design drawing board. But it should also be a time for unbridled exploration and genuine fun for you and your project team.
Lean into the opportunity to think creatively and constructively about the best way to marry the dynamic digital transformation you desire with the practical business outcomes you require and how a refreshed website helps you achieve them both. That ensures the time and effort you invest in your next website redesign satisfies both your aesthetic and strategic goals—and helps you hold on to all of those stakeholders!
Ready to redesign your website?
Our crew can help you with your plan, from start to finish. Complete the form below to start a conversation!
Read more: How to Plan for a Website Redesign
Read more: How to Plan for a Website Redesign