Any Web Design Company at some point has been hired to redesign or help re-launch a site. The dynamic face of the web industry has given birth to responsive and adaptive design trends that companies clamor to have a part of. Just because something is popular doesn’t mean that businesses should follow suit. There are some questions that need to be asked (and research to be done) before deciding that an online company profile needs a makeover.
Know the Goal
First of all, it’s important to take an objective look at the website and evaluate it according to how users see it.
• Does it still reflect the company goals and brand? Has things changed within the company?
• Are users getting what they need from the site?
• How is their overall user experience?
Create a research team to address these issues and come up with creative solutions for a redesign (when required). There are mainly two aspects the research team should focus more on:
• The company’s reason for putting up a website.
• The site’s impact on the company’s financial facet.
In this day and age, it’s a must for businesses to have their own websites; especially the small ones. But if no clear goals are set, it’s still considered ineffective. A website could have dozens, hundreds, even thousands of pages; with each of those pages having a specific function. If these functions are not understandable, then a site can’t stand out from the competition and will simply be buried in cyberspace.
A business’ goal's is connected to its financial reports. There’s not much point in a company putting up a site if it doesn’t give any monetary benefits. Have the research team pay attention to this as well.
Know the Goal
First of all, it’s important to take an objective look at the website and evaluate it according to how users see it.
• Does it still reflect the company goals and brand? Has things changed within the company?
• Are users getting what they need from the site?
• How is their overall user experience?
Create a research team to address these issues and come up with creative solutions for a redesign (when required). There are mainly two aspects the research team should focus more on:
• The company’s reason for putting up a website.
• The site’s impact on the company’s financial facet.
In this day and age, it’s a must for businesses to have their own websites; especially the small ones. But if no clear goals are set, it’s still considered ineffective. A website could have dozens, hundreds, even thousands of pages; with each of those pages having a specific function. If these functions are not understandable, then a site can’t stand out from the competition and will simply be buried in cyberspace.
A business’ goal's is connected to its financial reports. There’s not much point in a company putting up a site if it doesn’t give any monetary benefits. Have the research team pay attention to this as well.
Don’t Fix What’s Not Broken
This old saying still rings true – especially in eCommerce. Ask customers and sales personnel if they refer to the company website for their needs and if they found what they were looking for. If the answer is no, then there’s an absolute need for a web redesign. Most digital agencies offer package deals that come with a free website assessment. Nonetheless, don’t be afraid to inquire directly from the people who are actually utilizing the site; don’t only involve people who are hired to fix it.
Work Inside-Out
The entire company website isn’t the problem – just some (or a few) pages. Go through every page during the evaluation process to discover ones who are working as intended (and find out if people are landing on these said pages). Check links, videos, content – take care of URL’s that do serve their purpose for the customers.
Examine the Competition
This doesn’t mean copying their strategies – it only means analyzing what works well and what doesn’t. Visit competitors’ websites and ask the following questions from an unbiased standpoint:
• What are they doing well?
• What elements make their sites effective and with plenty of traffic?
• What do they lack?
This old saying still rings true – especially in eCommerce. Ask customers and sales personnel if they refer to the company website for their needs and if they found what they were looking for. If the answer is no, then there’s an absolute need for a web redesign. Most digital agencies offer package deals that come with a free website assessment. Nonetheless, don’t be afraid to inquire directly from the people who are actually utilizing the site; don’t only involve people who are hired to fix it.
Work Inside-Out
The entire company website isn’t the problem – just some (or a few) pages. Go through every page during the evaluation process to discover ones who are working as intended (and find out if people are landing on these said pages). Check links, videos, content – take care of URL’s that do serve their purpose for the customers.
Examine the Competition
This doesn’t mean copying their strategies – it only means analyzing what works well and what doesn’t. Visit competitors’ websites and ask the following questions from an unbiased standpoint:
• What are they doing well?
• What elements make their sites effective and with plenty of traffic?
• What do they lack?
Study their good points and try to incorporate a few of those techniques into the final design layout. Don’t forget to share research results with the rest of the company so that everyone could be updated before a re-launch.