Websites to Redesign: Expert Tips to Improve UX

Redesigning a website can be a total game changer for user experience and engagement. If you want redesigned website to refresh your brand, improve functionality or boost search engine rankings, knowing the best practices and expert advice is key. This post will look at the top websites that need a redesign and how to do it right.

Ready to take your online presence to the next level? Read on and get optimized!

‍

What is a Website Redesign?

A website redesign is a full on process of overhauling a site’s design, structure, content and functionality to improve its website performance, and user experience. According to a Stanford University study, 75% of users judge a company’s credibility by its website design. The main purpose of a website redesign, or redesigned website, is to create a more visually appealing, more engaging, and intuitive experience for visitors, improve conversion rates, boost online presence and comply with industry standards.

Reviewing and improving the site’s performance first is key during a redesign. Looking at how the website performs in terms of key metrics of speed, user engagement and conversions can give invaluable insights to highlight the site's performance strengths and weaknesses to inform the improvements.

The benefits of a website redesign are many and big. It can improve site's performance, user experience and engagement, with websites with good navigation seeing up to 50% more user engagement. A redesign can also boost site's performance in search engine rankings and visibility; mobile friendly and SEO optimized websites can see up to 200% more organic traffic.

Plus improving user friendly experience and the usability issues a redesign affect a site’s functionality can lead to higher conversion rates and sales, with businesses that put a more user interface and friendly experience first seeing conversion rate increases of up to 400%. And a redesign means you can stay ahead in the digital game, which is important considering there are over 1.8 billion websites out there.

When to Redesign Your Website

A website redesign is recommended every 2-3 years to keep it up to date with technology, design trends potential customer, and business needs. Here are some signs it’s time to redesign your website:

Signs of an Old Website

An old website shows its digital age through design and layout that looks old fashioned. You might see clunky visuals, weird color choices or elements that just don’t fit with modern web design, including a poor user interface. Poor user interface experience is a big red flag; if visitors can’t find what they’re looking for because the navigation is confusing, it’s time for a change.

Also if valuable content on your site isn’t showing up in search results, it could be due to old SEO practices. Lastly, inconsistent branding and messaging can make the content structure of important pages on your site feel disjointed and unprofessional, so it’s not updated to match your current brand identity.

Poor User Experience

A website with poor user experience has difficult navigation and a confusing layout. If users can’t find what they’re looking for they’ll leave in frustration. Slow loading page load times are another issue; today’s users expect pages to load fast and if yours don’t you’ll lose visitors. Also if your site isn’t mobile friendly you’re missing out on a huge audience that access websites from their phones or tablets. And if your site isn’t consistent in visuals and branding throughout the site you’ll create a chaotic experience and users won’t be able to connect with your brand. Web designers can help with navigation and layout to get a smoother, user friendly experience.

Low Search Engine Rankings

If your website isn’t showing up on search engines like Google, it could be due to poor search engine optimization (SEO) and bad keyword strategy. This means potential customers can’t find you when they search for related topics. Low quality or irrelevant content can also hurt your search rankings too; search engines love sites that offer valuable and useful information.

Also if you don’t have high quality backlinks – links from other reputable sites pointing to yours – you’ll struggle to establish authority online. And if your site isn’t updated regularly with fresh content or maintenance, it can lead to outdated information and broken links which search engines don’t like.

Website Redesign Process

Step 1: Analyze Your Current Website

The first step in the redesign process is to thoroughly analyze your existing website. This involves evaluating its performance and understanding user behavior to identify areas for improvement. By gathering data on how users interact with your site you can see what’s working and what’s not. This analysis will be the foundation for informed decision making in the full redesign process.

• Site performance: Use analytics tools to check page views, bounce rates and user engagement metrics.
• User behavior: Conduct usability tests to see how visitors navigate your site and find pain points.
• Strengths and weaknesses: Create a list that highlights the good bits of your site and the bits that need improvement.

Step 2: Set Redesign Goals and Objectives

Now that you have a clear understanding of your current website’s performance it’s time to set specific goals for the redesign. Having clear objectives will guide the redesign project, and measure its success. What do you want to achieve with the new website design? Is it to improve user experience, increase conversion rates or enhance brand visibility?

• Target audience: Who is your ideal user and what do they need from your website?
• Scope and timeline: Will you be making minor tweaks or a full site overhaul?
• SMART goals: Set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound objectives (e.g. increase lead generation by 30% in 6 months).

Step 3: Who is Your Target Audience

Understanding user behavior and your target audience is key to user centric design. This step involves research to gather valuable insights about your users’ preferences, behavior and needs. By creating user personas based on this research you can design and content your website to enhance user experience and better serve them.

• User research: Use surveys, interviews or focus groups to collect data about your audience’s preferences.
• Create personas: Develop detailed profiles for different segments of your audience, including their goals and challenges.
• Map user journeys: Outline how different personas interact with your site to identify pain points or opportunities for improvement.

Step 4: Update Your Brand

Your website's SEO also should reflect your brand accurately and consistently. This step involves reviewing and potentially refreshing your SEO strategy and brand to make sure it resonates with your target audience. A consistent brand identity across all social media platforms also builds trust and recognition with new clients.

• Message: Check if your current brand message aligns with your audience’s expectations and values.
• Visual refresh: Update logos, color schemes and typography to look modern.
• Brand style guide: Create guidelines for how to use brand elements across all digital platforms.

Step 5: New Website Layout and Structure

Now that you have a clear understanding of your product descriptions, audience, product descriptions and your brand identity you can focus on designing a new layout for existing content on your website. This step is about creating an intuitive structure for redesigned website that improves user experience and makes it easy to navigate through content.

• Sitemap: Design a clear navigation structure so users can find information easily.
• Wireframes: Create wireframes for key pages to see layout options before moving into full design.
• Responsive design: Make sure the new layout is mobile friendly and accessible on different devices.

Step 6: Design and Build

The final step in user journey is to put it all together through design and development. This is where all the planning pays off as you create a beautiful site that works. Continuous testing during this phase ensures the site meets user expectations and needs before launch.

• Mockups: Create visual mockups of new pages based on wireframes to show design elements.
• Website build: Build the site using best practices in coding and focus on speed and usability.
• Testing and feedback: Test with real users to gather feedback and make adjustments before launch.

Common Pitfalls to Watch Out for During a Website Redesign

When you websites to redesigning a website there are several common pitfalls to watch out for. Avoid these and your redesign will be successful and meet your goals.

Not Defining Clear Goals

One of the biggest mistakes is not defining clear goals for the redesign. Without specific objectives you can easily lose focus and direction. You want to know what you’re aiming for from the get go.

• Not defining website redesign goals and objectives: You need to specify what you want to achieve, whether it’s more traffic, more user engagement or more conversions.
• Not setting key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics for success: KPIs help measure progress and determine if you’re hitting your targets. Without them you can’t measure if your redesign is working.

Aesthetics Over User Experience

While a beautiful site is important, prioritizing aesthetics over user experience will not frustrate users. A pretty website that’s hard to load times navigate won’t keep visitors around.

• Prioritizing visual design over user experience and functionality: Make sure the design enhances usability not complicates it.
• Not considering user needs and behavior: Understand how users interact with your site and design for them. Their experience comes first.

SEO

Not considering search engine optimization (SEO) during a redesign will hurt your site’s visibility. If people can’t find your site all the work you put into the redesign won’t matter much.

• Not optimizing website content and structure for search engines: Make sure your content is structured in a way search engines can crawl and understand.
• Not doing keyword research and analysis: Knowing what your audience is searching for helps inform your content strategy and improves search rankings.

Bad Content Strategy

Content is key to engaging visitors. A bad content strategy can kill even the best designed websites so you need to have a solid content marketing plan in place.

• Not having a content strategy and plan: Before you start the redesign, outline what content you need and how it will fit into the new design.
• Not creating good and relevant content: Make sure your content is valuable, engaging and relevant to your audience.

Not Mobile Ready

More and more users are accessing websites on mobile devices so not having a mobile friendly site is a big mistake. If mobile responsiveness or your site isn’t responsive to mobile responsiveness you’ll lose a lot of traffic.

• Not designing a responsive and mobile friendly website: Your site should look and function well on all devices, from smartphones to tablets.
• Not testing website on mobile devices: Make sure to test your site on various mobile devices to catch any issues before launch.

Choosing the Right Website Redesign Agency or Service

When choosing a website redesign agency or service there are several things to consider. You need to choose a service provider that can have secure client portals so clients can access confidential documents and communicate safely.

Things to Consider

First and foremost you’ll want to evaluate the agency’s experience and expertise in website design and redesign. Look for an agency with a portfolio of successful website design and redesigns in your industry or for similar types of other websites. Review their portfolio and case studies to get a sense of their design style and capabilities. Look at before and after examples to see the impact of their work.

Questions to Ask Agencies

Another key thing is the agency’s communication style and approach. You want to work with a team that listens to your needs, asks good questions and explains their process clearly. How responsive are they during the initial conversations and does their working style align with yours. A good agency should be able to explain their strategic process, their redesign methodology and how they’ll work with you throughout the project.

When looking at agencies prepare a list of questions to ask during the consultations. Ask about their approach to website design and redesign - do they follow a user centric design process? How do they do user research and analysis to inform design decisions? What’s their experience with search engine optimization and making sure your websites to redesigns don’t negatively impact SEO? Understanding their process will help you see if they have the expertise to meet your needs.

Looking at Agency Portfolios and Case Studies

Take your time to thoroughly go through agency portfolios and case studies. Look at the quantity and quality of work they’ve done. See if they’ve worked with businesses similar to yours in terms of size, industry or website functionality needs. Case studies will give you insight into how agencies approach challenges and deliver results.

Look for measurable results and improvements they’ve delivered for previous clients. Have they worked across multiple industries or services offered by law firm or do they specialize in a particular niche? Have they worked with the same platforms or technologies you use? An agency with relevant experience will be better equipped to handle your unique needs and challenges.

Finally evaluate the agency’s communication style and approach through your conversations. Are they responsive and listen to your questions? Do they take time to understand your business and goals? The right agency should feel like a partner working for your success. Look at how well they explain technical things and if you feel comfortable with their team. Choosing an agency you can communicate with well will be key factors to a smooth redesign process.

DIY vs Agency Website Redesign

When it comes to redesigning your website you’ve got two options: DIY or agency. Each has its pros and cons and the best choice depends on your situation, resources and goals.

DIY

DIY website redesign is a cost effective option that gives you full control. But it requires significant expertise and resources to do well. Agency redesign gives you expert guidance and execution but comes with a higher price tag and less direct control.

DIY might be the right choice for smaller projects with simpler requirements. It’s often a good fit for businesses or individuals with limited budget but some technical skills.

• Small website redesign projects with basic functionality
• Limited budget for the redesign
• Simple website redesign requirements (e.g. updating visuals, minor structural changes)
• Some in-house web design or development skills
• Willingness to invest time in learning and executing the redesign

Agency Website

Choosing an agency is often the best option for larger, more complex website design projects. It’s particularly good when you don’t have internal expertise or resources to handle the redesign well.• Large website redesign projects with multiple pages or sections

When choosing between DIY and agency redesign think about project scope, budget, timeline and internal capabilities. DIY can work for smaller, simpler projects when you have some skills and time to invest. But for larger or more complex website redesign/s the expertise and resources of an agency can deliver better results and save time in the long run. Evaluate your situation and resources to decide on the best approach for your website redesign.

Website Redesign for UX

A website redesign is an opportunity to create a better, user friendly, experience for potential customers in your audience. Here’s what to consider:

Know Your Audience

To design redesigned website for the user you need to know your target market trends, audience’s needs, preferences and behaviors. Conduct user research, analyze website through analytics tools and gather feedback to get insights into your audience’s expectations customer preferences and pain points. This will inform your web design and decisions and make sure your new redesigned website meets your users’ needs.

Design for the User

A user centered design approach puts the needs and goals of your target audience first. Consider the following when designing for the user:

• Clear and Concise Content: Make sure your content is easy to read and understand and provides value to your users.
• Intuitive Navigation and Information Architecture: Design a logical and simple navigation structure that helps users find what they’re looking for quickly.
• Prominent Calls-to-Action and Conversion Points: Make it easy for users to take desired actions, e.g. sign up for a newsletter or buy.
• Responsive Design for Mobile: Make sure your site looks and works well on all devices, from smartphones to tablets.
• Accessible Design for Users with Disabilities: Implement accessibility best practices to make your site usable for everyone, including those with disabilities.
• Consistent Branding and Visual Elements: Keep a consistent look and feel across your site to reinforce your brand.

Search Engines Optimization

Search Engine Algorithms

Search engines like Google are constantly updating their algorithms to deliver better results. To optimize your site:

• Stay up to date with major algorithm updates through reputable SEO news sources
• Know the core ranking factors: content quality, user experience and site speed
• Focus on creating content for users not trying to game the system

Google makes thousands of small changes every year and occasional major updates that can have a big impact on rankings. The August 2024 Core Update, for example was all about prioritizing helpful content over content created for SEO purposes

High Quality and Relevant Content

Content is king in SEO. To create content that ranks:

• Have a content strategy aligned with your business goals
• Create in-depth original content that covers topics thoroughly
• Optimize with relevant keywords but don’t keyword stuff
• Use headings, bullet points and short paragraphs to make it readable

Google’s helpful content system, now part of the core algorithm, looks at user behavior and how factors affect the overall value of a website as a whole. This means it’s more important than ever to produce high quality user focused content across your entire site.

Building Backlinks

Backlinks are still a significant role ranking factor. To build a strong backlink profile:

• Create linkable assets like original research, infographics or tools
• Reach out to relevant sites for guest posting opportunities
• Participate in industry forums and communities to build relationships
• Monitor your backlink profile and disavow toxic links

Be careful with link building tactics as Google’s link spam updates target manipulative practices. The December 2022 Link Spam Update introduced SpamBrain, an AI based system to detect and neutralize spammy links

Final Thoughts

A website redesign is a big project that requires careful planning and execution. It starts with an analysis of your current site and then setting clear goals and objectives to guide the redesign project. User centric design is key to creating a site that engages and meets your audience’s needs.

Website redesigns help improve user experience and meet business goals by making strategic web design decisions that effectively communicate your brand messages. Decide whether a DIY or agency approach is best for you based on project complexity and resources. Monitor performance and analyze your site regularly to make data driven decisions for ongoing improvements. For expert help and support in your website redesign. Get started today!

‍