5 Steps to a Successful Website Redesign: The Ultimate WebHeads Guide

Should you do a Website Redesign or Update?

Imagine that your website, which serves as your digital storefront feels stuck in the past.  It could be clunky, confusing, boring, or just not functioning as it should.  Perhaps it is just not attracting the right customers or even driving them away.  If this is you, a website redesign may be in your future or maybe you just need a website tune up.  Read on to find out more.

In this quandrary, how do you make the decision?  If you just need a tweak, here and there, then you may just need a website update or evolving/tuning the website (Wisniewski 2009).  For example, some successful websites that have never had a major website redesign include Amazon, Google, and Apple (Schmidt 2011).

However, if your website has strayed too far off center, and you do decide you need a website redesign, the process is more than just adding a new veneer.  It is about transforming your online presence into a powerful tool that reflects your brand, engages your audience, and drives real results and leads.

A well-executed website redesign, gives you a website that functions flawlessly, guides visitors seamlessly through their journey and becomes a magnet for your ideal customers, converting them into loyal fans.  It is more than aesthetics, but creating a digital experience that leaves a lasting impression on visitors, making them eager to learn more.

The Goals of This Comprehensive Website Redesign Guide

In this comprehensive guide, we will look at the process of a website redesign, explaining the why, the what, and the how.  You will be able to determine if you need a website redesign, the process of planning your redesign, and the development process.  To summarize, what we will cover includes:

• Indications that you need a website redesign.
• Research and Planning for your redesign and what you should consider including.
• How to do the website redesign.
• The average cost of a website redesign.
• Examples of successful website redesign projects.

Indications that You May Need a Website Redesign

Your website may be giving many indications that it needs to be updated or redesigned.  If you think of your website as a car, is it easier to fix a clunker, or get a whole new car (Becker 2009)?  Oftentimes, especially if the website has not been maintained well, it is easier to get a new car, or in this case a website redesign.  Below are some of the indications that you may need a redesign.

• Your website appears outdated (Wurm 2021 and Zhu 2021).
• Your website does not scale with your needs (Wisniewski 2009).
• Your website has not been maintained for more than 5 years (Wurm 2021).
• Your website is not mobile responsive (Wurm 2021).
• Your bounce rate is high (Wurm 2021).
• Your competitors have higher-functioning websites (Wurm 2021).
• Small changes are difficult or impossible to make (Wurm 2021, Zhu 2021, and Wisniewski 2009).

How Exactly Do You Know You Need a Website Redesign?

You may see some familiar problems above, which may apply to your website.  But, how exactly do you know and why should you care?

Signs that Your Website is Outdated

Some signs that your website is outdated or on the cusp of being outdated are:

• Visual Cues: You have outdated or ineffective fonts, color schemes, stock photos, and cluttered layouts.
• Technical Issues: You have slow loading times, broken links, compatibility problems with modern browsers.
• Content Problems: Your website has stale information, irrelevant content, or a lack of fresh updates.
• Competitor Analysis: Your site does not make the cut, as compared to your competitors.
• User Feedback: Your users are having problems using your website.

Why You Need to Fix an Outdated Website

• Loss of Credibility: Old design trends signal that your business may be behind the times.
• User Experience Issues: Your users may be frustrated and driven away by slow loading times, poor navigation, and a lack of mobile responsiveness.  A modern website looks good on all devices and has fast loading times.
• Missed Opportunities: You may be missing out on leads and sales due to a website that does not engage or convert.  A modern website has easy to use menus and clear calls to action, as well as engaging content.
• SEO Impact: Search engines favor modern, well-optimized websites, potentially impacting your visibility.
• You Could have Security Issues: You could be more likely to be hacked or compromise your user’s data with an outdated website.  A modern website protects the the user’s data and your site better.

You Have Determined that You Need a Website Redesign

Let’s say you look at the above factors and determine that you need a website redesign.  Now what do you do?  First you need to determine your goals for the new website.  Make sure that your goals are clear or your redesign efforts could veer off course and result in a website that fails to meet your expectations or its intended purpose.  Some questions to ask in order to have a clear picture include:

• What is not working with your current website?
• What specific results do you want to achieve?
• Who is your target audience and what are their needs?
• What are your competitors doing well at?

What is not Working with Your Current Website?

You may have already identified some of what is not working with your current website, when you determined you need a website redesign.  However, a deeper dive needs to be taken in order to identify other possible issues that were seen in the intitial analysis.  The knowledge gained from answering the questions below will help you make informed decisions throughout your redesign process.  Some things to look at and answer include:

• User Experience (UX):
  • Navigation: Is it easy for visitors to find what they are looking for?  Is the menu structure intuitive?  Are there clear calls to action?
  • Design: You have already likely determined that the design is outdated, but is it also unappealing?  Does it align with your current brand identity?  Is the layout cluttered or confusing?
  • Responsiveness: Does your site adapt seamlessly to different screen sizes and devices?  Mobile optimization is crucial in today’s world and a lot of older websites predate the age of the smartphone or even tablets, thus making them not responsive and viewable on multiple devices.
  • Performance: How fast does your site load?  A part of core web vitals, slow loading times can frustrate users and drive them away, as well as, affect your Google ranking.
  • Accessibility: Is your website accessible to users with disabilities?  Factors such as adequate color contrast, alternative text, font size, and heading structure need to be added as per the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2).
• Website Content:
  • Quality: Is your content informative, engaging, and relevant to your target audience?  Is it well-written, error-free, and up-to-date?
  • Organization: Is your content organized locally and easy to find?  Do you have a clear hierarchy of headings and subheadings that are need for WCAG 2.2?
  • SEO: Is your content optimized for search engines, using relevant keywords and metadata?  Are you ranking well for your target keywords?
  • Calls to Action (CTAs): Does your content include clear CTAs that guide visitors toward desired actions, such as purchasing a product or signing up for a newsletter.
• Website Functionality:
  • Features: Does your website have the features and functionality you need to achieve your goals?
  • Integrations: Does your website integrate with other tools or platforms you use, such as customer relation management (CRM) systems or email marketing software?
  • Technical Issues: Are there any bugs, broken links, or other technical problems that hinder user experience?
• Analytics and Performance:
  • Traffic: How much traffic is your website getting?  Where is the traffic coming from?  Are there any significant trends or patterns?
  • Bounce Rate: Are visitors leaving your site quickly after landing on a page?  This could indicate a problem with the content, design, or user experience.
  • Conversion Rate: What percentage of visitors are taking desired actions, such as making a purchase or filling out a form?  If you conversion rate is low, there may be issues with your website’s usability or persuasive elements.
• Overall Impression of the Website:
  • Brand Alignment: Does your website accurately reflect your brand’s personality and values?
  • First Impression: What do visitors think when they first land on your site?  Is it inviting and engaging?
  • Competitor Comparison: How does your website compare to your competitor’s?  Are they doing anything better that you could learn from?

What Results Do You Want to Achieve in Your Website Redesign?

Now that we some idea as to what is wrong with the current website, we need to look at what we envision the new website to be.  It is important for your website redesign to be aligned with your broader business objectives.  Some examples of improvements to seek include:

• Increased Website Traffic:
  • Organic Traffic: By optimizing for relevant keywords and improving your website’s overall SEO, you can boost your site’s visibility in search engines.
  • Referral Traffic: Try to attract more traffic from other websites, social media, and online communities.
  • Direct Traffic: Encourage visitors to type your website address directly into their browser by building brand awareness and establishing a memorable online presence.
• Improving User Engagement:
  • Time Spent on the Website: By keeping visitors engaged with the content for longer periods, you can let the search engines know that your site is valuable and relevant.
  • Pages per Session: When visitors explore multiple pages on the site, it increases exposure to your brand and content.
  • Bounce Rate: Try to reduce the percentage of visitors who leave your website after viewing one page.  If users visit more than one page, it indicates to search engines that your content is resonating with your audience and meeting their needs.  However, if you have an affiliate marketing website, you may naturally have a high bounce rate due to users going to affiliate links.
• Boosting Leads and Sales:
  • Lead Generation: Have more effective calls to action (CTAs), forms, and landing pages.
  • Conversion Rate: Increase the percentage of visitors who take desired actions, such as making a purchase, requesting a quote, or signing up for a newsletter.
  • Sales Revenue: Your new website should contribute to your bottom line by driving sales and revenue growth.
• Enhance the Perception of Your Brand: 
  • Brand Identity: Make sure that your website redesign reflects your brand’s personality, values, and unique selling proposition (USP).
  • Credibility: Build trust and authority with your audience through professional design, high-quality content, and social proof.
  • Customer Loyalty: Develop a positive brand image by encouraging reapeat visits and customer loyalty.
• Other Goals You May Want to Achieve:
  • Improve Customer Service: Provide self-service options like FAQs, knowledge bases, or chatbots, to help users with their questions.
  • Streamline Internal Processes: Integrate your website with a CRM, inventory management, or other business systems to improve efficiency.
  • Launch a New Product or Service: Use your website redesign to highlight and promote new products and offerings.

Align Your Website with Your Target Audience

When planning your website redesign, you need to have a good idea of your target audience in order to cater to the specific users you want to attract and engage.

Understanding Your Target Audience

• Demographics: Identify the basic demographic characteristics of your ideal customers, such as age, gender, location, income level, education level, occupation, and family status.  Some examples are young professionals, stay-at-home parents, retirees, or a specific niche group.
• Interests and Behaviors: What are your target audience’s interests, hobbies, and online behaviors?  What websites do they frequent?  What social media platforms do they use?  What kind of content do they engage with?  By knowing the answers to these questions, you can tailor your content and design to resonate with your target audience’s preferences.
• Pain Points and Challenges: What problems or challenges is your target audience facing?  How can your products or services help them solve these problems?  By solving these pain points, you can establish your website  as a vaulable resource and solution provider.
• Goals and Aspirations: WHat are your target audience’s goals and aspirations?  What does your target audience hope to achieve by visiting your website or using your products?  By knowing their goals you can create compelling content and calls to action.
• Purchasing Behavior: How does your target audience make purchasing decisions?  Are they impulsive buyers or do they conduct extensive research before making a purchase?  Do they shop online or in-person?  Knowing their purchasing behavior can help to optimize conversions.

What are the Needs of Your Target Audience?

• Information that they Seek: What kind of information is your target audience looking for on your website?  For instance, are they looking for product details, educational resources, customer reviews, or industry news.  Be sure to provide the information they need.
• Usability for Your Target Audience: How can you make your website easy and intuitive to navigate?  Focus on creating a user-friendly design with clear navigation, fast loading times, and intuitive call-to-action buttons.
• Trust and Credibility: How can you establish trust and credibility with your audience?  A part of your website redesign process includes customer testimonials, case studies, or certifications to demonstrate expertise and credibility.
• Personalization: Can you personalize the website experience?  Try to include features such as targeted offers or customized content based on user behavior.
• Community and Engagement: Does your target audience value community interaction?  Consider adding a forum, comment section, or social media integration to your website redesign.

What are Your Competitors Doing Well?

Part of your website redesign research includes looking at your competitors for industry standards, user expectations, and potential opportunities for improvement.  Some of the steps in researching your competitors are below:

• Identify Your Competitors:
  • Direct Competitors: These are businesses that offer similar products or services to the same target audience.
  • Indirect Competitors: Businesses that offer different products or services, but target the same audience or address similar needs.
  • Aspirational Competitors: Businesses that you admire and aspire to emulate, even if they do not compete with you.
• Review your Competitors: 
  • Content: What kind of content do your competitors offer?  Is is informative, engaging, and up-to-date.  Do they have a blog, resources section, or other valuable content?
  • Design: How does their website look and feel?  Is is modern, visually appealing, and easy to navigate?  Does it align with their brand identity?
  • User Experience (UX): How intuitive is their website?  Is is easy to find information, complete tasks, and make purchases?  Do they have any unique features that you might want to replicate in your website redesign?
  • Functionality: What features and functionalities do they offer?  Do they have any tools, calculators, or interactive elements that add value to their site?
  • SEO: How well are your competitors ranking for keywords?  Are they using any specific SEO strategies or techniques?
  • Social Media: How active are they on social media?  Are they using social media effectively to engage with their audience and drive traffic to their website?
• Identify Strengths and Weaknesses:
  • Strengths: What are your competitors doing exceptionally well that you could learn from and potentially implement in your website redesign?
  • Weaknesses: What are they lacking or not doing well that you could potentially improve upon and differentiate yourself from them?
• Look for Opportunities:
  • Differentiation: Are there any gaps in the market that you could fill with your website redesign?  Could you offer a unique feature, better user experience, or more targeted content than your competitors?
  • Innovation: Are there any emerging trends or technologies that you could leverage to create a more cutting-edge website experience?

The Process of Redesigning Your Website

Once you have some idea as to the website you want, it is time to start the process of redesigning your website.  However, there are some things to keep in mind before you start the process.

Things to Keep in Mind in Your Website Redesign

• Set Clear Goals: Define the goals of the new website, by asking what you want to achieve and what are your key performance indicators (KPIs)?
• Create a Timeline: Establish a realistic timeline to conduct the research and planning.
• Document Your Findings: Keep detailed notes and records of your research findings.  If you have to go back and figure out way something was done or how a decision was made, the notes can be invaluable.

The Steps in Your Website Redesign

There are 5 general steps to take in the process of changing your old website into your new website.  These include 1) research and planning, 2) organizing the information and site itself, 3) design and development of the site, 4) creating new content and migrating old content, 5) testing the new site and launching it.

Step 1: Research and Planning

• Ask yourself, who is your current audience?: You know who you want your target audience to be, but who exactly is the audience of your current website?  There are a number of data sources to use to find out.  Below are some of them.
  • Website Analytics: Look at the Analytics of your current website to understand the current user behavior on your site.  Look at the traffic sources, your bounce rate, pages that are popular, and the user flow.  If you have them, use heat maps to see what users have been looking at (Lofgren and Faley 2016).
  • Surveys and Interviews: Conduct surveys of your existing customers and potential users to get qualitative feedback about their needs and expectations.  Try to build a minimum of three distinct personas (Wurm 2021).
  • Social Media: Look at your social media demographics and engagement to get more information on your users.
  • Customer Support Data: If you have it, customer support interactions can identify common questions, concerns, and pain points.
• Audit Your Content: 
  • Inventory the Current Content on your Website: Create a comprehensive list of the content on your current website, such as pages, blog posts, images, videos, etc.
  • Evaluate Content Quality: Look at and assess the quality, relevance, and accuracy of your current content.  Try to remove that which is a duplicate of another or is outdated.
  • Identify Content Gaps: Determine if there is any content that is missing.  Ask yourself, are there any topics your audience is interested in that you have not covered?
  • Plan the Migration of Your Content: Once you have completed the above steps, decide which content you want to keep, update, or remove for the new website.
• Keyword Research:
  • Identify the Keywords you Want to Target: Remember the keywords your competitors were using, see if you can use some of them and brainstorm some ones of your own.
  • Map Keywords to Pages: Assign keywords to specific pages in your new website.  This will optimize your content for search engines and drive organic traffic.
  • Consider Using Long-tail Keywords: If your site is new, these are keywords that are longer and more specific, having less competition and higher conversion rates.
  • Keyword Trends: Use a tool like Google Trends to look for trending topics in your industry that you can incorporate in your content.

Step 2: Organizing the Information and Structure of the New Website

With the research and planning completed, now is the time to work on the skeleton or blueprint of your website redesign.  During this step you always want to: 1) keep your target audience top of mind, 2) keep it simple and do make it complex, 3) focus on the most important content, 4) make sure that labels and headings are clear, and 5) test the structure to determine the best one.  This step has two basic components, the architecture of the information and the wireframing or the basic layout.

Information Architecture

Information architecture is the process of organizing and structuring the content of your website to make it easily findable and usable by your visitors.  If you have a lot of data or a large e-commerce website, this step can be one of the most crucial and can save headaches later.  Below are some to the main goals and key components of this stage.

• Goals of Information Architecture:
  • Clarity: You want to ensure that users can easily understand what your website is about and how to find what they need.
  • Make Information Findable: Make it simple (Pavlik 2016) for users to locate specific information or content.
  • Efficiency: Help users complete tasks and goals with minimal effort.
  • Scalability: Create a structure that can accomodate future growth and changes to the website.
• Main Components of Information Architecture:
  • Site Map: A visual representation of the website’s hierarchy, showing the relationship between pages and content.
  • Navigation: The menu structure and labeling used to guide users through the site.
  • Content Organization: The grouping and categorization of the content (e.g. topic and/or product type)
  • Search Functionality: Determine the type of search functionality you want.
  • Taxonomy: Develop a system for classifying and tagging content to make it easier to find later.

Wireframing

During this stage of your website redesign, you make a basic sketch of the layout of the new website with an emphasis on the structure and placement of the elements, not the visuals, which come in step 3.  Below are some of the goals to accomplish at this stage.

• Goals of Wireframing:
  • Organize the New Layout: Conceptualize and get a picture of how content will be organized on each page.
  • Test Usability: Try to identify potential usability issues early in the design process so changes can be made.
  • Do Several Iterations: Experiment with different layouts and arrangements, before committing to the final design.
  • Collaborate with your Team and Stakeholders: Discuss the options with your team and stakeholders to make sure there is agreement as to the best layout.
• Elements of Wireframing:
  • Header: The top section of the page that generally contains the logo, navigation menu, and the search bar.
  • Content Areas: Sections for text images, videos, and other content.
  • Footer: The bottom section of the page, which contains copyright information, contact details, and social media links.
  • Call-to-Action Buttons: Buttons that encourage users to take specific actions.

Step 3: Design and Development of the New Website

During this step, the visual elements of the site are determined.  This step consists of two main phases; the design and the development of the website.

Website Design

This phase has two major components; the visual design (UI) and the user experience (UX).

• Visual Design (UI):
  • Style Guides for the Website: Creating visual representations to capture the desired look and feel of the website, which includes color palettes, typography, image styles, and the overall aesthetics.  If you read the “What if Wednesday” posts, you probably recognise a lot of this.
  • UI Design: Designing the user interface that encompasses the layout of individual page, placement of the elements, and the overall visual hierarchy.
  • Graphic Design: Creation of the graphics, icons, and illustrations to enhance the visual appeal and brand identity of your website.  Do not get too trendy, in order for the website to have longetivity (Becker 2009).
• User Experience (UX): 
  • Refinement of the Wireframe: Now that you have the visuals in place, the wireframe needs to be revisited to make sure it still has a smooth and intuitive user flow.
  • Interaction Design: Designing interactive elements like buttons, forms, and animations to enhance user engagement.
  • Usability Testing: Test out the new design to identify potential usability issues.

Development of the Website

There are three main parts involved with the development of the website.  The first is the selection of the content management system, upon which all functionality and appearance with lie.  Then comes front-end and back-end development.

• Content Management System (CMS) Selection: Choose a CMS platform that aligns with your needs and budget.  These can include open-source options such as WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal, or paid options such as Shopify, Squarespace, or Wix.  Consider factors such as ease of use, scalability, customization options, and plugins that are available.
• Front-end Development: 
  • HTML, CSS, Javascript: While a lot of themes may have the coding needed for a great layout, there are still opportunities to add your own modifications using codes snippets and custom CSS.
  • Responsive Design: White not quite the problem is used to be, especially in the modern CMSs, ensure that your website adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes and devices.
  • Optimize the Speed and Performance of Your Website: Make sure that you have fast loading times of your website to maintain good Google core web vitals.  Having a fast website is crucial for user experience and search engine rankings.
• Back-end Development: Most modern CMSs, such as WordPress and others handle most of the back-end features (those written in PHP, for example) automatically.  If changes are needed, they can be added via code snippets, or directly via a child theme.

Best Practices to Keep in Mind During the Design and Development Step of Yor Website Redesign

• Collaboration and Communication: Make sure that there is adequate communication and involvement between designers and developers, if they are different, in order to have a smooth process.  Effective project management is vital to keeping your website redesign on track and within budget.
• Always Keep the End User in Mind: Keep your target audience at the forefront of all decisions.  Limit the scope of new features and functions (Chin 2015).
• Accessibility: Make sure that your new website is compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2 AA).
• Have Robust Security: Protect your website with robust security to avoid compromises and hacks.
• Do Quality Assurance (QA) Testing: Conduct through testing to identify and fix any bugs or issues before the launch of the website.

Step 4: Content Creation and Management

By now you have your website redesign planned out and conceptualized.  Now you need to create new content and migrate some of the existing content from the old website.  It is best to use a staging or local site when adding content so if you make a mistake, you do not ruin the rest of the site.  Generally, there are two stages of this process: 1) New Content Creation and 2) Evaluation and Migration of Existing Content.

Creating New Content for Your Website Redesign

New content comes from looking at gaps in your old content and developing entirely new content for the website redesign.  The main stages include:

• Auditing Existing Content:
  • Review existing content to identify gaps and areas for improvement (Joly 2006).
  • Determine what content you want to keep, update, or send to the digital dustbin based on relevance, accuracy, and SEO potential.
• Creating New Content: 
  • Develop a content strategy that aligns with the goals of your website redesign and targets audience needs.
  • Write high-quality content that is informative, engaging, and relevant to your audience.
  • Have a variety of content types like blog posts, articles, videos, infographics, and case studies to cater to different preferences and learning styles.  Try to have at least one image per webpage (Pavlik 2016).
  • Optimize the content for SEO by incorporating relevant keywords, meta tags, and internal links.
• Write Engaging Copy:
  • Write in a style that resonates with your audience.
  • Keep sentences short and paragraphs concise for easy readability.
  • Highlight the benefits of your products or services and how they solve customer problems.
  • Use strong calls to action (CTAs) to guide users toward desired actions.

Migrating Existing Content

• Map and Inventory the Content First:
  • Determine where each piece of content from the old website will reside on the new website.
  • This ensures that you have a smooth and organized migration process.
• Transferring Content: 
  • Transfer content from the old website to the new one, ensuring that formatting, links, and images are preserved.
• Updating the Old Content:
  • If needed, update the old content to make sure it is fresh, relevant and accurate.
  • Fix any broken links or images to avoid a negative user experience.
  • Ensure that all content, old and new, is accessible to users with disabilities.

Things to Keep in Mind with Content During Your Website Redesign

• Make sure to Prioritize Quality over Quantity: Focus on having unique high-quality content rather than filling pages with random content to give a row of green dots on your SEO monitor.
• Consistency: Maintain a consistent voice and style across all of your content to make it easier for users to consume (Pavlik 2016).
• Have Regular Updates: Keep the content fresh and relevant by regularly adding new posts, articles, and resources.
• Proofreading and Editing: Thoroughly proofread and edit all content to ensure accuracy and professionalism.

Step 5: Testing and Launch of the Website Redesign

Congratulations, your website redesign is almost done.  Now we go through the process of testing the website and then launching it for the world the see.  Below, are some of the stages for testing and then launching the website redesign.

Testing the New Website

• Functionality Testing:
  • Thorough Click-Throughs: Click through every link, button, and form on your website to ensure that they work as expected and are not empty.
  • Form Testing: Fill out the content forms and other forms to make sure that the data reaches the right place, and generates confirmation messages, and emals.
  • E-commerce Testing: If applicable, complete test purchases to ensure the entire checkout process is seamless and secure.
• Browser and Device Compatibility:
  • Cross-Browser Testing: Check how your website looks and functions on different browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and others.
  • Device Testing: Test the website on various devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones to make sure it is responsive.
• User Acceptance Testing (UAT):
  • Recruit Testers: Invite a group of representative users to test your website and provide feedback.  Be sure to include some older adults and those from the disability community to make sure it is visible and usable to them (Patsoule and Koutsabasis 2014).
  • Collect Feedback: Gather feedback on navigation, usability, content clarity, and overall user experience.
  • Address Issues Found: Fix any bugs, errors, or usability issues identified during testing.
• Performace Testing: 
  • Page Speed: Use Google Lighthouse or Gtmetrix to analyze your website’s loading speed.
  • Mobile Optimization: Ensure your website is mobile-friendly and loads quickly on mobile devices.
  • Stress Testing: Keep an eye on how your website performs under heavy traffic loads.

Launching Your Website Redesign

• Choose a Launch Date: Select a date that aligns with your overall project timeline and marketing strategy.
• Backup Your Site: Create a complete backup of your old website before launching the new one.
• Go Live: Transfer your new website files to your server or update/restore your CMS.  Afterwards, make sure everything is in place.
• Announce the Launch of your New Website: Spread the word about your new website through email subscribers, social media posts, and press releases.
• Monitor the Performance: Keep a close eye on traffic, user behavior, and conversions after the launch.

Things to Keep in Mind After the Launch of Your Website Redesign

Just because you have launched the website, does not mean the work is over.  Plugins and the CMS need to be updated, errors need to be found and corrected, as well as, broken links, and other issues.  Try to gather feedback from users and stakeholders to identify areas for further improvement.  The next time, instead of doing a complete website redesign, try to do incremental updates (Joly 2006).

How Much Does a Website Redesign Cost?

Here is the section you were probably waiting for.  How much will your website redesign cost?  First we will go over some of the factors affecting the cost and then discuss some average cost amounts.

Factors Influencing Website Redesign Costs

• Scope of the Project:
  • Simple Refresh: If you are looking for a minor update, like a new color scheme or font change, the cost will be much lower than a complete overhaul.
  • Partial Website Redesign: Updating specific sections of your website, such as the homepage, navigation, or product pages.
  • Complete Website Redesign: Involves redesigning the entire website, including the structure, content, design, and functionality.
  • Additonal Website Redesign Costs: New content, custom illustrations, or photography.
• Website Size and Complexity:
  • Number of Pages: The more pages there are, the more time and effort it will take to redesign, which will increase the cost.
  • Functionality: If you need complex features like e-commerce capabilities, user portals, or custom integrations, the cost will be higher than for a simpler website.
  • Technology: If you want to use cutting-edge technology or require specialized development expertise, it may increase the cost.
• Who You Hire:
  • Freelancers: Hiring a freelancer is generally the most affordable option, but it is important to find someone with the right experience and skills.
  • Agencies: Agencies usually have larger teams with diverse expertise, but they need tend to be more expensive than freelancers.
  • In-House Team: You can save on costs if you have an in-house team, but you need to factor in salaries and benefits.
• Location:
  • Geographic Location: The cost of living and average wages can vary significantly from region to region.  Costs may be higher in larger cities and countries with higher costs of living.
  • Onshore vs. Offshore: You can hire an agency or freelancer from another country, but it may come with communication challenges and quality concerns.
• Additional Costs to Factor in:
  • Content Creation: If you need new content written, you will need to factor in the cost of copywriting or content creation services.
  • Ongoing Maintenance: After your website is launched, you will need t budget for ongoing maintenance, updates, and hosting fees.
  • Marketing and Promotion: To drive traffic to your website, you may need to invest in marketing and promotion efforts.

Typical Website Redesign Costs

• Small-Business Website Redesign: $1,000 – $10,000
• Medium-Sized Business Website Redesign: $10,000 – $50,000
• Large or Enterprise Business Website Redesign: $50,000+

Examples of Successful Website Redesign Projects

• Small Businesses:
  • Tattly: This temporary tattoo company had a website redesign to emphasize vibrant product imagery, simplified navigation, and a seamless checkout process.  The redesing led to increased user engagement and higher conversion rates.
  • Scott’s Cheap Flights: This website redesign focused on a cleaner layout, improved search functionality, and clearer calls to action.  The redesign resulted in a significant boost in newsletter sign-ups and flight bookings.
• Medium-Sized Businesses:
  • MailChimp: This email marketing platform overhauled its website with a modern design, intuitive navigation, and personalized content recommendations.  This enhanced the user experience and drove higher customer retention.
  • Pantone: The color authority revamped its website to showcase its vast color library, provide better search functionality, and integrate e-commerce capabilities; leading to increased product sales and brand awareness.
• Large Businesses:
  • Airbnb: Airbnb’s website redesign focused on improving the user experience, simplifying the booking process, and highlighting unique accommodations; resulting in an increase in bookings and customer satisfaction.
  • Target: Target modernized its website design to be cleaner, have enhanced search functionality, and to provide personalized product recommendations.  This led to increased online sales and improved customer loyalty.
• Nonprofit:
  • Dana Foundation: In their website redesign, the Dana Foundation was able to make their website more accessible, search-friendly, and optimized (PR Newswire 2014).

Conclusion

By the following the steps as outlined in this guide, you too can have a successful website redesign and ensure a happy future.  Be sure to consider carefully whether you actually need a website redesign or merely just a website update.

References

• Becker, D.A.  2009.  A Website Redesign Owner’s Manual.  Online Magazine 33 (3): 15-19.
• Chin, Arthur.  2015.  Anatomy of a Website Redesign.  California CPA Supplement Technology and Business Resource 2015: 8.
• Joly, Karine.  2006.  10 Tips to a Successful Website Redesign.  University Business 9 (12): 71-72.
• Lofgren, Diane and Kelly Faley.  2016.  How to Use Data to Inform a Website Redesign.  Marketing Health Services 36 (1): 10-11.
• Patsoule, Evelina and Panayiotis Koutsabasis.  2014.  Redesigning Websites for Older Adults: a Case Study.  Behaviour & Information Technology 33 (6): 561-573.
• Pavlik, Amelia.  2016.  Follow 10 tips for Website Redesign Success.  Student Affairs Today 18 (11): 7.
• PR Newswire.  2014.  The Dana Foundation wins Davey Award for Successful Website Redesign.  PR Newswire 11/10/2014.
• Schmidt, Aaron.  2011.  Resist that Redesign.  Library Journal 136 (4): 21.
• Wisniewski, Jeff.  2009.  The Pitfalls of Redesign and How to Avoid Them.  Online Magazine 33 (4): 54-57.
• Wurm, John.  2021.  Prepare for a Successful Website Redesign.  Nonprofit Communications Report 19 (5).
• Zhu, Candice.  2021.  Website Makeover: Transforming the User Experience Starting from Scratch.  Computers in Libraries 41 (6): 21-26.