When is it time to redesign a website?

A beautiful, modern website that drives conversions is essential for any ambitious business. A professionally designed website is intuitive and user-friendly for users of all levels of digital literacy.

This site has a stylish menu that allows you to quickly find what you need. It has a beautiful, easy-to-use interface. A user-friendly personal account. The visual design is created with modern trends in mind.

But web technologies change rapidly, so even the most effective websites quickly become outdated. And then their owners are faced with questions:

• How to improve a website without inconveniencing existing customers;
• How to restore and increase traffic;
• What needs to be done to ensure a comfortable and painless transition to the new visual design, etc.

Experience shows that in most cases, it's easier to create a new design than to revive an old one. After all, one of the goals of updating a website is to avoid damaging sales. In this article, we'll explain when a redesign is worthwhile and when it's not.

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Design and redesign: what are the differences?

Website design— a range of services including the creation of a website's structure and logic, as well as the visual design of all pages.

To create a website from scratch, you need:

• conduct UX research;
• create a Customer Journey Map (CJM);
• Prepare a prototype of the future web resource with a visual component (color, fonts, animation, forms, etc.) in accordance with the customer's specifications, etc.

RedesignThis involves changing the page design. While the overall structure and logic remain the same, the functionality, content, and interface appearance are partially modified. And all this is done to improve usability, i.e., the ease of use of the resource.

Why is a preliminary audit necessary?

Even a new, modern, professionally designed website may not immediately deliver high conversion rates. It's important to remember thatSEO promotion takes time.

In this case, you don't have to resort to drastic changes, but can make minor adjustments as desired (if your budget allows). For example, you could modify menu animations and button appearance.

The decision to go with a new design or a partial update should be based on the results of an audit and metrics analysis. It's important to understand which pages require transformation, which elements need to be replaced, and which ones should be left in place to improve the current website and increase conversions.

When a redesign is not the answer

1. If the website was created 3-5 years ago, and not only its appearance but also its structure is outdated, especially its customer interaction mechanisms, it makes more sense to create a new website prototype based on modern UX design requirements.
2. If a website wasn't initially created with usability in mind (usually a quick DIY project), and SEO and/or advertising stop working, radical measures and the help of a UX specialist are essential.

When is it possible to redesign a website?

1. Your website is less than 3 years old, its structure is in line with modern UX trends, but you might want to modernize its functionality and refresh its visuals.
2. You've added new services or expanded your product range. This requires creating new sections and changing your menu.
3. Your company has changed its positioning or has changed Corporate identity. Rebranding requires transforming the website to reflect the new style.
4. Over time, the flow of customers has noticeably decreased, so you want to conduct an advertising campaign to attract new ones.
5. You've analyzed your competitors, discovered effective features on their websites, are convinced you need them, and are planning to implement them.
6. You need to adapt your website design for mobile devices.

What to consider when redesigning

Often, after a technically flawed redesign, a website loses its position in search results. Maintaining a high ranking is more important than a visual update, so the site owner is forced to choose: either the ranking or "pretty buttons." In some cases, someone will want to "rewind everything."

And to have this opportunity, you need to:

1. Archive the old version of the site.
2. Keep as many old URLs, Title and Description as possible.
3. Carefully configure interlinks in accordance with the sitemap.
4. Don't forget to upload the new Sitemap file.
5. Measure and save analytics metrics from the old version of the site (after the redesign, you will be able to compare traffic and conversion levels).

The Golden Rule of Redesign

Websites with well-designed user journeys and high levels of usability can be updated with minimal risk.

Websites with a customer-friendly structure won't benefit from a redesign!

But if it requires significant revision, then changing the visual design and making targeted adjustments to the pages isn't the answer: it's akin to painting over rust with fresh paint. Therefore, planning a large-scale redesign that completely changes the site's concept is impractical.

Tips for those doing a redesign

1. Test individual solutions on a group of users, carefully study the feedback, and implement innovations only after analyzing the results.A/B testingFor example, if the new menu turns out to be inconvenient, user behavioral indicators will suffer, and therefore SEO.
2. Take care of SEO optimization and content updates in advance, ensuring they are attractive to search engines and most useful to customers. Search engines, for example, may not appreciate new text or incorrect redirects. An improperly configured test version of the site can harm optimization even before the new design is implemented.

Conclusion

A website redesign is a complex process. Ideally, it requires the participation of an SEO specialist, a UI designer, and a developer. With the combined professional efforts of each team, a successful upgrade can be achieved and the desired results—improved traffic and increased sales—can be achieved.

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