There comes a time when your website needs to be revamped. Sometimes, it's purely aesthetic to keep up with the times, while other situations call for an overhaul for optimisation and performance. Too often, redesigns get out of hand and derailed because the focus is on all the wrong aspects. This guide should help you keep your design process streamlined and effective.
Stick to Achievable Goals
The first thing you want to do is pin down your goals for your redesign. Are there specific things you want to get rid of? Are you aiming for a brand voice? Do you want to increase conversions, bring more traffic in, and decrease your bounce rate?
You want to think about those measurable objectives and use them as a basis for how your redesign will go down. Just make sure they are achievable in terms of your budget, resources, and timeline.
Prioritise the User Experience
It's easy to get caught up in wanting to make your website look great (which it should) or adding all the bells and whistles you can. However, with any redesign, you need to first ask yourself if what you're doing will actually make the user experience better.
It's all about making the experience simple and convenient so that users want to come back. Make sure the design is not too complicated to navigate and that it isn't an eyesore to stick around on your site too long.
Pin Down the Target Audience
There are a lot of wagging tongues when it comes to design endeavours. Everyone has their own idea of what they want, but at the end of the day, it's about attracting your target audience.
Pinning down your target audience helps you weed out irrelevant options and lessens the need for revisions. It's helpful if you're going for affordable custom website design options and you want to get the right look without having to compromise the vision.
Create a User Journey that Funnels Visitors
It can be hard to follow a journey on a site that lacks direction. A user journey is so important because it allows users to have a structured guide to get around, and it increases conversions.
Every time someone visits your website, it's their digital version of "looking around the store." Make sure your redesign focuses on herding them to the checkout counter and getting everything they're looking for right away.
Optimise for Different Devices
Don't get bogged down by trying to be the most disruptive and memorable site on the planet. Even if you want to be distinctive, what really sticks with website visitors is how responsive and easy on the eyes your site is.
So, make sure your design choices are all hinged around looking good and functioning efficiently on various platforms. You don't want to alienate any users just because you didn't optimise for the device they primarily use for surfing the web.
Conclusion
There are a lot of things to keep in mind when it comes to redesigning your website, but if you go about it the right way, it should be smooth sailing. Keep these objectives in mind and stay aligned with the local web designer you work with so you don't fall off the deep end.
Online Designs UK offers a modern, fresh take on web design that is perfect for local businesses from every industry. Connect with us for affordable web design in the UK.