When approaching the challenge of a website redesign, it’s not an overstatement to say that there’s a lot to consider.

Mike Volpe, VP of marketing at HubSpot, attempted to construct a comprehensive list of what this undertaking might entail. However, one glaring item appeared to be missing and should not be overlooked.

Align your expectations with reality.

For those considering the significant undertaking of a website redesign, they should be prepared to align the compensation of a professional services provider to all of the value that this list outlines.

It, therefore, makes sense to seek professionals with experience who have demonstrated success in your business category. They should also have a hands-on track record of investing in, understanding and applying their skills to address all of the continually changing dynamics of the Internet.

In addition, they should know how to maximize the potential of the most important component of marketing that you must have to succeed—your website.

Like never before, you get what you pay for. And there has never been a greater inventory of low-cost providers who cannot meet all of the requirements outlined in this list.

55 website redo requirements that you can’t ignore.

Before you dive into a redesign or development effort for a new site, look this list over to get up to speed on how many digital, strategy and content components you’re going to have to address and successfully connect. It may expose a number of dimensions and requirements that you may not have considered.

This is box title
  1. | Find a qualified resource to advise you on strategy, marketing, lead generation, marketing automation, SEO, social media + design.
  2. | Know the basics of your brand to have an intelligent conversation.
  3. | Commit fully to the website redesign process.
  4. | Get referrals from organizations who have websites you like.
  5. | Redo a website to improve performance.
  6. | Don’t redesign because you want a new look.
  7. | Know your buyer personas.
  8. | Understand your current site performance stats.
  9. | Ask prospects + customers what they want.
  10. | Benchmark current performance for post redesign evaluation.
  11. | Plan for it to take longer than expected.
  12. | Do research to find how an average user behaves + interacts with content.
  13. | Get a writer involved early.
  14. | Plan, plan, plan with project milestones + launch date.
  15. | Don’t create a static, electronic brochure.
  16. | Change web page URLs with 301 redirects.
  17. | Get input from many people to evaluate user experience.
  18. | Lead more people to your website through lead generation.
  19. | Do usability testing before and afterwords.
  20. | Assure that all stakeholders are on board with you vision.
  21. | Don’t get bogged down by internal politics.
  22. | Make navigation easy.
  23. | Offer high-value content to download.
  24. | Focus on the user experience.
  25. | Start small and iterate.
  26. | Forget a launch and done model.
  27. | Take your time.
  28. | Establish metrics up front + measure them on the backend.
  29. | Test, test, test.
  30. | Have a realistic web strategy + consistent content production.
  31. | Don’t use flash.
  32. | Understand the hard work will be done before the first line of code.
  33. | Don’t just focus on aesthetics.
  34. | Keep an open mind to change.
  35. | Set objectives + refer to them to stay on course.
  36. | Get the strategy right first.
  37. | Have good at project management.
  38. | Plan for the unexpected.
  39. | Launch it and then fix the holes.
  40. | Begin at the end.
  41. | Focus on the desired business results and work back.
  42. | Have deadlines for smaller, granular goals.
  43. | Plan well, communicate well, make adjustments as needed.
  44. | Consider all parties that will be affected.
  45. | Design for optimization and for leads.
  46. | Align website redesign goals with business goals.
  47. | Review contractor progress daily or weekly.
  48. | Research your web site designers carefully.
  49. | Work with a good developer + never pay up front.
  50. | Do as much internal work as possible.
  51. | Be realistic about how long it will take.
  52. | Know your audience and your core message.
  53. | Be clear on what you expect before you engage a firm.
  54. | Plan SEO in advance.
  55. | Eliminate extraneous content that doesn’t further a sale.

What else?

Share your thoughts on other considerations that may have been left out. Looking forward to hearing from you.

2 thoughts on “What to consider before a website redesign.”

  1. Jim Boyer

    Evidently the better the ‘pre-planning’ the more efficient and seemingly simple web design.

  2. Pruneau

    Thanks for the comment Jim.
    I’m not sure that web design and simple always go hand in hand. As the post discloses, there is a lot to consider, design and ultimately build to end up with a solution that meets today’s web site requirements and customer needs.
    Somehow, I don’t think that web design will ever be as simple as the good old days of DTP.

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