Don't complete a redesign just because your company's employees are tired of the look and feel of your web site. It's also not a good idea to redesign your site because you purchased a new tool or want to implement a new technology. Here's a short list of some good and bad reasons to redesign your web site:
Bad reasons to redesign a site:
- My boss told me to do so.
- We're all tired of looking at the same old homepage.
- Our main competitor has redesigned its site three times in the last five years.
- Another vendor told us that we really need a prettier design.
- The site is not functional.
- It was built in the 1990s.
- Customers have told you that they are not buying from you because your site is horrible.
- Your current platform is outdated, unsupported or has security flaws.
- You're attracting a lot of traffic, but they're not converting into leads or customers.
- You don't have a huge budget for a large redesign (although it's important to note that an upfront and ongoing budget is needed for a refresh and ongoing maintenance and marketing)
- You have a limited team who wants to do the right thing but doesn't have time to focus on a full redesign.
- You're open to making small changes throughout your existing site to improve your customers' user experience, improve efficiencies for your web or marketing team, and make things easier for sales.
- You have sales and marketing teams who both need more out of your current web site.