Jonathan's Web Marketing Blog
10.05.2009
Things To Consider About A Website Redesign
From time to time, every website needs an overhaul, but a redesign is a delicate thing. You have to consider what the purpose is of the redesign.
Of course, the most common goal is to improve the aesthetics of the website, but if you have more specific goals in mind for the look and feel, your redesign with be greatly simplified. Ask yourself, what is wrong with the current design? If the answer is simply, "it's dated", try to dig deeper. The more information that you can provide your designer, the more satisfied you'll be with the outcome. One important consideration should be what your competitions' websites look like. If that is one of the things that is driving your decision to redesign your website, then pick apart your competitors' websites. What do you like/dislike about them? What elements do you want to implement in your own website?
Be open to keeping certain elements of your existing website that are working well for you. If have a law firm website design, and you know that you get a lot of email leads from prospective clients from a contact form on your website, be sure to promote that form in the redesign. The last thing you want is to launch a new design and see a decrease in leads.
Functionality
A redesign should rarely be about simply changing the look and feel of the site. There should be goals in place for improving the overall performance and user experience of the website. These days, video has become such an important part of the online experience, that it should definitely be something that you consider, regardless of whether you're a plastic surgeon, law firm, dentist, or ophthalmologist. The only valid reason not to include video in your website is if you absolutely cannot afford it.
Animation should also be a new function in the redesign as most all modern websites have some sort of animation on the home page that grabs the eye.
Interactivity is perhaps the most important function. People should be able to send you a message from your website and expect a prompt response from your practice. Dental offices (and all medical practices for that matter) should have their patient intake forms available online, and all types of businesses should have printable materials that potential clients/patients can use in shopping for a provider.
Search Engine Rankings / Optimization
The search engine optimization of a website is a key element in making the redesign a positive move for the practice. If the website is currently ranking well on the search engines, that means that they like the website just as it is. So, the goal would be to change as little as possible so as to minimize any disruption in the rankings. When redesigning the website, you want to simply change the aesthetics of the website, and leave the content as it is.
Do not change the file names of the different pages of the website. Doing so will mean that anyone who tries to go to the old file will get an error, and this includes Google and the other search engines. Google will drop those files from its index, and you'll have to start all over in building up equity with the new files.
It's also important to mirror the optimization from the old site to the new site. This means copying over the meta tags, title tags, and header tags. Only change the optimization if it's not working and you're not ranking well.
Making The Decision To Redesign
Ultimately, you should make your decision based on a lot of planning and evaluation. Look at your analytics data. How many visitors are visiting your website and leaving right away? It's normal to have a relatively large number of these "bounces", but if you're seeing 60-70-80+% of your visitors bouncing, that's a good indicator of a design issue. Another is the session length, that is, how long are people spending on your website? If the average session length is below a minute, then there's a big problem. You want to see a session length around 3 minutes+. And the best indicator of a redesign is ARE YOU GETTING LEADS? If your analytics data looks great, but none of the traffic is converting into phone calls and emails, then you have to make a change and do so quickly. There's no telling how many dollars are slipping through your fingers because of a faulty or dated design.
Building a better mousetrap is almost always a good idea. It's just important to take steps to make it a smooth process that will make for a positive change.
- What are the design goals in redesigning the website?
- What do we want the website to do that it isn't already doing?
- What aspects of the search engine optimization need to remain the same or be improved?
Of course, the most common goal is to improve the aesthetics of the website, but if you have more specific goals in mind for the look and feel, your redesign with be greatly simplified. Ask yourself, what is wrong with the current design? If the answer is simply, "it's dated", try to dig deeper. The more information that you can provide your designer, the more satisfied you'll be with the outcome. One important consideration should be what your competitions' websites look like. If that is one of the things that is driving your decision to redesign your website, then pick apart your competitors' websites. What do you like/dislike about them? What elements do you want to implement in your own website?
Be open to keeping certain elements of your existing website that are working well for you. If have a law firm website design, and you know that you get a lot of email leads from prospective clients from a contact form on your website, be sure to promote that form in the redesign. The last thing you want is to launch a new design and see a decrease in leads.
Functionality
A redesign should rarely be about simply changing the look and feel of the site. There should be goals in place for improving the overall performance and user experience of the website. These days, video has become such an important part of the online experience, that it should definitely be something that you consider, regardless of whether you're a plastic surgeon, law firm, dentist, or ophthalmologist. The only valid reason not to include video in your website is if you absolutely cannot afford it.
Animation should also be a new function in the redesign as most all modern websites have some sort of animation on the home page that grabs the eye.
Interactivity is perhaps the most important function. People should be able to send you a message from your website and expect a prompt response from your practice. Dental offices (and all medical practices for that matter) should have their patient intake forms available online, and all types of businesses should have printable materials that potential clients/patients can use in shopping for a provider.
Search Engine Rankings / Optimization
The search engine optimization of a website is a key element in making the redesign a positive move for the practice. If the website is currently ranking well on the search engines, that means that they like the website just as it is. So, the goal would be to change as little as possible so as to minimize any disruption in the rankings. When redesigning the website, you want to simply change the aesthetics of the website, and leave the content as it is.
Do not change the file names of the different pages of the website. Doing so will mean that anyone who tries to go to the old file will get an error, and this includes Google and the other search engines. Google will drop those files from its index, and you'll have to start all over in building up equity with the new files.
It's also important to mirror the optimization from the old site to the new site. This means copying over the meta tags, title tags, and header tags. Only change the optimization if it's not working and you're not ranking well.
Making The Decision To Redesign
Ultimately, you should make your decision based on a lot of planning and evaluation. Look at your analytics data. How many visitors are visiting your website and leaving right away? It's normal to have a relatively large number of these "bounces", but if you're seeing 60-70-80+% of your visitors bouncing, that's a good indicator of a design issue. Another is the session length, that is, how long are people spending on your website? If the average session length is below a minute, then there's a big problem. You want to see a session length around 3 minutes+. And the best indicator of a redesign is ARE YOU GETTING LEADS? If your analytics data looks great, but none of the traffic is converting into phone calls and emails, then you have to make a change and do so quickly. There's no telling how many dollars are slipping through your fingers because of a faulty or dated design.
Building a better mousetrap is almost always a good idea. It's just important to take steps to make it a smooth process that will make for a positive change.
posted by Jonathan Fashbaugh
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Jonathan Fashbaugh
A cache of internet marketing insights from Jonathan Fashbaugh, a consultant at Page 1 Solutions. Check back frequently for great web marketing ideas for cosmetic dentists, personal injury lawyers, plastic surgeons, and ophthalmologists.
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