How to Redesign a Website: A Step-by-Step Guide

A step-by-step guide to redesigning your website is shared by the experts of web design companies, creative agencies, and branding agencies. 

Your website’s design should prioritize client interaction, conversion rates, and return on investment, in addition to its aesthetic attractiveness. As a result, if you want your website to bring in money and customers, it must be created to provide a pleasant experience for users, is aesthetically attractive, and sends the appropriate messages.

We must first emphasize that not all website redesign initiatives are created equal. The following article has been compiled based on the advice and work patterns of a leading web design company, and reading it will make you look like a hero at work.

What is a Website Redesign?

Most people think of a website makeover as a simple task of hiring a creative agency and changing how the site looks. They have a point, but the evidence only partly backs it up.

A redesign requires many changes, such as search engine optimization, the user experience, and the site’s appearance. 

On the other hand, you don’t need them all the time. Because of this, we make a point of telling the difference between the different kinds of website makeovers.

UI  — Because it just changes the website’s design, it does not affect how people interact with it. It entails by using a logo maker and adjusting colors, logos, fonts, and other elements that influence how existing pieces seem..

UX — Modifies the navigation structure without altering the website’s visual style. Redesigning the user experience may include changing the website’s layout, style, and even some of its features. The website’s design, however, will remain the same.

Tech — Adapting to new circumstances might include making technological adjustments, improving content, or increasing productivity. This kind of redesign does not alter the interface’s look, or the route users take around the site, but it may improve load times.

Complete redesign — Improve your website by updating the visual design, user flow, and underlying technology. 

Each redesign type calls for a unique set of actions to achieve its objectives, solve problems, and improve the company.

Before you roll in a branding agency, this article will guide you through figuring out what kind of redesign your project needs and taking the necessary measures to make that redesign a reality.

You may choose a suitable redesign option depending on your needs and aspirations.

How to Redesign a Website: A Step-by-Step Guide

We’ve prepared a complete guide on redesigning a website, explaining all the steps you should take for a complete redesign. If your redesign doesn’t require a specific action, skip it.

Website Audit 

It would be best if you first learned as much as possible about your current area. You may do a website audit yourself, or you can hire a third party to perform it for you.

Focus on the functionality of your site and the ranking of your search results.

Performance audit

Use the sitemap you currently have (or make one if you don’t) and look at each page, paying particular attention to the number of visits and conversions, as well as the length of time spent on the page and the degree of detail it includes, to determine how successful your website is.

After this research, you will know exactly which pages are underperforming and need to be revamped and which are doing fine and need minor adjustments.

SEO audit

As such, it’s time to think about SEO (search engine optimization). Analyze your website’s page ranks and the factors that influence them. Remember that a lack of keywords isn’t the only possible reason for SEO problems; poor content, sluggish website loading times, or other technical difficulties might also be to blame.

An SEO audit will reveal what changes (both structural and content-based) need to be made to your site to increase search engine rankings and draw in the kind of targeted traffic you’re seeking.

Explore the current user journey

Designers often build a website by sketching a hypothetical user’s steps around the site.

However, the actual user’s trip may differ from the one envisioned, or the journey may evolve throughout development.

To provide a seamless experience for your consumers, you must first comprehend where they are in their trip and then fill in any holes you see. 

User testing and soliciting feedback in the form of reviews may give you a complete picture of your users’ trip.

The knowledge you get from user journey research will form the backbone of your redesign strategy.

Set goals

You can’t establish realistic objectives for your website’s makeover unless you have a firm grip on what’s wrong with it and the factors that led to its current state. 

Set out the challenges you want to conquer and the outcomes you seek from the redesign. 

Some examples of these are:

• Changing your brand perception
• Improving the user experience
• Increasing the conversion rate
• Decreasing the bounce rate
• Driving more traffic
• Increasing user retention

Those are but a handful of the many possible reasons for redesigning a website. You may choose as many as you want, but prioritize your site’s most pressing needs.

Build a Website Redesign Strategy

Having a clear objective in mind makes it much easier to formulate a plan of action to get there. 

It is essential to have the plan to ensure that the revised version of your website continues to 

advance toward its stated objectives. 

Depending on the nature of your redesign, any or all of the following steps may need to be implemented.

• A new sitemap has to be created. Provide a more satisfying encounter for your visitors by either increasing the number of pages or rearranging the present ones.
• Take the time to plan out your message. Your website should reflect your organization’s core beliefs and services. Therefore, you must craft a communication plan that conveys your thoughts to your target demographic.
• Improve the user’s overall flow experience. It’s best to either fix the problems you’ve found after making several adjustments to the user flow or come up with a whole new flow. Validate with real people.
• To improve your search engine rankings, you should: (SEO). To increase the volume of organic visitors to your website, you need to do keyword research and make the necessary modifications to the page structure.

When you have a plan, you can go forward with its execution.

Find specialists

A website redesign has numerous moving parts, such as front-end programming, UI design, and UX design.

It will likely be tough to handle everything on your own, so you should look into hiring a reputable website design firm for help.

Let’s have a look at some things to keep in mind while making your website makeover vendor selection:

• Finding an agency via review platforms is one possibility. You may learn more about what it’s like to work with prospective service providers by reading reviews left by actual customers. In addition, you may sort the firms to find the one that meets your needs.
• We advise that, while choosing an agency, you pay close attention to their reviews and portfolios. Look for vendors that have experience working on similar projects and can show examples of their work.
• To that end, it’s essential to consider the agency’s process flow if you’re thinking about hiring them. Using well-defined processes, it is possible to expedite the redesign while keeping the quality at a satisfactory level.
• Verify the existence of design systems by inquiring about them with a potential agency. These ready-made options facilitate the rapid generation of standard items and ensure aesthetic consistency.
• You can also learn whether the company is open to transferring its knowledge to others. A company’s degree of knowledge may be inferred from the extent to which it engages in social activism.

It shouldn’t be too hard to find a service that can help you not just revamp your website but also do an audit, study the market, and create a strategy. 

Companies that provide design and development services should be your top priority if you don’t currently have a development team working on the project in-house.