Benefits of a website redesign

If you’re a savvy business owner, chances are you already have a website. 

But is it up to date? Is it time for a website redesign? 

Aside from usability, the topics of security, SEO and conversion rate are all critical to small and medium-sized businesses. 

With the world shifting towards the “new normal” following the pandemic, your business website has become an essential piece that drives new leads and sales. Customers now research, compare and buy products and services online more than ever. 

And a website redesign can help keep up with the changes in consumer behavior and maximize results you get online. 

To help you make the right decision, in this guide you’ll learn what are the benefits of a website redesign, why you may need it and how to effectively get started. 

What is a website redesign?

A complete website redesign implies rebuilding your website from the ground-up, starting with the code all the way through to its appearance, functionalities, and user experience. 

Similar to how you’d renovate your office or shop, with a website redesign you’ll improve the look and feel of your site, enhance it with new features, and ultimately drive better business results.

You may also choose to do a partial website redesign, which will overhaul only the backend or the frontend components (the backend being the code that powers your website’s functionality and the frontend being the visual interface that visitors interact with). 

How often should you redesign your website?

Ideally, you should evaluate if you need a website redesign every 2-5 years. However, this will vary depending on what your site looks like, to begin with along with your industry, audience, and the changes in technology and design that are always coming about. 

Additionally, if your site isn’t performing as expected, you should likely assess if you just need a website refresh or a complete website overhaul. 

Dig into your analytics to identify issues with rankings, traffic, or conversions, then make a data-driven decision on what to do next. 

How to get started on a website redesign?

Since a good site redesign does require a significant investment, here are five major business benefits that justify the cost and help pay for it.

1. Improved branding
2. Better search engine rankings
3. Improved information flow
4. More leads and sales
5. Increase revenue and reduce costs

1. Improved branding

An updated website will help reinforce the consistency of your brand. With a modern design, your website will promote trust and brand recognition amongst consumers, which is why a website overhaul can do wonders for your brand-building initiatives.

Potential customers that find your business online will use the overall design and quality of your website to evaluate the trustworthiness of your company.

First impressions matter and they’re 94% influenced by your site design.

If your site appears cheap and outdated, doesn’t work well, or provides a bad user experience it can turn people away from becoming your customers.

On the other hand, a website redesign helps keep your business relevant and enhances your brand image with a strong impression.

2. Better search engine rankings

Having a well-designed website also means better SEO. In fact, your website’s redesign should take search optimization into account from the code all the way to its end responsiveness.

Ultimately, that means your site’s redesign will help you climb up in the SERPs, scoring you more organic traffic.

Moreover, once people click on your link and see your modern website, they’re more likely to stick around. If your site structure is optimized, visitors will browse through your site, check out more pages which will reduce your bounce rate.

Finally, a well-designed website can also attract more backlinks, which can give you a strong push for even higher Google rankings and additional referral traffic.

3. Improved information flow

The core goal of your website content and information is to help potential customers learn more about your business, products/services and ultimately help close deals.

Whether it’s info about your company, your founder’s story, or just educating them on your products and services, a website’s key purpose is to provide information that helps visitors take the desired action (conversion).

Of course, people expect the information they want to be right in front of them at any given moment. And to be able to persuade visitors to consider your offerings and become paying customers you need to have an optimal information flow.

Unfortunately, many websites fail to meet this high demand.

With a website redesign, you can do your best to structure and present your information in a way that all the important stuff is easy to find as users flow organically from one page to the next.

4. More leads and sales

A website redesign will result in more leads and sales thanks to the implementation of cutting-edge conversion optimization tactics and features.

Let’s face it, converting visitors is the ultimate goal of any website. Whether you want to collect their email or phone number, drive them to schedule a booking, purchase an item, or sign up for a subscription, conversions are where it’s at.

With a website redesign, you can make conversions the primary focus, and you’ll do it by presenting a flow of information that funnels them to purchase, subscribe, or request more info. That’s something most older websites just don’t do very well.

5. Increase revenue and reduce costs

All in all, by improving brand consistency, boosting your rankings, and funneling your visitors to a conversion event, a website redesign will help increase your revenue.

But, do you realize that it can also reduce your costs?

When doing a complete redesign, you get the opportunity to reevaluate your hosting and CMS (Content Management System). Plus, a new website may run much more efficiently, taking up less space on your server and operating more quickly for all your visitors.

Also, it’s often more cost-effective to do a redesign than to fix functionality issues and add more features over time. Rather than pasting a bunch of band-aids to your existing site, it’s better to go with a complete overhaul and start over.

And most important of all, a website redesign will cut costs of missed opportunities and lost revenue caused by your old, clunky website.

That’s an all-around win for everyone.

Conclusion

If you find any of these points to ring true, a website redesign should definitely be in your plans.

Now that we’ve reviewed the potential benefits, my next article will explore the topic more in-depth to help you determine when and if your website needs a redesign.

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