Every couple of years you need to update your website to ensure it has a fresh, modern look and makes use of the latest developments in web design. A website that looks out of date can damage your credibility and ultimately cost you clients. Before you can begin a redesign, however, you need to start planning what you want out of your updated website and what the finished product should look like. The following three-step process will help you prepare for your redesign and ultimately give you the website you want.
Step 1: Work Out How Your Redesign Will Build Trust Between You and Your Audience
Any website relaunch must focus on how it will make your audience trust your brand. Two great ways you can build trust on your website are having fresh, regularly updated content and maintaining an active social media presence.
The first thing you need to do to build credibility is to continually update it with original, high-quality content. This is because clients read your websites content to determine if they want to do business with you.
Original content helps clients find you in the first place and establishes you as a leader in your chosen industry. You do not just want your visitors to see you just as a website that sells something; you want them to trust your website as an authority. You cannot simply release all the content at once, as it needs to roll-out in a natural, organic manner every few days for the whole year.
The other way you can build trust with your customers is to have an active social media presence. Customers now expect a certain amount of engagement and interactivity before they feel prepared to hand over their money. By communicating with customers via sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram you give your business a human face and give the impression that you have an interest in hearing customer feedback. In the weeks leading up to your redesign, you should review the way your business uses social media and make a real attempt to engage with your customers across various platforms.
Step 2: Study Your Current Analytics to Determine Which Parts You Should Keep and What Needs To Change
Most websites have analytics installed but very few business know how to leverage the data that they provide to increase traffic and sales. If the only number you focus on when you look at your website’s stats is the total number of hits, then you need to change your approach.
When analyzing your website’s data, focus on which pages attract the most hits and which ones keep visitors around the longest. Then, try to isolate what makes those pages more successful than others. Also, focus on where your where your traffic comes from and which of your marketing strategies generate the most successful outcomes. Do not fear changing things up and experimenting to see what provides the best results. What you learn should ultimately influence your redesign.
Analytics Metrics to Look For:
- High bounce rate
- Low time on page
- High exit rate
Step 3: Plan Out What You Want Your Site to Do for Your Business, When You (Reasonably) Want it to Happen, and How You Plan to Reach That Goal
When thinking about your new design, list what you like about other websites, then consider how you might integrate their strengths into your own. Often, while scrolling through other websites, you will start to get a feel for what your site does well, and what it does poorly. Pay close attention to how other websites approach design, functionality, and user engagement. Then, use what you learn to make your new design as good as it possibly can be.
Before you can begin, you have to work out what exactly you want your website to do for your business. What do you want your website to achieve? Your goals should be specific and realistic. Make your goals too vague and you will not know how to reach them. Make them too lofty and you will just set yourself up for failure.
The Key Question to Ask Yourself: “What is my Website for?”
- Is it to build brand awareness?
- Is it a means to communicate with your customers?
- Is it to act as a sales funnel?
Every website has a slightly different purpose. For example, if you decided your website’s purpose was to increase customer engagement you might try integrating social media apps, adding email newsletter signup forms, and creating a blog. On the other hand, if you need it to generate more sales, you could optimize it to push customers into sales funnels, then provide the simplest and most pleasurable sales experience possible. Most sites will do some combination of these and other functions. But, you need to be sure that each area works as it should for its intended purpose, and that all parts work together to achieve your overall goals.
Setting time limits on when you want different aspects of your design completed is also really important. At the start of the process, you should map out a timetable that identifies what needs to be done and by when. The timetable should also include who is accountable for what parts of the build. The deadlines should be optimistic but not unreasonable.
Put Your Redesign Plan into Action Using the New BoldGrid WordPress Website Builder
Once you complete the above three steps, the only thing left to do is to put your plan into action. One of the best ways to do that is to use the new BoldGrid WordPress Website Builder. BoldGrid uses a drag-and-drop editing system, making it perfect for beginners and those who do not want to work with code. BoldGrid also comes with free premium themes, allowing you to build a high quality, custom site in minutes. It comes fully supported and makes full use of the WordPress content management system. That means anyone who has used WordPress before will not face any sort of learning curve. So if you plan to redesign your website this year, we highly recommend you use BoldGrid. You will not be disappointed. To learn more about BoldGrid visit their website.
