Website Re-Design
It is obvious that websites need continuous improvement. Just browse around for a few minutes and discover the sites that are looking old and obsolete. But there are many other reasons to redesign your site. Some of them are not obvious but are at the core of the site. This website redesign guide is really for anyone involved with websites. It will help you get the deep meaning of the site as well as more practical issues.
This guide will help you redesign a website according to your audience's needs and changing perceptions. It is no longer good enough to have a static website. It must capture their attention, have new information, and engage the visitor or 'adios' they are off to your competitors site.
All websites should be in a process of being redesigned or renovated. This guide will give you some simple steps or a checklist to redesigning your website. We also have four other website redesign tools.
Evaluate Existing Website
What are the success and failures of your existing site? Gather a few people to get an honest evaluation of your existing site. Write three successes and three failures. Then write down your dreams and goals for the new site.
Brainstroming
What new and fresh ideas are missing? Brainstorm with a team of people to get fresh ideas. Write down five ideas that came from the brainstorming.
Why People now visit
Why are people visiting your site? Generally they are coming for information or are in need of your company's product or service but there can be many other reasons. List three reasons.
Does it grab attention?
Do you think visitors remember your site? Does it have something that gets attention and is memorable? If he/she does not bookmark your site what will get them back? You should give your visitor something to remember so that he can find his way back to your site. Write one thing that will be remembered about your site.
Research Competitors
What can I learn from my competitors? Get ideas about the latest web design, technology and communication concepts by looking analytically at competitor sites. While you are there notice some of the keywords they are using to get the attention of people coming to search engines.
Target Audience
Who is the target audience? Decide whom you want to target with the site. Who is your customer or audience? Try and get into their shoes and think like they think. What are their needs or points of interest? How can they be served? List the top three categories of people. Write three one sentence descriptions of different people in your target audience. Then write a few words that might interest these people and cause them to respond to your site.
Theme and 'LOOK AND FEEL'
What is the mood or emotion that you want to communicate? Decide on the overall theme and "look and feel" of the site. For example: humor, professional, academic, family, technical, etc. Write three adjectives to describe the way you want your site to feel.
Content
This is probably why most people come to your site. They come to read your content. It should be clear and well written. A very high percentage of websites are providing poorly written content. The first generation of websites were written by the guy who knew HTML but not much about graphic design and writing. Now people realize that it takes a team effort to make a quality web page. Part of the team should be a good writer. Redesigning requires having several outsiders read your content to see if it is clear, up-to-date, accurate and communicates what it is supposed to. Then rewrite the content. Another tip is to provide more than just your company information but provide articles that attract people to the site.