Should You Get a Website Redesign or Fix Your Current Site?

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Should you get a shiny website redesign or fix an old clunker website?

We’re regularly approached by businesses that are dissatisfied with their websites.

The reasons for their dissatisfaction vary, but generally, the problems stem from a lack of relationship and communication with the web designer and management team.

Without a skilled web design team backing you, it’s easy for your website to fall prone to error.

Here are 10 common WordPress errors that your website may experience at some point.

Top 10 WordPress Errors

Weeks upon weeks, oh my

Lack of communication sometimes means websites go weeks or months without updates, and unfortunately in these situations, the owners usually aren’t capable of updating their websites by themselves.

When faced with such a situation, the best thing a web owner can do is work with an honest web designer who will offer an objective assessment about whether a redesign is needed. Redesigns aren’t always necessary.

Some web design problems require a GIGANTIC fix

In many cases, it makes a lot of sense to rebuild a website when one is dealing with a big problem. A terrible website can really derail the progress of your business and must be addressed ASAP.

You’ll have to carefully scrutinize what’s wrong. The underlying theme, the code, and many other factors play a role in the question…should you keep pouring money into an old website to fix it or start fresh?

Note of caution ⚠️

I understand the perspective of not wanting to continue to pay and pay to redo something without results.

Unfortunately, the web design business is one in which it is not uncommon to hear clients saying that they’ve done several iterations of their website without achieving their aims.

We protect you from this by following a carefully constructed and proven Design Process.

Asking the tough questions to get the most for your money

From a 30,000-foot view one should ask themselves, will the money that I continue to invest bring me the website in which I truly desire? Or am I just putting a Band-Aid over a problematic situation?

Whatever you decide, make sure that you also ask the following question to your web designer:

“Are you a custom designer or are you just downloading a template and changing text and images?”

Always ask this question before hiring any web designer.

» MORE: 20 additional questions to ask a web design company before hiring them

Custom website redesigns are a serious investment

Investing in a custom design requires an upfront investment, of both time and money, which is why asking the right questions is essential.

Once you find the right web design company, then the investment cost is worth it.

A custom design can help you achieve your business goals, providing a much better return on investment than continually spending on an underperforming website that sucks the life out of your business.

Ready to invest?

If yes, visit our Connect page, and let’s discuss your web design project.

» MORE: What to do before hiring a website designer

You may want specifics. So, what exactly does a WordPress website redesign entail?

WordPress redesign focuses on repackaging your website to make it powerful and functional.

Elements of a top-level website redesign include:

Improving the site’s brand, tightening its layout, simplifying the navigation (if necessary), and enhancing the overall functionality.

Changes to a redesigned website often include the color scheme, back-end code, and plugins.

Why is website redesigning so important these days?

A website redesign might be important for you since it can improve the experience for your visitors and increase your user conversions. It can also help your website keep pace with the latest design trends and technologies, which is absolutely necessary.

Ok…Give me some other reasons to redesign a WordPress website

Beyond the reasons just mentioned, here is why you should redesign your WordPress website:

Improved user experience

A website redesign helps improve the user experience by making the site more intuitive.

If you’ve ever visited a website and had to think too much about what to do, where to navigate, and so on, you’ve come across a website that hasn’t mastered user experience.

Truly masterful UX increases engagement, time spent on the site, and ultimately, your conversions.

Refreshed design

A website redesign can give a website a fresh new look and feel, making it more visually appealing and modern. This can help the website stand out from competitors and improve its brand image. This is very important if your website is outdated.

Updated content that is less boring

Website redesigning provides an opportunity to update and refresh your website content. This helps ensure that the website’s messaging and information is up-to-date and relevant.

Your readers will appreciate this, and it may increase your returning visitor rate.

Improved functionality

A website redesign improves a website’s functionality by adding new features, making the site navigation much better, and making the site mobile-responsive.

Achieving ease of use is fundamental in every design. How easy or difficult a website is to use will make or break its performance.

Increased traffic = More money $

A website redesign can improve the site’s search engine optimization (SEO) by making it easier for search engines to crawl and index.

This is a necessary step to increasing your traffic and ultimately getting the phone calls, emails, and text messages you need to win business.

Fixing an old, shabby web design ️

If you have an outdated design, consider getting a website redesign to do the following:

Improve the user experience
Stay up-to-date with design trends
Increase your brand credibility
Boost your search engine rankings
Adapt to new technologies

Awful user experience

Outdated designs can be difficult to navigate and use, leading to a poor user experience. Users may become frustrated and leave the website, resulting in lost traffic and potential sales or conversions. Not good.

Compatibility issues – Does your website even work?!

Outdated designs are likely not compatible with new technologies, such as newer web browsers. Hence why updating your website helps keep it functional and accessible on all devices and platforms.

Given the high use of mobile devices today, this is a big issue.

Mobile responsiveness

There are a thousand blog posts about why responsive design is important. We’ll just reiterate what all these posts and experts are saying:

To stay competitive, you NEED a website that is mobile responsive.

Low conversion rates suck

A professional and modern design can significantly increase a website’s credibility and brand image. The reason why is that an outdated design may give the impression that the website is no longer maintained or that the business is not up-to-date with current trends.

Making a bad impression like this will likely affect your conversion rates.

Headaches caused by slow page loading speeds

An outdated website is going to run slower than a website that is fully updated and optimized.

The faster your website, the better, as customers only have a 9-second attention span, at most.

Even a short delay of a few seconds can seriously hinder your website’s user experience.

Reasons to keep your old, faithful WordPress website

While redesigning a website is very helpful, there are also some situations where it’s better to keep your existing website rather than undergo a complete, costly redesign.

A. It won’t cost you an arm and a leg

Redesigning a website is usually fairly expensive, and if your resources are limited, it may be more cost-effective to make incremental updates to your existing site rather than undergo a full design overhaul.

B. Familiarity and branding

If your website has a strong brand identity and following, a complete redesign may not be necessary as it may confuse or alienate your existing audience.

C. SEO performance

If you have invested heavily in search engine optimization (SEO) and have achieved high search rankings, redesigning your website could potentially harm your SEO efforts.

Changing the structure or content of the site during a redesign is always somewhat risky for SEO.

D. You can screw up your site

If your website has complex functionality, such as e-commerce or user accounts, a complete redesign can disrupt these systems and create a poor user experience.

When should an Average Joe redesign a WordPress website?

There are several signs that indicate it may be time to redesign your WordPress website.

Bad look

For example, if your website’s design looks outdated and unprofessional, it may be time for a refresh.

Impossible to navigate

A difficult navigation menu needs to be fixed. Likewise, if the website architecture is out of whack, a redesign will be very helpful.

Slow

If your website is slow to load or has technical issues, getting a redesign might be a design lifesaver.

Not relevant

If your website isn’t relevant or generating leads, a redesign may be necessary to make it more engaging and conversion-oriented.

Launching nifty new products or services

Redesigning your website while launching new products and services gives you a golden opportunity to show off your new offerings. A skilled designer will package your design around your brand and make it pop.

Rebranding your brand

Rebranding your website is a phenomenal opportunity to attract new customers.

To successfully rebrand your website, follow these steps:

Research your niche
Create a new logo
Revise your website’s copy
Simplify your website’s layout (if needed)
Promote your rebranding through press releases, social media, email campaigns, and other marketing efforts.

How to redesign your WordPress website – super easy overview

To redesign your WordPress website, you want to follow a core series of steps.

These include:

Evaluate your current website

Start by evaluating your current website to identify what’s working well and what needs improvement. This will help you create a list of goals and objectives for your redesign.

Identify your target audience

Pinpoint and understand your target audience. This will make your website much better.

Set your redesign goals – Duh

We’re being somewhat facetious, but truthfully, everyone who wants a website redesign needs clear design goals, OR you can work with a skilled web designer who knows how to drive the project for you.

If you go with the second option, your website may turn out differently than anticipated. If you *are* willing to run with what your web designer creates, then this is a viable approach.

Create a sitemap

Create a sitemap that outlines the structure of your new website. This will help make your website easier to understand and navigate.

Choose a new theme – Mix it up and get creative

Select a new WordPress theme that aligns with your design goals and brand identity. You can choose from free or premium themes that are available in the WordPress theme repository or from third-party providers.

Customize your theme

Customize your theme to match your brand identity and design goals. This includes changing colors, fonts, and layouts.

Plan your content

Develop a content plan that aligns with your redesign goals and target audience. This can include creating new content or updating existing content.

Determine your budget and timeline to more effectively allocate resources and ensure that your project stays on track.

Test and launch

Test your redesigned website on different devices and browsers to ensure that it is functional and user-friendly. Once you’re satisfied with the design and functionality, you’re ready to launch your website.

Hire a professional; Don’t take unnecessary risks

When hiring a professional website redesigner, there are several steps you can take to ensure you find the right person or agency for the job.

Look at their portfolio

Review the portfolios of potential website redesigners to ensure they have the experience and skills necessary to deliver the results you’re looking for. This will give you an idea of their design style, industry experience, and project capabilities.

Is their work legit or crap? This is the main question to ask here.

Use freelancer platforms…cautiously

Some freelancers are amazing, and some are terrible and will waste you a lot of money.

Consider finding freelance web designers and developers on platforms like Upwork who have a lot of high ratings.

Get referrals and recommendations

Reach out to your network or contact the business owners of websites you admire and ask who designed their website.

In some cases, this may lead you to a full-time employee, a freelancer, or a design agency with a proven track record.

Check reviews and testimonials – DEFINITELY do this

Look for online reviews and testimonials from previous clients to gauge the quality of work and how satisfied customers are with the web designer.

Never ever, ever hire someone without checking their reviews and testimonials first.

Request a proposal

Ask for a detailed proposal outlining the project timeline, deliverables, and pricing. This will enable you to compare different website designers and choose the one that offers the best value for your investment.

Communication and responsiveness

Ensure that the web designer you choose is easy to communicate with and responsive to your needs.

Seriously…do they actually respond?

Technical expertise

Your website redesigner better be knowledgeable in the latest web design trends and best practices or your site won’t hold water on the industry level. Make sure they know their stuff.

Backup your website or lose it!

One of the golden rules of web ownership is backing up your website. This ensures you don’t lose valuable content.

Here are some steps to follow when doing the backup.

Log in to your CMS
Export your website’s database
Download all website files
Create a compressed backup file of your website’s database and files
Store the backup file in a secure location, such as on an external hard drive

If you need help with any of these steps, call us today at 702-268-9000.

Migrate and take your website on a digital exodus

Migrating your website to a new server or platform is a critical step when redesigning your website.

Here are some brief steps to follow to have a successful migration:

Choose a new hosting provider or platform that meets your website’s requirements
Create a new account with the hosting provider or platform
Install the necessary software, such as a CMS or website builder, on the new server or platform
Export your website’s database and files from your old server or platform
Import your website’s database and files to the new server or platform
Test your website thoroughly to ensure that everything is working correctly
Update your domain name servers (DNS) to point to your new server or platform
Wait for the DNS changes to propagate, which can take up to 48 hours

Testing the site for major problems

Testing a website redesign is an important step to ensure that everything is working correctly before the site goes live.

Here are some brief steps to follow when testing a website redesign:

Create a test environment

Set up a test site or staging environment for testing the redesigned site. This will allow you to test the new site without affecting the live site.

Test the functionality

Go through the site and test all the functionality, such as forms, links, buttons, and navigation.

Test responsiveness

Test the redesigned site on different devices and browsers to ensure that it is responsive and compatible.

Check for broken links and errors

Use tools like Google Analytics and broken link checkers to find any broken links or errors on the site.

Test the load time

Use tools like GTmetrix or Pingdom to test the site’s load time and optimize it if necessary.

Get feedback

Communicate regularly with to ensure the redesigned site meets their expectations.

Conclusion

It’s important to evaluate your current situation and ask yourself whether you should continue investing in it or change your approach with a website redesign.