Customer Experience Improvements
Tips for a Successful Website Re-design

The following tips should help save you time and money when planning and execute your next web re-design.

1. Know your audience. Who visits your site and why? A successful user experience continues to be the main reason people return to a company or website. It's important that you like your own site, but focus your efforts on your target audience(s).


2. Do your research. How well is your current site working for you? Find out as much as possible by analyzing web metrics and user feedback you may have received via customer support or other channels. Consider setting up online surveys, focus groups and usability testing on your current site before embarking on a re-design.


3. Design toward web standards. Technologies, standards and user expectations have changed a lot over the past few years. Work with professionals and make sure your re-design is up to the latest standards. Set measurable goals and track effectiveness. Have specific goals in mind for each launch or re-launch, including iterative refreshes. Websites lend themselves well to measurement. Use web metrics and survey software to track and measure your results.


4. Spend time on content. Spend quality time auditing existing content and creating new content. Ensure that your key messages are clearly articulated across pages on your site. Establish a method for ongoing content creation and delivery.


5. Assign a project manager. A website redesign is a project and should be managed as such with a defined scope, a given budget, and a defined set of resources. A project manager will help you set up a realistic schedule and budget, organize resources and manage expectations.
   
6. Clearly define your technical goals. What applications will you make available to users online? Does your site need to interface with offline applications? For sites with complex functionality, integrating a separate and parallel workflow is often necessary.


7. Perform usability testing. One-on-one testing with actual site visitors is still the best way to gather relevant data and real-world input. Invite feedback from your team as well, but refrain from redesign by committee.


8. Design site to be SEO-friendly. Make your site friendly & accessible for search engines as well as end-users. A beautifully designed site with clearly articulated messaging is of limited value if no one knows it's out there.


9. Plan for site maintenance. Consider investing in site administrative tools such as a good Content Management System (CMS) to help make your site easier to maintain. Plan for the right resources for regular updates. Ensure scalability and fluidity of growth.


10. Think long-term strategy but focus on short-term execution. It's easy to lose sight of the big picture when you're hit with emergencies, urgent requests and even big new ideas. Make a commitment to stay on target to enable the focus needed to effectively execute your strategy.


11. Refine, refine, refine. Maintaining a website is by nature an iterative process. Don't pack it up after your new site launches. Continue to improve your site with new content and offerings that support your marketing and business strategies. Consider incremental re-designs: this can help you keep costs down, maintain search engine rankings and avoid disorienting or losing a loyal customer base after a major overhaul.