Redesigning a website can be a very involved process, and it is important to properly plan and consider the necessary factors that will make or break the redesign. Here is a quick look at 21 factors that you should be contemplated.
1. What is the goal of the redesign?
What do you hope to accomplish? It’s always important to have a clear understanding of your reasons and motivations as they should impact the decisions that you make along the way. Without knowing these goals the project will lack direction and you will likely wind up with a website that still doesn’t meet your needs.
2. Is this going to be just a minor upgrade or a complete overhaul?
A redesign could be anything from a minor facelift to an entirely new site. Obviously the time, effort, and cost involved will vary, but first you should determine what types of changes are required for you to meet your goals with the design. If a complete redesign is done you will also want to consider to what extent the new design should resemble the old design. If visitors are coming back to the site, chances are you will want them to notice the new design without feeling like they’ve never been to your site before.
3. What aspects of the current design are most effective?
Most likely there are some things about the current design that work very well, and these may be aspects that you would like to keep or incorporate into the new design. It’s a good idea to make a simple list of your likes and dislikes to help with decisions on the new design.
4. What aspects of the current design are not effective?
Building on point #3, if you are redesigning the site you are bound to want to get rid of some specific aspects of the website or the design. Are there some characteristics of the design that do not accurately portray your business to new visitors?
5. Who are your target users?
During any design process you never want to lose focus on the visitors. By knowing who you are targeting and how you can meet their needs, you will be on your way to building an effective website. What style of design are your users going to like?
6. How can the website be more user-friendly?
Improving the functionality and usability of a website is always a good thing. It’s pointless to spend time and money on a redesign that looks great but simply isn’t user-friendly.
7. Does the logo/branding need to be changed or updated?
Most likely the website will include some form of a logo or branding. Are these items still up-to-date and will they function effectively with a new design? If your logo is out-of-date and not attractive, a new design may not do much good if it is still using the same old logo.
8. Should the color scheme change or remain the same?
In point #2 I mentioned that most of the time you will want to keep the website at least looking familiar to repeat visitors. Using a similar color scheme is one of the best ways to accomplish this. A lot of times it can be a good idea to make some minor changes to the color scheme, such as changing shades of colors or adding a few new colors, just to give the site a fresh look.
9. What screen resolutions are visitors using?
It’s important to know how your visitors are going to be viewing the site. A program such as Google Analytics can easily give you this information. Obviously, a fixed-width design should take into consideration the typical screen resolutions of visitors.
10. What connection speed are visitors using?
Knowing the connection speed will help you to know what types of elements you can include in the design without causing hardships for the average visitor.
11. What should be the focal points of the design?
Every design is going to draw attention to certain parts of the page in one way or another. By knowing what you want to emphasize you will have more control over what gets attention from visitors. In a comment on a recent article, Caroline Middlebrook mentioned that in her redesign she used the area above blog posts to feature some select content, such as a free e-book that she has written. Obviously, in her case this is a focal point that she wants visitors to notice.
12. How can the navigation be made more effective?
Navigation is one of the most critical elements of a site’s usability. If a significant amount of content and/or pages have been added to the site since the last design, it is possible that navigation is no longer optimal. Before designing think about how visitors will want to move through the site, and make it as easy as possible for them.
13. What will visitors want from the website?
Meeting the needs of visitors is important to the success of any website. Will visitors be coming to the site looking for information? If so, make it easy to find the information and make it a prominent part of the design. Will they be coming to the site to find products? Will they be coming for some other reason? Anticipate what your visitors will want and do your best to give it to them.
14. How can increased user interaction be incorporated?
The most successful websites are able to get visitors involved in one way or another. Blogs are great for this purpose because they allow for comments and discussion. Other possibilities are forums, games, user-generated content, polls, quizzes, etc. By making the website more engaging to visitors you are more likely to get a high number of repeat visitors.
15. Who will be doing the maintenance/updates?
Will you be the one doing routine maintenance and updates? Will someone else be doing them? If multiple people will be using the website commenting the code becomes even more important. Code should always be kept as clean as possible, but when others will be doing work on the site has a bigger impact.
16. Is a content management system (CMS) needed?
Many website owners now prefer to use a CMS, such as WordPress, so that the site can easily be updated without requiring a designer. Depending on the amount and type of updates that are anticipated, a CMS may be a good, time-saving decision.
17. How can SEO be improved?
Any time a website is being designed, search engines should be considered. The current design may or may not be search engine-friendly, but the new one certainly should be. Should the current page titles be kept, or could they be done more effectively? How can internal linking be improved? Where can headers be used? This list could obviously go on for a while.
18. What keywords and phrases are being targeted?
Of course, keywords should be used in titles, headers, anchor text, alt tags, etc. Designing a website without knowing what words and phrases you are targeting means that you are most likely targeting none, at least not effectively. Don’t simply consider the search terms that are being targeted with the current site, make sure that these are the most effective terms to go after.
19. What pages and search terms are currently drawing traffic?
If there are pages on the site that are currently doing very well with search engines, you’ll probably not want to make major changes to the content of those pages. This can easily be overlooked during a redesign, but making excessive changes to pages that are ranking well can kill the rankings. Likewise, what search terms are currently producing traffic? Be sure that they are used in the new design.
20. What pages currently have inbound links?
Whatever pages on the site have a significant number of inbound links or are drawing traffic through those links, you’ll want to make sure that any changes do not negatively affect these links. If possible, use the same URL structure. If not, be sure to re-direct visitors to the appropriate page.
21. What will make visitors want to come back?
Most likely you’ve considered how the new design can make a solid first impression, but what is it about the website that will keep visitors coming back for more?
What other factors would you add to the list?
42 comments from readers
1 Dustin Brewer Jan 22, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Fantastic post, pretty much right on and I’m not sure there is anything I could possibly add to it that would make it any better than it already is.
I think that it is important, however, if you are redesigning for a blog that you ensure you are designing the RSS button into the site in the very beginning. Making the subscribe to RSS button as prominent and consistent with the rest of your design is paramount.
2 Vandelay Design Jan 22, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Thanks Dustin. I agree with your RSS point.
3 Jason Bartholme Jan 22, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Great list of items to consider. We are about a month away from totally ripping down one of our major sites and building it from the ground up, the right way. This will be a good list of questions to send to the different departments so we will have better understanding of what they want the first time around.
4 Vandelay Design Jan 22, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Jason,
Good luck with your redesign and thanks for your comment.
5 Wayne Liew Jan 22, 2008 at 9:04 pm
I look at this post from a blog redesign point of view and I have to say that this is indeed a list that should be included into every bloggers’ check list prior to a blog redesign.
I guess getting support throughout the use of a designer’s theme is vital as Wordpress is being updated frequently and not every blogger is good with all the codings behind to make the theme compatible to the latest version of Wordpress. Also, this is quite handy when we have decided to change elements like he focal point after 6 months into using the theme.
This post came very timely as I have set a goal for myself to get a premium theme or a blog redesign by next year. Hopefully getting a sponsorship deal along the process of planning.
6 Vandelay Design Jan 22, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Wayne,
Thanks for your feedback. Yes, working with blog themes can be a bit tricky for those who aren’t very familiar with html and css. If you’re interested in playing around I would recommend setting up a dummy blog somewhere with no real content just for the sake of experimenting with the code and with different theme. Good luck with your goals for the year.
7 website designing Jan 22, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Hi,
Nice Tips, i will keep in mind these things before re-designing of any website. Thanks you for the this post.
8 Tomcask Jan 22, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Hi.
in advance, sorry for my english.
Congratulations on the article.
I have a free Spanish translation of this article in my blog (http://tomascasquero.com/desarrolloweb/pami-la-primera-impresion-es-lo-que-cuenta/), if not to your liking, I hope your notice to remove it.
Thanks.
9 Intenta » Blog Archive » Factores a considerar antes de rediseñar un sitio web Jan 23, 2008 at 12:22 am
[…] una serie de factores necesarios a la hora de llevarlo a cabo. En este artículo de Vandelay Website Design se explican 21 factores a considerar: 1.- ¿Cuál es el objetivo del nuevo […]
10 TheSpinningDonut Jan 23, 2008 at 6:15 am
Very timely article as I’m looking to consolidate my wife’s art gallery website into her blog which is on blogger. I want to move her blogger blog to WordPress and then put her gallery on her new blog as a WordPress page.
I’m just starting to investigate what it will take. Especially deciding on a thumbnail gallery where you can enlarge the images of her art. I found this http://vikjavev.no/highslide/ so far and really like the simplicity of it.
Thanks for an excellent article.
Bill
11 重新设计网站或博客需要考虑的21个因素和技巧 | 妄想的机器人 Jan 23, 2008 at 9:34 am
[…] 原文:21 Factors to Consider Before a Redesign […]
12 Madhur Kapoor Jan 23, 2008 at 9:48 am
I was just thinking of redesigning my blog and then i saw your post . Your posts contain a lot of points which i havent thought of . Great article.
13 21 factores a considerar antes de un rediseño — Freak Group Jan 23, 2008 at 10:22 am
[…] factores. Es sumamente importante planificar esta tarea de forma adecuada para lograr el exito. En Vandelay Website Design enumeran 21 factores a considerar antes de un rediseño → […]
14 Pain Management Jan 23, 2008 at 11:50 am
Great post. I am currently consider to get a blog redesigned and I am wondering what effect this will have on my readers.
15 Jan Jan 23, 2008 at 2:50 pm
wou, thank you for this great post. I’m sorry I didn’t see it, when I redesigned my blog.
16 Gabriel Lanzani | Rediseñando un sitio Web Jan 23, 2008 at 3:55 pm
[…] un artículo de los chicos de Vandelay Website Design donde nos apuntan 21 factores a […]
17 Vandelay Design Jan 23, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Tomcask,
That’s fine that you have translated the post. Thanks for the link and for letting me know.
Bill,
I think the move from Blogger to WordPress is a wise choice. WP has a nice import feature that you may be able to use. I have only ever imported WP to WP, so I don’t know exactly how it would work to import a Blogger blog.
18 JamieO Jan 23, 2008 at 6:14 pm
I’m mid-development on a re-branding of my own blog….Answering your questions flushed out a lot of things I’d thought to myself, but is very nice to see written on the page. Thank you!
19 Vandelay Design Jan 23, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Jamie,
I’m glad the article helped you through the process and I appreciate the mention on your blog. Good luck with the rest of your project.
20 » Ecco 10 Fattori Importanti per il Redesign di un Sito o di un Blog - Blographik - Grafica, web Design e video editing Jan 23, 2008 at 9:01 pm
[…] Articolo in parte tratto da Vandelaydesign.com. […]
21 21 factoren die je kan overwegen voor een nieuw web-ontwerp-- Sund Creative Blogging Jan 24, 2008 at 4:21 am
[…] plannen en te analyzeren zodat je nieuwe webstek terug een duwtje in de rug krijgt. Op de site van Vandelay design staat een interessant artikel over 21 factoren die je best eerst eens […]
22 Carlos Leopoldo Jan 24, 2008 at 11:07 pm
21 factores que debes considerar antes de rediseñar un sitio web…
Muchas veces cuando vas a rediseñar un sitio web es solamente porque al dueño de sitio web se le ocurrió o porque el diseño actual ya le aburrió, cuando esa decisión es más importante ya que un rediseño es un factor determinante para hundir má…
23 The Best of the Blogosphere: January 25, 2008 | Super Blogging Jan 25, 2008 at 1:34 am
[…] 21 Factors to Consider Before a Redesign by Vandelay Design. “Redesigning a website can be a very involved process, and it is important to properly plan and consider the necessary factors that will make or break the redesign. Here is a quick look at 21 factors that you should be contemplated.” […]
24 Wayne State Web Communications Blog » Blog Archive » [Friday Links] The Short Week Edition Jan 25, 2008 at 5:44 am
[…] 21 Factors to Consider Before a Redesign […]
25 Georgia New Homes Jan 25, 2008 at 1:14 pm
This is a good post—I think a lot of people will find it very helpful and I’m definitely going to bookmark it for when I am planning to redesign in the future.
26 Weekend Links 01/25 | PureBlogging Jan 25, 2008 at 2:39 pm
[…] Steven Snell lists 21 factors to consider before a redesign. […]
27 Blogosphere Summary #3 | Affiliate Marketing In Blogging | Blog Writing Tips | Tips To Expand Reader Base | Wayne Liew Dot Com Jan 26, 2008 at 2:04 am
[…] to Steven who came up with this article, 21 Factors to Consider Before a Redesign. It is a long (21, do you want more?) list of things for you to find out if you are looking for a […]
28 Saturday Quickies: 26 January - Lost Art Of Blogging Jan 26, 2008 at 4:55 am
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30 Best of the Sphere - 27/1/08 | TechnoMoney | Smashing Blogging Tips Jan 27, 2008 at 12:48 pm
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31 Planifica antes de empezar un diseño web « El cuaderno de Moix Jan 30, 2008 at 1:55 am
[…] es un factor determinante para hundir más al sitio o sacarlo adelante, por eso en el Blog de Vandelay Design hay una lista de 21 factores que debes considerar antes de realizar un […]
32 Dennison Uy - Graphic Designer Jan 31, 2008 at 9:16 am
Soooooo the question is (drumroll, please): which among these factors did the folks over at RottenTomatoes violate?
33 noemí Ji. » Blog Archive » Rediseño de un Sitio Feb 5, 2008 at 8:06 am
[…] de intenta enumera algunos factores importantes que se deben considerar: En este artículo de Vandelay Website Design se explican 21 factores a […]
34 Wednesday Links | Subverting Mediocrity Feb 6, 2008 at 9:21 am
[…] 21 factors before you conduct a web site redesign. Read it. […]
35 Morgan Stone Feb 6, 2008 at 9:51 am
I would say another great addition would be email signup. RSS feeds can still be a little tech savvy for some target markets. A well developed email marketing campaign can be just as effective as RSS. If selling a product or a service add incentives for email subscribers like additional articles or discounts.
36 Pure2O » Blog Archive » 21 Factors to Consider Before a Redesign Feb 15, 2008 at 7:44 am
[…] Just found this great post over at Vandelay’s blog: 21 Factors to Consider Before a Redesign. […]
37 Geoserv Feb 26, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Great post.
DOTTED:
http://www.newsdots.com/design/21-factors-to-consider-before-a-redesign-vandelay-website-design/
38 21 Questões que se deve levar em consideração antes de fazer o redesign de um site « Web Design Apr 25, 2008 at 8:54 pm
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41 Božidar Novak Jul 6, 2008 at 5:39 am
No doubt you have managed to compile a good set of tips there. From PR and strategic communications point of view I would like to hear more on nb. 17. How can SEO be improved. It is an important subject for people dealing with public relations and media relations like me. Especially if you have any suggestions about redesigning a WP theme into SEO friendlier one. Nevertheless thanks for useful bullet points, sometimes it is easy to lost your track when starting with redesign especially with no framework whatsoever.
42 Vandelay Design Jul 6, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Bozidar,
Thanks for your feedback. SEO topics are covered here occasionally, but typically I leave that to the experts.