We have many clients that come to us to redesign their websites, and often times the first conversation goes something like this:
Client: We need you to redesign our website.
BCW: Great! Why are you looking for a redesign at this time?
Client: The site is old.
BCW: Is the age of the site a problem?
Client: No, but it no longer looks as nice as our competitors’ sites.
BCW: And you think this is affecting your business?
Client: We think our prospects go to our site and leave quickly based on first impression.
BCW: So the real problem is that your current site is costing you new customers.
Client: Yes! And when they leave, they go to one of our competitor’s sites and they get the sale that we just lost!
BCW: Now we’re starting to get to the real issue…
The key takeaway here? ALL business websites are designed to drive conversions.
The conversion varies according to the industry and may include:
- A product or service sale
- A contact form submission
- A whitepaper download
- A quote request
- A demo signup
- A newsletter subscription
The list goes on and on. Ultimately, the goal of any good web design is to drive as many conversions as possible from your target market.
Where to Start with a Website Redesign
Before you start discussing color schemes and graphics, take a step back to think about what you really want your website to accomplish. Some areas to consider:
- Main purpose of your website: Is it to drive sales, capture potential leads, increase brand awareness, etc.?
- How are you currently accomplishing your goals on the site? Are there ways this can be improved?
- What feedback have you gotten from current customers & clients? Often, current customers can be a great source of inspiration when it comes to improving site functionality and features.
Come to the table with an idea of what you want the redesign to accomplish, and you’ll be better prepared to gauge how well a prospective web design company can serve your needs.
Example Website Redesign: The Lawyer
Imagine you are a lawyer with a private practice. Most of your clients come in via word of mouth, but you get a few leads online.
Over the years, you’ve mostly treated your website like an online brochure – it has your bio, some information on the types of cases you handle, and a phone number to contact you.
You realize that your “hands off” marketing approach is keeping you from growing your practice, and you need to increase your pool of potential clients. You decide that the easiest way to do so is probably through your website. So you hop online to take a quick look at what your competitors are doing…
… and immediately see that your site is in need of a major overhaul. You see lots of sites that have podcasts, weekly webinars on legal topics, ebooks, whitepapers, and more. The design of these new sites is very different from yours, with a heavy focus on images versus text.
Feeling lost at all the changes and required updates, you turn to a professional web design company for help.
Web Design for Long Sales Funnels
In this example, a web design company could certainly refresh the look of the site to match the competition, but that’s not the ultimate goal of our lawyer.
When leads and prospects are the goal of a website, certain features must be present and readily available. In this example, before leaping to create podcasts and webinars, we would first recommend some simple but effective features to go along with the modernization of the design:
- The creation of a contact form that lets users submit their inquiries online
- The creation of a mobile site with “touch to call” features to let mobile users get in touch quickly
- The addition of client testimonials & case studies (with appropriate disclaimers)
These features immediately facilitate the original goal – to bring in more prospects. These features also add value to the website visitor by making it easier to get in touch with our lawyer, and by providing concrete examples of past cases that were won.
Example Website Redesign: The Specialty Shop
Now imagine you run a small online shop that specializes in die cast model planes and cars. You keep a very specific stock of hard-to-find items and most people come to your site looking for a particular kit, plus the paints to customize it.
You find yourself losing business to sites like eBay and Amazon, and a quick survey sent out to your website visitors reveals that it’s hard for them to find whether or not you have a specific kit in stock.
You realize that in order to stay afloat, you’re going to have to make the shopping process easier and faster for your customers.
Web Design for Short Sales Funnels
In this example, our shop owner would find little to no value in putting up a contact form or testimonials. His customers are there to make a purchase immediately, and will likely never want to speak to him directly as long as the transaction goes smoothly.
Our shop owner may not even need a visual website redesign. Instead, some changes to how his site functions are in order:
- Better search capabilities to make it easier for customers to find the products they are looking for
- A “related items” feature that helps customers find the paints that go with their model kit
- Clear indications of In Stock vs. Out of Stock Items to reduce confusion and customer frustration
- A way to set up email alerts so that customers can be notified when an item they want is back in stock
Example Website Redesign: Your Turn
Take a moment and really think about the goals you have for your website. What conversions matter most to you? Is the design of your website helping or hindering those goals? Let us know your biggest web design challenge.
