Redesigning your website can be both exciting and challenging, especially when rebranding or other major changes are involved. Because your website is a major representation of your brand, it’s only natural that any potential changes are weighed against how they might impact your target audience.
And while most companies have already thought out redesign aspects such as color updates, logo changes and content organization, there are a few areas that often get overlooked. If you are planning a website redesign in the near future here are five areas that you may want to consider during the planning phase:
Design Flexibility
While most companies are already on board with the concept of responsive website design, there’s another aspect of design flexibility that is often not considered in the initial stages of website redesign. Namely, the flexibility required for the design to be aesthetically pleasing with a wide variety of content.
Websites are by their very nature dynamic, and often copy can be changed many times over the course of months or weeks, or even days. In addition, content of varying lengths will naturally have different layouts.
In a responsive design, this can negatively affect the readability of the webpage if these potential variations are not accounted for from the beginning. An ideal website design will be created in such a way that it can accommodate a range of content lengths and types while still providing an attractive display that makes it easy for website visitors to navigate.
Commonly Accessed Pages
As with responsive design, most companies are aware of the need to ensure that their most linked pages continue to reside on the website after the redesign. In cases where pages are no longer relevant, companies often ensure that there are proper redirects to updated information.
However, internal pages without direct links (such as those that can only be accessed by users who have logged in) also require the same consideration. In those instances where information has changed, current users need to be able to find these updates without having to guess where the pages might be.
A content audit that includes a review of the most popular internal pages will uncover any potential pages that might’ve been overlooked in the initial assessment.
Current User Workflow
In addition to making sure that users are able to find relevant pages quickly after a redesign, any changes to the position or look of button elements, forms, or tools should be thoroughly reviewed.
Users may experience frustration if a process becomes more complicated. For example, a task that only took two clicks before the redesign might now take five. While the visual look of the site may have improved, this complication and functionality may cause engagement to drop off.
An easy way to prevent this issue is to keep track of current user workflows and conversion funnels and compare them to the new funnels within the redesigned website. Minimize any unnecessary complications where possible and make it easy for current users who are used to the previous site to perform their usual tasks, whether that’s looking up information or buying a product.
Redesigning your website can be a major step towards improving user engagement and increasing sales and leads. Keep these usability tips in mind to be sure you continue to engage your current website visitors as you attract new ones.
Let Us Know: Are there any areas of your website that you’ve had to simplify when planning your website’s new look?