Like mullets, low-rise jeans and thick black eyeliner, your website design will one day become outdated. Even with websites, design trends come and go, technology advances, consumers’ expectations change, and in order for your brand, business or organization to stay relevant and useful to your audience, you’ll need your website to evolve.
Sometimes this may mean a quick “facelift”—just a few tweaks or updates to your website’s look and feel. Other times, it may require adopting new technology or switching to a more flexible platform or content management system. And once in a while, you may come to the conclusion that it’s time for a complete transformation.
Wherever you happen to find yourself in the decision-making process, let’s look at five thoughts you’ll want to consider.
Your goals.
What’s driving your decision to change your site? Do you want it to look more current? Feel more intuitive? Offer additional services or technology? The first step in determining what you want to do with your website is to be clear about what you want your website to do.
Your audience.
If you’re the one tapped to drive a website redesign project for your biz or org, you’ll likely have a lot of voices in your ear telling you what to include: a blog, donation pages, ecommerce capabilities, a special section for this program and a landing page for that service, maybe an “In the News” section for press releases or an About Us page with team photos and the list goes on and on and on. Everyone has an opinion. Don’t forget, though, to include the opinions and thoughts of the people who matter most: your end users.
Who do you want to attract to your website? Who’s going to engage with it? Who needs to use it? At the end of the day, who is your brand’s target audience (or audiences)? Those are the people that your website should be built for. Ask them what they want.
Your budget.
This may not be the most fun part of a website redesign, but it’s important to have a clear picture of what you can afford right off the bat. There are so many options for websites today, and they run the gamut from “super cheap” to “major investment,” and you’ll want to know early on what your budget is for both upfront costs and monthly fees.
We have a free ebook that goes into more detail about some of these options, so be sure to check it out, but the point I want to make here is don’t assume anything. Research all your options. You might think hiring an agency or website expert sounds too expensive, but do you know it is?
Also, think of your website as an investment, not a cost. A pretty brochure site with limited functionality may be an inexpensive option, but if you get little to no ROI from it, is that a smart way to spend your money when a robust, fully functioning website could potentially return your investment tenfold?
Your technical expertise.
If tinkering around with new technology and complicated website platforms sounds like something that would make you cry, don’t do it—outsource your website redesign, period. It’s not worth the emotional stress and toll it will take. On the other hand, if you’re tech savvy and have some expertise in, say, WordPress or Wix or another no-code or low-code platform, maybe you’re up for and even excited about a DIY website project. Which leads me to our final consideration.
Your capacity.
If you’re a busy business owner or a nonprofit professional who always has a million priorities, you have limited capacity for taking on a big new project, especially one of such critical importance as your website—even if you have the technical know-how. Outsourcing it may very well be worth the boost to your mental and emotional health, plus free you up to stay focused on doing the things you love. Set yourself up for success by being honest about what you can or cannot take on.
If you want to take a deeper dive into the topic of redesigning your business’ or nonprofit’s website, we’ve just released a free new ebook that will walk you through the necessary steps and options that come with such a project.
Or if you’re ready, we’d love to help you with your decision-making process here at Firespring—just schedule a chat with one of our website experts.
