Making the most of website redesign

In a previous blog I wrote about my company’s second website redesign in 2 years, and why it’s necessary for us. In this blog I want to share some of our learnings and also some tips from a recent webinar that Hubspot gave called “The Science of Website Redesign”.

As I wrote previously, you know it’s time to overhaul your website if you answer yes to any of these questions:

a) Does your website accurately reflect what your business does now? Does it highlight your newest products and services or reflect a reality that is 2 or 3 years in the past?
b) Does your website accurately reflect the customers you serve now? When you give out your business card to someone, are you afraid they’ll visit your website because it doesn’t look like they are the type of customer your company can serve?
c) Does your website demonstrate thought leadership? Does it position your company as an expert and a leader?

There are many other reasons you might need a site overhaul, but the ones above are usually a good indicator that your web platform is burning.

Once you’ve decided to overhaul your site, there are literally hundreds of things to do to make sure the new site is as effective as it can possibly be. Here are some tips from our recent experience and from Hubspot:

1. Before starting your overhaul process:
a) Identify your website’s purpose – is it to educate, generate leads, support the sales process?
b) Get metrics in place – use Google Analytics.
c) Set a goal for the redesign – have metrics for that goal – how will you know your new site is successful?
d) Benchmark vs. competitors – a site like www.compete.com can help.

2. During the redesign process:
- Build the new website with tools that empower your team, such as Content Management Systems so that your staff can update the site regularly with new information;
- Constantly review the design pages to make sure they are delivering the website experience needed to achieve your goals;
- Include real customers / users in your process. Alternately, there are companies that can help you with user testing – see the note below.

3. After you launch
- Continue to test and optimize;
- Measure against goals;
- Keep building your website – more content, more offers, etc;
- Don’t stop – keep refining to continually enhance the results that your site delivers against your goals.

Companies to assist you with user testing:

• Five Second Test
Five Second Test helps you fine tune your landing pages and calls to action by analyzing the most prominent elements of your design.

• Feedback Army
Simple, cheap usability testing for your website.

• Loop 11
Loop11 provides remote usability testing that enables you to test the user experience of any website and identify navigational and usability issues.

A new website is a powerful B2B sales and marketing tool. If your site isn’t actively helping you get more business, you’re missing out - because your competitors’ sites are helping them get more business.