Redesigning your website can be a daunting task, especially if it has been awhile since you have done so. There are many mistakes that people make when they redesign their site, and in this blog post we will talk about 5 mistakes to avoid while redesigning your website.
Mistake #1: not keeping your old site around as a backup.
One of the common mistakes people make when redesigning their website is not keeping their old site around as a backup. It may sound like a great idea to cut ties completely with your old website, but you never know what may happen. What if you lose your mailing list and want to transfer it over? What if you get a ton of complaints from visitors to the site who can’t find what they are looking for because it’s been redesigned? What if the new website just turns out to be worse than the old one? Anything like that cannot be easily fixed, unless if you had the old website around as a backup. This way, if something goes wrong with the new site or you decide you don’t like it, you can always go back to your old design.
Mistake #2: forgetting to consider mobile devices and tablets when designing your new site.
Another common mistakes people make when redesigning their website is not taking into account that a growing number of people are using mobile devices and tablets to access the internet. Studies have shown that a majority of people are now using their mobile devices to browse the web. If your new website isn’t designed in a mobile-friendly way, you could end up with bad user experiences and therefore, be missing out on a lot of traffic.
Make sure that all of your content displays correctly on smaller screens and that your website is easy to navigate on a touch screen. Always test the functionality of your redesigned website on different devices before launching it officially.
Mistake #3: neglecting their search engine optimisation (SEO) when redesigning a website.
This is even more so when you have previously invested heavily in SEO and have seen good results. You may experience a sudden, significant drop on organic traffic and therefore, the leads volume after a website redesign, simply because certain content has been removed from the home page, or the website’s architecture has changed and is no longer as search engine friendly. It could also be because the website’s new design is visually appealing but does not load as quickly as the old one.
To prevent this from happening, make sure you consult with your SEO specialist to ensure that your website redesign will not have a negative impact on your search engine rankings. A good SEO specialist during your website redesign can help you preserve your previous SEO efforts and ensure that your website continues to rank high in search engine results pages (SERPs). They will also be able to advise on how best to improve your website’s ranking for specific keywords relevant to your business.
Mistake #4: not taking into account how new features will integrate with old ones.
When redesigning a website, it is important to think about how new features will integrate with the current ones. For example, if you plan on adding a “contact us” form or other vital information for your users that has always been located in a certain place of your old website, don’t forget to make sure this same location exists on your new design as well. Otherwise, you may confuse or frustrate your website’s users.
Similarly, when you go through the process of redesigning a website, do not forget about updating old links. If readers click on one of these dead ends – i.e., they’re taken to an incorrect webpage – they will most likely become frustrated and leave immediately without exploring.
In order to avoid this mistake from ever happening, be sure to implement an effective user experience strategy during all phases of your website’s redesign process. This will ensure that your website’s users are able to smoothly transition from the old design to the new one without any hassles.
Mistake #5: making too many changes at once.
When you’re redesigning your website, it can be tempting to want to make all of the changes at once. Wrong strategy! Why? Because if you change too much at the same time, website users may become overwhelmed by all of the changes happening on your site; they could even lose interest or trust in what you’re trying to accomplish with the new design altogether if they don’t feel like there’s enough continuity between old and new designs.
Making too many changes at once can also have another negative consequence: it can slow down your website’s loading time. A slow-loading website is not only frustrating for visitors, but it can also hurt your site’s search engine ranking.
So, instead of changing everything at once, consider making your changes in phases instead. This will make the overall redesign process more manageable for both you and your website users.
Conclusion: The website redesign process involves a lot of steps, and it can be easy to forget about certain features or optimisations that could cause your new site design to fail. Avoid these common mistakes by working with an experienced web designer who knows how best to take into account all aspects of your business’ needs for optimum results. You will also benefit from having someone guide you through each step along this journey towards improving customer engagement and driving sales growth – one small change at a time!
