A picture is worth a thousand words. If that’s true, then a website’s design is worth ten thousand words. After all, a functional, aesthetically-pleasing, and easy-to-use website sometimes means the difference between success and failure.
However, the days of traditional websites are coming to an end. Today, companies must keep up with design trends and functionality while also providing a great user experience and interface, as well as adaptability on nearly every type of device. This sometimes means a specific mobile app, a web app, a hybrid app, or something of the sort.
In order to stay relevant and keep up with the times, every website needs an overhaul on a somewhat regular basis. Although, website redesign costs are aspects that business owners have a hard time justifying since they’ve “already done it once.” This way of seeing it, though, is incredibly wrong.
A website redesign is undoubtedly worth the cost if the main objective is to attract more visitors by improving the user experience and generally achieve more success with target customers. Here are some things to consider.
Redesign Website: Time, Costs, and Other Factors
A Fresh and Modern Look
Redesigned websites are typically easier to use than their predecessors as the original design provides a blueprint of the successes and failures of the previous website version. A facelifted redesign makes websites more attractive and easier for people to navigate. It can bring new life and energy to a site. When done correctly, this investment pays for itself over time.
Redesigning a website is a project that will take time, effort, and money but the results will pay off in the end. Business owners should view this as an opportunity to bring their brand to life while creating a new look and feel that reflects the current business.
Reach the Target Audience
A company’s website is commonly the first impression potential clients or customers have of a business. If a website reads outdated, difficult to use, or just plain unappealing to the eye, chances are that customers will choose to pass on the business it represents.
Great web design gives potential clients an aura of professionalism and trustworthiness to clients. After all, a website redesign isn’t just an update – it’s a way to rebrand the company, add new features, and encourage visitors to stay longer. A well-designed website has the ability to attract a wider range of users than a plain old boring site. People love looking at attractive websites, and they’re more likely to stay on a site if it looks good.
This also helps to improve the site’s SEO by improving the rankings in search engines. A redesign also allows brands to update items and change things without losing their domain authority, search engine rankings, and memorable URL for existing customers.
Out With the Outdated
The modern web is constantly changing, which means websites need to evolve to keep up with it. Websites are more than just pages of text and images: they’re an extension of a brand identity. Everyone needs to be sure it reflects their company’s current image and their target market in the most updated version possible.
Sites become outdated for any number of reasons, with one of the most common reasons being that the website was originally designed for a different purpose than what it’s now used for. Maybe a site is now used for sharing information but was originally to promote a particular product or service as an informational site only.
Opportunity to Add New Features
Websites don’t just exist for the sake of existing. They’re meant to be useful, to make people’s lives easier, and to increase brand or site exposure. After spending some time on the market, getting feedback from clients, and looking at what people are or aren’t clicking on, a redesign is a great opportunity to add new features and improve a site’s user experience.
For example, a redesign creates an opportunity to add a blog, newsletter, or search box, or revamp the entire functionality to create an online shop or forum. The possibilities are endless.
Users don’t want to see a bunch of “cool stuff” that they won’t use for the sake of having said functionalities though. For example, a live chat option on a website helps users get the right information they want from the support team as both a visually pleasing and helpful addition. Chatbots can also be a great way to make it easier for providing accurate information efficiently and without delays.
Keep Up with the Competition
When dealing with the internet, there’s a constant need to improve in order to stay relevant. Website design trends change often, as do people’s preferences. This means that if a website isn’t keeping up with the competition, businesses may lose visitors and clients to the said competition.
As websites continue to grow in complexity, it becomes increasingly difficult to design and maintain a simple interface. By going through a website redesign, companies have the ability to make changes and improvements to better represent their brand.
Website Redesign Process
There are so many factors that come into play in website design that the process seems overwhelming. Thankfully, graphic designers and UI/UX experts help translate visions and changes into reality. In addition to generally making the new and improved website look great and function like a dream, website designers focus on:
- Improved branding
- Easy navigation
- Best SEO practices
- Interactive elements
- Clear sign-up processes for newsletters, etc.
- Effective color choices
- Pleasing and readable fonts
Website Redesign Costs
There are several factors that come into play when calculating the average cost of a website redesign. The first thing that business owners must consider is the time that it takes to design and build a new site. For this, many people do an assessment of the total number of pages present on the site but the true estimated timeline should come from the designer and development team.
Factors that go into a website redesign’s cost and timeline include the addition of features, graphic design time, development of custom attributes and functionalities, testing and quality assurance, and so on. There is no “standardized” cost of a website redesign and everything depends on the client’s site at hand.
Website Redesign Cost: Worth It?
Redesigning a website is a huge undertaking for everyone involved – but it’s totally worth the cost and effort required to get it done. A well-done redesign isn’t cheap and, if it is, then it’s probably too good to be true. Business owners must understand that while the costs are a big number to initially swallow, the return on investment is well worth it to attract new customers, promote a new or improved brand image, and ultimately help drive success.
If you enjoyed this, be sure to check out our other web development articles.
