Should I redesign my website or improve the one I have?

Should I redesign my website or improve the one I have?

Not every outdated website needs to be completely rebuilt.

Sometimes a redesign is the right move. Other times, your existing website has a perfectly good foundation and would benefit more from better content, improved navigation, stronger SEO, or a better user experience.

Before starting over (and spending a lot of money), figure out what's actually wrong with the website.

When a redesign makes sense

A redesign is worth considering when the website has fundamental problems that are difficult or expensive to fix within the existing structure.

For example, your site might:

• Be difficult to use on mobile
• Have an outdated or confusing structure
• Be built on technology that's limiting what you can do
• Make it difficult for you to update your own content
• Have a design that no longer represents your business
• Make it difficult for customers to find important information

Sometimes the problem really is the website itself.

When you might not need one

If the website is technically sound and customers can find their way around it, you may not need to start from scratch.

You might get much more value from improving the things that are actually holding it back.

That could mean rewriting unclear content, improving your navigation, making calls to action more obvious, fixing technical SEO issues, improving page speed, or making important pages easier to use.

A website can look a little dated and still perform well.

I'm looking at you, Craigslist.

And a brand-new website can look fantastic while still doing a terrible job of turning visitors into customers.

I'm looking at you — well, better not.

Don't redesign just because you're bored of looking at it

This is probably the biggest trap. You see your website every day.

That doesn't necessarily mean your customers are having a problem with it.

Before spending thousands of dollars on a redesign, look at what's actually happening.

• Are people finding the website?
• Are they engaging with the important pages?
• Are they contacting you?
• Are they leaving because they can't find what they need?

Your analytics, search data, customer feedback, and sales process can tell you much more than your personal feeling that the website "looks old."

So, should you redesign?

Start with the problem, not the redesign.

If the underlying structure, technology, or user experience is holding your business back, a redesign may be the best solution.

If the foundation is good, you may be able to get better results by improving what you already have.

And sometimes the answer is somewhere in between: keep the parts that work, fix what's broken, and redesign only where it's actually needed.

Not sure what your website actually needs?‍

Let's take a look at your current site and figure out whether it needs a refresh, some focused improvements, or a complete rethink.

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