There are a bunch of mistakes that companies make when redesigning their website.
Hopefully this post will caution our readers here not to repeat.
Not defining a strategy before the redesign
First mistake that I constantly see is that companies fail to define their strategy before a website overhaul. The strategy must answer:
- Goal
- Business objectives
- Metrics used to measure success
Keep your executive team involved when redoing a website
The second mistake is not having an executive sponsor during the project. The website touches so many different parts of a company, which requires some exposed to the entire business.
Having someone who can make these yes or no decisions makes the process go more smoothly.
There can be competing interests, so a tight plan, and a point person to end any disputes can be really helpful. An executive officer assigned to the redesign makes sure that those decisions are elevated and resolved accordingly.
Integrations should help your website operate better
If you use different marketing technologies at the core of your business, make sure that they can function on your new website. This is especially important for:
- Chat bots
- Lead forms
- Ecommerce
- Payment processes
- and more
Have a content strategy and content development plan in place
Don’t develop a new website without a content marketing strategy incorporated into the architecture. The content design and technology all have to work together in order for a website launch to be successful.
Sometimes companies think that they can update the website and add content later.
This is a major mistake because what happens is that when the content is being developed, new ideas appear about how the content should be presented on the website. If the website has just be redesigned, the ideas are either ignored or if implemented, require double the investment.
Sometimes, when that content is being developed, the people creating the new content will decide that a portion of the new website might not be necessary. If you don’t have an integrated content marketing strategy incorporated with the website design, you’re likely to run into these issues.
Timeline and cost aren’t always predictable with new websites
Any good project needs a timeline and budget in order to stay focused. Have a defined budget, schedule, and set of individual owners assigned to each area of the project. If there aren’t owners, the project could inevitably run over budget and be late.
Without a plan, we’ve seen companies spend at least 200 to 300 percent more on their web design than those who do put these types of controls in place. Time is just as important to costs.
Having a strategy and ownership in place makes your website redesign much more likely to be successful. Your new website should accurately reflects who you are today and your aspiration of where you want your company to be tomorrow.
