In today’s “new normal,” a great corporate website has become an essential marketing tool for staying established and successful among target audiences and competitors. In a time when conventional/traditional business tactics are restricted, having a strong online digital presence and an in-house digital marketing plan are critical for maintaining profitability and growth.
Investing in a website redesign is a big step, but if done well, it may pay off big time. It’s critical to regularly evaluate your company’s digital presence to ensure that your brand is represented, expressed, and portrayed in an engaging and intuitive way that meets the needs of your target audience. In conclusion, while contemplating a redesign, there are numerous variables to consider. Before opting to proceed further with one, consider the following key questions:
Is Your Current Website Reflecting Your Brand Positioning Correctly?
Many businesses that used to rely on trade shows and in-person sales are fast losing brand awareness. Furthermore, many businesses continue to use outdated websites that no longer match their brand strategy or customer needs. Implementing a website redesign project plan is a simple and quick strategy to raise brand awareness and reach out to your target audience.
In order to build brand trust and loyalty, it’s critical to imprint your company’s brand identity on your digital presence. Through thoughtful messaging, design, and content, your website should effectively communicate your company’s brand guidelines, tone, and voice.
For a successful website project, it’s crucial to tell your brand’s story in a way that’s both interesting and memorable. Users should be able to use your company’s website as a source of reference and validation, and if your present website does not effectively reflect your current brand positioning and values, you should consider redesigning it.
Are You Getting the Most Out of Your Search Engine Optimization?
A strong Search Engine Optimization foundation and plan will result in a higher rating on the search engine results page for your website. More qualified prospects will visit your website as a result of enhanced brand and search visibility, and your company’s network will grow as a result.
Lead generation, brand visibility, and higher organic traffic are just a few of the advantages of redesigning your website for SEO. Implementing a search engine optimization plan that evaluates the Google search console and which keywords are optimal for SEO and SERP exposure is critical in order to maximize brand awareness and search ranks.
To put it another way, in order to rank, your website’s content should contain appropriate title tags and follow all Google best practices. When rebuilding a website or determining whether your website is already SEO friendly, consider the following SEO considerations:
- Does your material have a Google keyword ranking?
- Do you keep track of your ranks at the moment?
- How long has it been since you performed an SEO audit?
- Have you properly configured your 301 and 302 redirects?
- Have you properly configured internal links?
- Does your existing SEO work follow Google’s and other search engines’ best practices?
Do you have a system in place to generate and convert leads?
A well-designed digital presence may be used as an in-house sales and marketing tool, with user journeys optimized to nurture leads and guide users toward conversion. It should reflect and support your sales cycle, with clear calls to action and several opportunities for the user to convert, complete a transaction (if e-commerce), or contact you.
If your website isn’t converting or creating new revenue, a site audit to learn more about user behavior might be beneficial. You may utilize heat maps and Google analytics to see how long users spend on each page, where they leave the site, and which content pieces are the most popular. This data will aid in determining each user’s ultimate aim, as well as current user journey pain points and page optimization difficulties. In order to boost conversion rates and produce a website that can function as a lead generation funnel, all of the following should be taken into account during UX/UI design.
Is it possible for your target audience to find the data they require?
Aside from user testing, it’s critical to assess the type of content and information you’re providing to customers, as well as how you’re presenting it. If visitors to your site are unable to discover the information and resources they require, they will most likely abandon the site and fail to convert. Your bounce rate, in other words, will rise.
When your target audience visits your present website, there are a number of reasons why they may be facing a knowledge gap. It’s a good idea to put yourself in your target audience’s shoes and consider whether the language/copy you’re using is simple and easy to understand versus complex and technical. If your language is too tough to comprehend, a content marketing approach that breaks up text with infographics and images to make the website more user friendly could be effective.
A redesign is an excellent opportunity to improve content and develop user journeys that are both easy and clear. Promoting easy access to resources and information, as well as clear site navigation, is a simple method to draw attention to thought leadership, case studies, and blog/news items for your target audience. It’s also an excellent time to rethink how you present your products and services.
A multitude of methods can be used to highlight what your organization has to offer. You might begin by evaluating your data architecture. It will be easier to organize products and services based on use cases once you have evaluated your target audience and their behavior. In other words, a cross-linking information architecture can be created by optimizing a website’s menu to generate several paths to the same end objective. Organizing case studies by industry, as well as by company type, is an example of this. This manner, two separate members of the target audience can access the same case study from different points of entry. Bounce rates will naturally reduce if you provide alternative paths for users to attain their goal.
A user-first approach to responsive design can help you better present your products, services, and content in addition to the arrangement of your website’s information architecture. This entails tailoring your website to the needs of your target audience and maintaining content consistency across devices. Making ensuring your website is mobile-friendly, using white space to emphasize text, and using motion/animation to make photos shine are just a few examples of responsive design. It’s crucial to keep in mind that each design element should have a strategic function rather than just “look nice.”
The UX/UI aspects listed above, when combined, will help to close knowledge gaps and offer users with the data they need to convert. You may want to consider a web redesign if your present site has a high bounce rate or if users are having problems understanding what you do.
Do You Follow the Most Up-To-Date Regulations?
A website makeover is in your best interest if your current website does not comply with the requirements outlined below.
Observance of GDPR
This is an EU regulation that governs data protection and privacy for the European Union, also known as the General Data Protection Regulation. It is critical that your website is compliant with this regulation if you have overseas visitors.
Accessibility according to the WCAG guidelines
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are designed to safeguard disabled people. These laws are focused on how to make web material more accessible, which can be accomplished by adhering to their text, sound, image, and code criteria. There are three levels of WCAG Accessibility (2.0, 2.1, and 2.2), and it’s crucial to know who’s accessing your site to make sure you’re following the right WCAG Accessibility requirements.
Compliant with the American Disability Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act and WCAG Accessibility go hand in hand to ensure that site users with disabilities are protected and that all content and pages are accessible to them.
