Is your website ready for rebuilding? Sure, a few years ago your website had all the bells and whistles that your Calgary Web designer could offer. But now, the site is beginning to show its age. The Internet lives in dog years more than it does in human years, things change quickly, evolution and revolution go hand in hand.
So, what can you do with your aging site? Scrap it and start again? Well, it depends. When you start thinking about rebuilding your website, it is as good a time as any to review your entire Web presence. You need to consider how your needs have changed, how Web culture has changed and how your goals for your website have changed too. If you need to look further than that, you will be considering your business model, your business niche, your marketing strategy and budget and your corporate identity. These need to be secured before you move into any new or revitalized Web project. Being secure in these key areas allows you to confidently consider the options for your Web site redesign. Consider everything from the domain to hosting, the script/database platform the site is built on, the functionality of the website (do you want to move into e-commerce, if you haven’t already?) the look of the web design and how relevant is your content to today’s visitors?
Here are the top 10 Advantages of Web Redesign:
- Domain and hosting re-considerations – you can look at more relevant domains for your Web presence and redirect your old domain references using a 301 redirect to ensure all of your search engine results find their corresponding link on your new site.
- Fresh overall look – has your company’s image been updated? Or does your current Web design carry obviously old design trends? Looking established is one thing, looking outdated is another! Keep the site design clean and simple to ensure its longevity.
- Make your website responsive – many older sites weren’t meant to be accessed on mobile devices. Make sure your website is responsive and is optimized for to be viewed on smart phones and tablets.
- Update and reorganize content – A redesign gives you permission to reevaluate your all posts, and if they’re outdated, archive them. Content is important so post articles that are interesting, informative and entertaining so users will enjoy reading and sharing them.
- User Experience (UX) Improvements – A key aspect of redesign is a full review of the menu systems and supporting navigation.
- Refresh photos and images throughout the site – get rid of that old stock photo and add in some custom photos of your own.
- Update your static website to CMS like WordPress, Joomla or Drupal. If you have a CMS already, make sure it gets updated to the latest version to ensure compatibility, security and functionality.
- Apply latest SEO techniques – if you don’t keep your search engine optimization up to date, you will lose out to competitors who do.
- Add video & multimedia – get rid of that flash intro and put those development funds into adding a custom video clip, infographic or slide presentation to your revitalized site.
- Integrate Social media – Add buttons and ways to share your content on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. Just make sure you are prepared to update and maintain these other media sites in the future.
A redesigned website can be even more powerful than a new website. When done correctly, your Web designer can make sure that the momentum carried by the old site fuels the redesigned site – even if this means a new domain or updated web page addresses.
A final reason for Web site redesign is to spread the news to clients, friends and everyone else! A Web redesign will get people talking and re-ignite their interest in your company and services.
If you are looking for a proactive and multi-faceted design team in Calgary Alberta, please visit Calgary Web Design to see BlindDrop Design’s full list of services to the Cochrane & Calgary Area. Lucas Arnatt has been a Calgary Web Designer since 1997.
