We have had the opportunity to help many companies redesign their websites. Over the course of working with clients on website redesigns in a variety of industries, I've found that if you maintain a focus on your business goals, iterate rapidly, and have consistent executive buy-in, you are more likely to end up with a successful website redesign.
- Business Goals - your website redesign should always be aligned with measurable business goals. For example, you may want your redesigned website to drive a certain percentage of sales over the coming year. You can break this larger goal into smaller ones - increasing traffic, increasing leads, increasing conversions etc. Once you have these types of goals identified, they will inform your redesign approach. Your site map, your calls-to-action, and your landing pages will all be developed in support of your business goals. Certainly, your website needs to be aesthetically pleasing. But in 6 months or a year when you are reporting the results of your website redesign to your COO or CEO, you won't be measured by a pretty website, you'll be judged by how your redesigned site contributed to your company's bottom line.
- Rapid Iteration - view your website as a living entity that you will evolve and iterate. This process of rapid iteration should begin during your new website development and accelerate your project pace. Be wary of getting stuck on content or design tweaks for too long. Tie your website completion back to your business goals and consider the opportunity cost of extending your timeline or getting lost in endless cycles of revisions. How many leads are you passing up? How much potential revenue would you lose by extending your website redesign even for a month? How will you explain not meeting your business goals tied to your website redesign to your executives six months from now?
- Executive Buy-In and Sponsorship - If your President or CEO doesn't fully understand the value of a website redesign or understand how a new website will contribute to his revenue numbers, your website redesign will likely be viewed as less successful over the long term. Whether you position your future website as a lead generation engine, 24/7 virtual salesperson, or even an educational tool, seek executive agreement not only on the project itself but also on the metrics you will use to measure website success.
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