Optimize 3.0 Inbound Marketing Blog

Successful website | How to improve a website

Posted by Doug Kirk  Sep 30, 2011 10:25:00 AM

Successful website redesign is difficult to define primarily because successful website redesign is actually a continuous process.  There's no beginning, middle and end.  Moreover, it's as much about functionality and performance as design.  Too often, website redesign is driven by the wrong reasons.  These can be exceptionally costly and time consuming. 

The enduring question of how to improve a website should start with defining the criteria for success upfront.  One easy way to do that is to focus on performance.  A beautiful website, although intriguing and aesthetically pleasing, is secondary to a functional site that builds traffic and leads.  These are easy metrics that most people can agree on.  It's easy to be impressed by the latest web trends and the all of the featues of your competitors.  Yet, establishing a collectively agreed to criteria going into a website renovation is one sure way to successful website redesign.  

Typical Reasoning for a Website Redesign

Wrong Reasons For Redesign Right Reasons for Redesign
“We have a new corporate look and feel.” “Want to get found by more prospects.”
“It’s been 12 months since our last redesign.” “Want to convert more prospects into leads and eventually, customers.”
“The CEO wants to do it.” “We want to improve branding.” (Only appropriate if oriented around one of the previous reasons.)

As you enter into a redesign there’s a great deal of excitement.  Yet that initial enthusiasm will be short lived. The reality is that once you’ve visited your site repeatedly, the excitement wears off quickly.   This can be even worse for users since they’re accustomed to the old website. They need time to adjust, causing them more confusion (and lost sales opportunities).

Website Redesign Half-Life Chart

successful website design

Source: Hubspot, Webinar Redesign Strategy, 2010

In a performance driven website redesign process you can achieve success quite easily.  Now it’s not about logo placement and color schemes – those are features that can be easily debated and not truly measured.  A redesign that actually drives visits and converts them to leads can have a dramatic impact on what matters dearly to your company or business – improving your company’s bottom line - metrics that everyone can agree on.  In fact, this approach to how to improve a website could very well mean a full redesign is unnecessary provided you have access to right tools to improve the existing site.     

Get the eBook 7 Steps to Successful Website Redesign.  Inside you will find:

  • SEO checklist and how to protect your content assets with search engines 

  • Absoulte fundamentals your homepage needs

  • Landing page definition and design  

All of the above and more in the free 16 page eBook from Optimize 3.0.

 Button background 7 tricks to enhance

Topics: Blogging Benefits, Website Redesign, seo