Mistakes to Avoid During a Website Redesign Project

The beginning stages of a website redesign project are the most challenging. The entire process forces you to take a deeper look into your brand, readdress or refocus your tone, and strategize a complete and thorough understanding of your company’s long term goals. There are countless benefits to website redesign including modernizing, adding cool functions and improving conversations, to name a few. But there are also many mistakes to be made if a firm plan is not implemented from the beginning. Read below Total Web Company’s latest blog on 7 Mistakes to Avoid during a Website Redesign (plus a few how-tos).

Total Web Company’s 7 Most-Common Website Redesign Mistakes to Avoid

• 1. Website Under Construction: This practice should be avoided at all costs. “Coming Soon” or “Under Construction” messages are useless and frustrating to front-end users. These dead-end pages ultimately slow down users on their quest to find the answer they’re looking for. Chances are users will avoid your brand altogether, even when your website is no longer Under Construction.
     How to Avoid: If you’re not ready to launch, then don’t! Use a staging server to host, build and test your website. Once it is complete, then replace your website.
  2. Not designing for mobile: If you’re redesigning your website thinking only laptop and desktop users will use it, you are very wrong. Mobile internet usage has surpassed desktop usage already and it is only going to keep growing. If you want to keep up with your online competition, you must have a mobile responsive website.
     How to Avoid: Make sure your website design company is aware you need and want a mobile responsive website form the beginning. This will avoid any confusion or costly mistakes toward the end of the project.
  3. Heavy Images: Large, high-quality images surly improve the appearance of your newly-redesigned website. However, heavy photos will slow down your website’s load time, increasing your bounce rate and decreasing your site’s optimization.
     How to Avoid: Easily upload photos by using smaller image sizes. If you’re using larger photo sizes, make sure you upload as a JPEG file, with a weight between 50 – 150 KB.
  4. Holding on to the same content: Think of all the reasons you decided to redesign your website: modernize and rebrand are probably at the top of that list. In the same way you want to update the look of your site, your content needs a facelift as well.
     How to Avoid: Really take the time to go through the content on each one of your pages (and blog posts, too). Decide if this content is in line with your NEW website’s tone, brand and focus. If it is not, update it! If it is, still update it, remember Google loves fresh content!
  5. Bad Navigation: If you weren’t 1,000% happy with the navigation on your original website, do not make the same mistake twice. Navigation is the most important design aspect to consider. Users must be able to make their way through your site quickly and easily or you will lose leads and sales.
     How to Avoid: Make sure your website navigation is simple and straight to the point. Take advantage of drop down and flyout menus. Have a new set of eyes navigate through your site to get an unbiased opinion.
  6. Abandoning Existing URLs: It is common to change URLs during a website redesign, it may even be more beneficial in the long run. But do not forget to ensure redirects are put into place so Google knows these were existing pages with a new URL, not brand new pages with zero SEO value.
     How to Avoid: Install 301 redirects from the old URL to the new one. The 301 redirects site visitors and search engines to the new URL automatically. This will allow you to maintain any SEO value and ranking the page has.
  7. Not making your content sharable: Social Sharing features improve traffic and brand awareness, as well as generate organic backlinks.
     How to Avoid: Make your content shareable by installing social buttons. These allow users to instantly share your content or products on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and via e-mail.

  Avoid these Common Website Redesign Mistakes for a Successful Launch!

  In short, it is not easy to avoid every single error when it comes to a website redesign. Mistakes happen, things fall through the cracks and deadlines get pushed, some things are unavoidable. But with great planning, organization and help from our guide on website redesign mistakes to avoid, your project can be completed smoothly and end with a brand-new website you are proud of!

  Check our blog monthly for more website design tips and tricks! Contact our Website Design Company in Bucks County, PA, if you are in the market for a new website. We offer a variety of website services including custom website design, redesign, hosting and more!

  If you already have a beautiful and modern website, but can’t seem to get your Google rankings to improve, contact our Philadelphia SEO Company. Our SEO Marketers have the knowledge and experience to get your site ranking in the SERPs through local SEO, content generation, backlinking and more!