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9 steps to a successful site redesign

April 01, 2009 |

Despite the known value a good website can bring, take a moment and think about just how many poor websites you encounter every day. While not every business needs its site to be a high-budget, multimedia extravaganza, every business does need its site to be effective, and properly targeted to its audience.

Your website is the window to your company. The internet is becoming the most accessed form of media, and websites have become the most essential marketing tool for businesses. It's no longer a question of whether or not you have a site -- it's all about having an effective one. One click from a customer is a valuable opportunity that can make all the difference. If created properly, a website should instinctively lead visitors where you want them to follow.

Certainly no one sets out with the goal of producing an ineffective website. Why, then, are poor websites so prevalent? The answer is almost always that there was not enough time spent planning. (The harsher reality is that many do not even have a plan at all.) People rush into putting up a quick site because they think it will hold them over until they get around to the big launch.

This is a fallacy -- it is almost always far more difficult to rebrand an existing website than to start with a good one. In many industries there seems to be a huge gap between resources devoted to "old-world" marketing strategies and newer forms of media. Make no mistake about it -- great websites result from an ideal combination of marketing, branding, fresh content, and matching the right technology to the right design.

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