The Perfect Website Redesign Checklist for 2019

Most business owners rarely embrace the idea of redesigning their website because they will need to invest resources. It can be difficult to scale your business without taking this step. Web design best practices often evolve and it’s risky to keep using a design for years.

Your website is due for a redesign if you are only attracting a few visitors or experiencing a low conversion rate. Here is the perfect website redesign checklist you should keep in mind.

  • Create concise goals

Meeting business goals, digital marketing goals, SEO goals, and website design goals can be overwhelming. Create a list of your major website redesign goals in order of priority. You can look for the overlapping goals and work on them first.

Consider allocating metrics to measure the success of each goal.

  • Schedule a website audit

Redesigning your website doesn’t mean having a complete overhaul of your existing design. The ideal thing is to check for areas that need improvement by auditing your site. As you take this step, you can discover loopholes in your SEO or content marketing strategy.

Many business owners rely on website audit to reveal broken links, weak CTA, underperforming content and the content they can repurpose into a video or other formats. Decide whether it’s time to move to another hosting provider or content management system (CMS).  

  • Conduct keyword research

Keyword research is crucial for search engine optimization which determines how your website will rank on Google. It’s also the key to finding out the type of information your target audience is looking for and the terminology they apply.

Long-tail keywords are more specific and less competitive than the regular ones. Include keywords in the website copy, URL, alt tags, headings, and title tags. Never make the mistake of engaging in keyword stuffing.

  • Design buyer personas

Try to design a website that will be attractive to your target audience. Achieving this goal starts with prioritizing them and developing buyer personas. When creating personas, add their interests, demographic information, and online behavior.

  • Be deliberate about UX

The best website design usually revolves around user experience. Get rid of any confusing or distracting element because online visitors need to find what they are looking for on time. The easiest way to find inspiration is to check your competitors.

However, try as much as possible not to replicate the exact thing if you want your brand to remain distinct.

  • Create a style guide

A style guide can help you to create a cohesive design. It’s a must if you’re planning to work with web designers, SEO specialists, and other digital marketing experts. Every team member will be able to get a clear picture of how you want the site to look.

Define elements such as formatting, typography, button colors, and color scheme from the onset.

  • Hire the right web designer

It’s imperative to hire a designer who can help you to bring your idea to life and stick to a mobile-first approach. Develop a list of questions you need to ask a web designer before you start looking for an expert. Doing your due diligence can go a long way when choosing a web designer.