I've specialized in website redesigns for much of my consulting career. And so it hurts me to say this, even if it is true: Redesigns are usually expensive, complicated, time-consuming - and often unsuccessful.
Why do they under-deliver so often? There are many reasons but the main ones include:
Even a large team has a difficult time keeping track of all the elements of a website.
Many stakeholders think of visual changes when they think redesign - but that's just one portion of the website. If you don't plan for integrating other changes, user experience can suffer.
Most redesigns are driven by an individual or small group. For a large project, it's hard to include all stakeholders. But leaving them out has consequences.
Redesigns can take 6-9 months or longer. By then, the entire internet has changed.
Even if you do user research, you can only get so much feedback.
Most redesign elements are never tested to see if they function properly, if they are usable, if they make visitors happy. And sometimes those changes can have big impacts - Diigo lost 25% of its traffic after a redesign.
Big changes all at once are difficult for visitors to process. And that can make them frustrated and more likely to abandon your website.
Instead of one massive redesign project, apply techniques that change your website iteratively.
Start by evaluating what changes are needed. Then group those into the most requested, most valuable and most doable. Create sets of changes based on your specific priorities and capacity limits. Confirm those updates with stakeholders and verify with user research. Then make the planned updates - and publish a new iteration of your website. Because you are rolling out only a set of changes, you'll find it easier to test the updates fully and your users will be able to adjust to changes more slowly.
This approach is:
Join Bye Bye Redesign, Hello Iterative Enhancement at General Assembly on May 10th at 6:30pm. It will be an evening full of networking, presentation, and Q&A. Bring your best questions for Brightfind's CEO, Frank Klassen, and Tim Maxey, Senior Director of IT at Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO.)
Register with promo code "BFFREE" to receive a free ticket. *Limit 15; otherwise use promo "Brightfind" for a $5 discount.
Hope to see you there!
- Jasmine Sante
Founder and Organizer of Web Content Mavens
Consultant at Sante Strategies