REDESIGN OR REFRESH? MAXIMISING YOUR WEBSITE’S SHELF LIFE.

Firstly, website refresh.

As noted by Forge & Smith (2018) a website refresh is not resource heavy: “a website refresh is like trying a new hairstyle or buying different bedding and pillows for a room in your home. It’s usually simple, quick”[1].

On the surface, website refresh has many positive aspects. It allows for small changes to your website in order to keep up to date with the newest technology, customer needs, products or styles without a large upfront expense. However, websites that use refresh require consistent monitoring of increasing bounce rates. That is to say, close monitoring to make sure you’re optimising your websites potential and ‘rolling with the times’. Thus, as noted by WebFX (2014): “these websites are never really finished, they’re always being tested, updated, and analysed additional weaknesses or opportunities to improve”[2].

Key drivers for considering a refresh are the following:

• Improving Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
• Updating company logos, typeface, colour palette or graphics.
• Outdated content which requires new copy or updated promotions.
• Improving UX, filters, drop-down menus or highlighting new content recommendations.

Conversely, redesign scraps the entire website. It works from the ground up through a development process to build out new content, greatly improved UX and a new content management system (CMS). Naturally, this is resource-heavy. So, why invest in a redesign rather than a quick refresh?

Key drivers for considering a redesign are the following:

 

• Improving digital strategy including content marketing, social media marketing, advertising, promotion and a focus on SEO.
• It may be the more cost-effective option if you are drastically increasing the functionality of the website. This is especially relevant if considering a stagnant website without the resources to analyse data. A redesign will put you in a starting position to do small refreshes if and when needed from that point onwards.
• Stagnant websites with outdated technology that need data driven updates to pages, content, copy and technology. 
• Updating platform technology for mobile UX. This is particularly pertinent. According to the recent research piece by SWEOR on website statistics (2021), 85% of adults think that a company’s website when viewed on a mobile device should be as good or better than its desktop website. As of Q2 2018, smartphones held a 63% share of all retail website visits[1]. This is even more applicable to 2021 with the continuation of Coivd-19, increasing in direct-to-consumer businesses and the world of virtual, online buying.
• A full rebrand. Not just your logos, typeface and colour palette, but demonstrating the core messages and products of the business

 

 

Interested in giving your website a fresh coat of paint but overwhelmed by the number of ideas to take into consideration? Start by asking yourself the following questions:

• Is your CMS getting the job done without problems and complaints?
• Does your website look like it was made in a different century?
• What is the goal of, or the outcome you wish to achieve from your website?

To discuss how this could be developed into a successful redesign or refresh strategy, drop us an email on [email protected] and we will provide a free audit of your website. If you are already considering a redesign or refresh strategy and want to discuss why and how best to do this, give us a call on 020 475 0950 and we will be happy to share experiences and ideas.

[1] https://www.forgeandsmith/com/blog/website-redesign-vs-refresh

[2] https://www.webfx.com/blog/web-design/website-refresh-vs-redesign/

[3] https://www.sweor.com/firstimpressions (2021)