We have already written about rebranding of our company and what is the key to success of this process. http://bit.ly/3771Iqn Rebranding has become a new stage of development for us. Thanks to him, we have formed the mission and values of the company, made a clear portrait of the target audience … and realized that the changes do not end there. Our rebranding has directly resulted in a redesign of the site. And for an IT company that creates websites for others, this has been a daunting task.
What is worth remembering?
A site is always a powerful marketing tool. Each user has a huge choice among internet resources, so it is important to grab his attention in the first seconds. Original and attractive design of the site can solve this problem. But the truth is that no matter how special and impactful the design of the site may be today, in a few years it will still become obsolete. And the company will face the problem of redesign.
Reasons for redesigning the site
- Low number of site visitors. Indicates that it is unattractive to potential customers.
- Web technology development. New development features allow you to create more concise and easy sites, as well as use effects on the pages that can capture the visitor’s attention in the first 3-4 seconds. In addition, the widespread use of smartphones and tablets by consumers makes responsive site design a must.
- Changing corporate policy or corporate identity. As in our case, when corporate identity updates and rebranding led to a redesign of the site.
- New fashion trends. You can order any changes for your resource simply because it is fashionable today.
How we’ve redesigned our own site
Step by step
- When a new designer came to us, the challenge was set. Redesign the site with a view to updating the merch company (because we have already preparing for rebranding).
- Next step was a lively discussion at the strategic session and other metaphors, where the focus groups discussed in detail the 6 redesign options that the designer suggested. Most liked the latest, purely experimental version.
- In the process of redesign, our team, analyzing the old site in detail, decided to change its content. Since we’ve formulated the mission and values of the company – it was appropriate to bring this information to a separate page – About Us. Also, in order to confirm their professionalism, it was decided to create an Expertise page.
- After approval of the final version of the redesign with all the additions, the process of layout of the site began. In parallel, almost all team members tested the functionality of the site and caught “bugs”.
- As a result – six months of work in which almost every employee was involved!
What’s next?
- Complete company merch update (T-shirts, overalls, notepads, pens, flags, event stands). We started this process small – with new flyers and replacement of our company’s offline advertising in the local cinema.
- Creating a new brandbook that will fully expose our corporate identity and brand philosophy.
Conclusions
Website redesign:
- is rather complicated, but no less interesting process (for which we spent more than 300 hours);
- constantly keeps the whole team in tune: after all, these are strategic sessions, myths, and constant brainstorms and disputes, comparison and trend analysis;
- as for us, the main question was how to combine current trends and usability trends. Because for us the site is not just a business card, it is our main media resource and it should bring requests for development;
- this is essentially a new site. Therefore, cash costs are also appropriate, which should be taken into account. Each web studio determines an hourly rate of performance, which is based on technical skills + market conditions. From time to time – hourly ratings of designers and developers fluctuate. Like the actual cost of resource development / redesign. If you are wondering how much this process costs, you can request multiple web studios, compare rankings, and calculate an approximate price.
Web-Systems Solutions advices for those who want to redesign:
- Get the whole team involved in the redesign process whenever possible. This is the key to success, good humor and cool ideas. And yet, it brings people together for real.
- The main thing in the process is not to overdo it. The task of redesign, of course, is to do the best it can, but it means to tear down the whole foundation. Sometimes these are just some refinement and preservation of existing functionality.
- After launching an upgraded site, you should compare site conversions before / after. If they have not diminished, then all is well. Yes, our marketer a month after launch – gasped when he saw that conversions hadn’t fallen.
- Last tip. Want to redesign? Just get started. Ideas in the team will always be. And the changes – set the right direction of movement.
Want to redesign your own site? Our team is always ready to help you! Why you do not need to be afraid of redesign and tips how best to organize this process – we tell in a video on our YouTube channel.
