Time to Upgrade your Website?
Here are some things to consider before you dig in.
So, you think it might be time to either refresh, upgrade, or perhaps even overhaul, your company’s website. Having just gone through a major redesign of our site here at Movius, the following are some takeaways I’d like to share before you hit the detonation button on what is likely one of your company’s most valuable assets.
Why are you redesigning your site? There are a usually several reasons—some good, others more reactionary, to committing to a site redesign. Sometimes it’s for obvious reasons like a significant pivot in your brand’s mission or changes in your product or service offering. Depending on when you last updated your site, it might be visually out-of-date. Whatever the reason, just make sure you have one! I recommend getting some feedback from outside sources who can give you some truly objective feedback. That can come in the form of focus groups (if time permits) or simply a few trusted people from outside your organization.
What is the current state of your brand? Since you are about to make a sizeable investment on your website, now is a good time to determine if your brand is on point. Your value statement, mission, logo, color palette and even your choice of fonts might need to be addressed. If so, do that work before you begin to modify your site, otherwise it’s like repainting a broken car—it might look good for a while, but it won’t get you anywhere. If you would like to learn more about how to evaluate your brand, try How to objectively evaluate your brand
What is your message hierarchy? That’s a fancy way of asking “what are you trying to tell people who visit your site”. I like to think in terms of “threes”. For instance, you might consider:
- Why do we exist?
- What products and services do we offer?
- How can visitors easily reach us to learn more?
If you focused on just those three messages, you can be reasonably sure your visitors, most of whom will spend less than two minutes on your site, will at least move on with a good understanding of your brand. Of course, you’ll want to go deeper (and you should), but this approach will maximize those critical first-time views.
Showcasing your company’s culture is something you’ll no doubt want to explore. In this ultra-competitive job market, make sure job candidates will come away with a good sense of what you stand for and what a day-in-the-life there is like.
Taking the time to develop a solid plan before you dive in will assure you make the most of your website refresh, maximizing your investment and avoiding costly future redesigns.
