UI - how to redesign a website: tips and recommendations for new businesses

The new website design is not only about cosmetic changes - the most important thing is to identify the problems faced by the company and its service and solve them with a new design.

Websites change for many different reasons, although most SMBs are unaware that their website needs to be refreshed or completely changed due to being out of date.

Do the following apply to your website?

• The company has its own corporate identity, but the website does not reflect it

• The website is technically underdeveloped

• Users and potential customers want to contact you, but it is impossible or difficult

• The site is outdated and its design does not fit today

• Usability is underdeveloped and users are struggling to navigate the site

• The user interface is confusing and inconsistent.

It's all fixable, let's see how.

Website Builders: pros and cons

New businesses or small businesses often use simple website builders such as Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace. These tools simplify the process of building a website with the right tools, especially for people who do not know how to code and design themselves. Unfortunately, often these tools do not allow a site to stand out from among thousands of similar sites

In the initial stages of a new business or in a business that generates little cash, the use of this type of tool makes sense in theory. Hosting included in the price, no need to know the code or design skills in specialized programs allows such businesses to quickly appear on the Internet, without spending too much time and money. However, this is associated with a number of hidden problems and threats that will appear sooner or later.

An experienced team of designers and developers should not ignore these important issues and threats. The website design should take into account future extensions. In addition - the designer should do everything to make the site as timeless as possible - despite the dramatic changes that are taking place in technologies.

The best website redesign is the one that doesn't have to happen for a minimum of 10 years.

Website Builders vs. Hiring team of designers

Websites designed by experienced designers will serve the business longer. This is due to the fact that designers with the appropriate knowledge are able to predict which design elements will be useful and which will not be up-to-date soon. Moreover, if the website is commissioned by an experienced team, which will focus on its development, technical aspects and online visibility, the website will be up-to-date and very professional for a long time, which will affect the sales and image of the company.

The main reasons why a website needs to be redesigned and the strategy that should be adopted during such a big change are all below.

Rebranding

Rebranding usually involves a new website design, but it shouldn't be just a logo change. Branding includes communicating with your audience and customers, you must consider every aspect of that communication.

The way you present your company should also be reflected on your website. After all, it's usually the first place your potential customers go to.

Whether you're upgrading an existing brand or building a new one from scratch, here's what you need to consider:

• Do the site's colors make you feel a particular way?

• Do the images used on the website make users feel something?

• Is the overall visual aesthetics of the website satisfactory for users?

• Is the font used on the website attractive and the content understandable?

• Do I need an FAQ section?

• Does the site design immediately show who the company is?

• Does the website need additional elements and functionalities that will facilitate contact with the customer?

• Do you have user / customer research that can be used to build the foundations of your new website design?

Functional extension

The main reason for redesigning the website is customer demand for new features or the need to present new, different content in a more attractive way. Scaling your business with marketing activities, or expanding your website with eCommerce elements - Either way, redesign often goes beyond minor cosmetic changes and rebranding.

Sometimes the need for change arises from an element that is difficult to recognize at first glance. The customer and website owner knows that something is not working (low conversions, customer dissatisfaction, no orders), but don't know why. Usually, a few UX improvements are enough, because the product itself is good, but the website users' experience is flawed.

In order to find out about this secret you need to properly analyze the site with data tools.

Data can help

UX must be based on data, on user research. There are many web analytics tools like Google Analytics, Hotjar, CrazyEgg to help you find areas that need rethinking and even add new features that you may be missing.

The Google Analytics tool is a must today - you will learn a lot of important information about the users of your website - how much time they spend on the website and on what subpages, where they resign from conversion, where they come from and what devices they use to browse your website. The amount of data is huge.

This data can be used not only to measure the success of the website, but can also provide information about those areas that do not meet the UX requirements.

All design decisions should be based on detailed data. Any other decision is just reading tea leaves.

Responsive Design and Usability

In a nutshell - RWD websites are those that adapt to any screen size of devices, whether mobile or desktops. Google currently favors websites designed for mobile devices, since 2015 mobile has significantly exceeded traffic from desktop devices. Most of the current websites are technically responsive, but very rarely are they properly optimized and designed for mobile devices.

As many as 57% of users replied that they would not recommend a company with a poorly designed mobile website - it only means one thing, the design of a mobile website is much more serious than you might think.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Are the tap targets large enough (at least 44px in height)?

• Are the tap targets accessible to thumbs, or are they out of reach?

• Is the mobile website “trimmed down” for simplicity?

• Does the website load fast on 3G connections?

• Overall, how would you rate the mobile usability?

• Outdated Copyright Notices and Broken Links

Some may find it minor (and perhaps in relative terms it is), but outdated copyright notices, broken links, and spelling errors indicate that the site has been abandoned or that only a small amount of attention has been paid. These tidbits are especially important to SaaS companies because users want to know that the service they are subscribing to is constantly being improved (it's normal for users to look at the copyright notice in the footer of the site to see when it was last updated). Overall, an old-looking website will leave users wondering if it's already active at all.

Fixing these things is fairly easy, so consider them "first of all."

Technical Requirements

As many as 82% of users abandon websites that are not secure. SSL is a must today - it informs customers that their data is safe.

Front-end and back-end code improvements will make the website faster (or at least run faster), and the simplicity of the design itself plays a huge part in this (simple designs = less code). For sites undergoing redesign, you won't want to neglect it.

Summary

The main task of designing is problem solving. Customers should know how designers will make their lives easier and how it will affect the company's revenues.

Communication is an important aspect - because the client should know why redesigning the website is necessary for his business, emphasizing what the end result will be.

• Is their brand a little stale?

• Is the UI causing confusion amongst users?

• Is the UX causing users to drop out of the conversion flow?

• Is the usability (mobile or otherwise) causing users to hit the back button?

• Does it just look awful by all accounts?

• How would the website improvements help said business?

When you know what needs redesigning, and the client knows this also, then the roadmap for the redesign already has a terrific foundation and measurable goals.