Today, more first impressions happen online with a prospective customer than ever before. How well does a company’s website look and function? Does the website suck? Feel dated or wonky? Maybe the business and its offerings are too.
It’s important to take time periodically to review your site. Schedule time into your week to update and add content. Otherwise, you might be losing valuable business (business you would not be aware of because who has time to track web statistics).
Review this short website redesign checklist to see if it’s time for a much-needed online refresh for your organization.


Has your business strategy or offerings changed recently? Does your website reflect it? The layout and design of a website should be in line with the company’s goals. It needs to be consistent with your message and your other marketing materials. It’s ok to use pre-built themes or templates to cut down on the development time and cost, however, you also need to restyle it to fit your company individual needs.
How does your website look on a smartphone or tablet? Is your site responsive? A great-looking site is vital, but it also needs to function properly on a mobile device or tablet. Mobile optimization or “responsive design” is part of every website project I do these days to ensure my client’s website looks great no matter what device a visitor is on.
Does the home page feel “cluttered?” Is it hard to figure out where to read first? Users will get quickly frustrated if not being able to find what they’re looking for. Make sure your navigation is clear. All text should be a good size and easy to read, not just on desktop but on all devices. Part of good website design theory is creating a visual trail for visitors on a page so we know they’ll see messages in the order we want.
Hello? Is it me you’re looking for? Contact details should be clearly mentioned on every page of your site. Make it easy for visitors to contact you – have phone and email available in a top bar or footer on every page.
Do you have testimonials or real life examples posted? Testimonials are incredibly influential in converting visitors to new customers. They build trust and highlight the quality of your offerings and dedication. Make sure new visitors can see all the great reviews you received AND make it easy for your previous clients to provide new ones.
Where’s the Facebook? Are you missing social media? Social media helps in engaging customers and build social presence that will lead to more website traffic and growing list of followers. Think of it as free advertising and public relations.
Is it difficult to update? Search engines like Google reward websites that make regular content updates, but you’ve been avoiding updating your website because (a) your coding skills are subpar or (b) your website was made by your hosting provider and they never have time to make changes for you (this is a common occurrence for many small businesses and it drives me crazy!) Nowadays, thanks to content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, you should be able to easily make content updates to your site without fiddling with code. Almost every site I build now is on WordPress or Joomla for my clients. It’s quick to set up and if a client knows Microsoft Word, they can make updates quickly (plus I include training with my website packages).
Are competitors ranking higher on Google? Next to word-of-mouth references, search engine referrals provide the best avenue for traffic to your website and for new customer acquisition. If the competition is outranking you, it likely means that they have implemented search engine optimization (SEO) best practices that your site lacks. Often popular search engines penalize websites that aren’t coded well.
Has the business itself grown some cobwebs? Believe it or not, refreshing your website can energize your entire business and get staff excited about what they do. Because the website process involves structured time to think about strategy and the direction a business is heading, many clients have a stronger sense of what the business does and why they do it.
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If you’ve assessed your need for a website redesign and determined that it’s time for a change, give me a call (865.919.7285) to assist you with creating a website that looks great, aligns with your business goals, and helps you get more out of your online efforts. It does not have to take months or thousands of dollars to have a new website that can transform a good business into a wildly fantastic business.