Regular re-designing of websites is necessary because of the speed at which the Internet evolves. Due to the speed at which the Internet evolves; it is necessary for websites to be regularly re-designed. Bandwidth increases, new technologies emerge, and website users’ expectations change. Technology and website user’s expectations can change monthly, so you can never view your website as being a finished product.

Your website is often your company or organization’s first contact with prospective clients, and it is therefore vitally important that it makes a great first impression – anything less and you will be missing out on custom, leads and sales. So, aim to review your website every 6-12 months to ensure that it is in keeping with the current standards expected of websites. The question is then, how do you know if your website is need of an update, or even an outright re-design? The effects of having a poor or out-dated website cannot be understated. A website is often the first point of contact between yourself and prospective customers and, as such, making the right impression is critical. If you make a bad impression with your website, then you can be sure that their business will not be coming your way. So, how do you know if your website is doing what it is meant to be doing?

It is best to start with a list of what your website does, or what it is supposed to do, and how well it achieves those objectives. It may be difficult for you to be objective, so talk to a few customers who use the website, or friends who are not familiar with your website and who are not afraid to tell you what they think about it. Writing a simple checklist is the best place to start. Write down everything that your current website should be doing. Then, ask some customers or friends to take your list and try out your website. Ask them which of the points on your list your website achieves. Tell them to be frank and honest with you, as you will gain nothing from the exercise is they want to avoid offending you. Tell them that it is not personal, but that you want to make your website and your business as good as you possibly can.

Next create a list of what your web site does not do, either because of outdated design, or capabilities it does not have. List all of the features or capabilities that you would like the website to have. Then, create one sentence which describes the primary purpose of your website and one secondary purpose. Everything on your list should support your primary and secondary purpose. Once you know what your website can and is doing, the next step is to write a list of extra things that you want it to be able to do. Write such a list, and then write one sentence which states the primary purpose of your website, and one sentence which states the secondary purpose of your website. Ensure that everything on your list of desired features and capabilities supports either the primary or secondary purpose of your website. If they support neither purpose, then leave them out of your re-design, as they will only stand to over complicate your website and confuse visitors to it.

Often making just a few changes or adding one or two capabilities to your website at a time is the best approach to take, rather than spending lots of time and money on a complete overhaul that takes 6 months to implement. The reason being that it is then easier to track the effectiveness of the changes made, and that existing users of your site will not be overwhelmed and confused when they next visit your website. Try not to get caught up in the mindset that it necessary to totally overhaul the design of your website. Often, making just a few changes, or adding one or two extra capabilities is the best approach to take. If you make changes simply for the sake of making changes then you will just be wasting time and resources. You may also alienate existing customers of yours who may feel overwhelmed and confused when they visit your website after the re-design.

It is important to establish an exact budget, or a budget range for your website re-designs. Coming up with a strict budget, and sticking to it, is something else to bear in mind. It is good practice to get several bids or proposals for the project before accepting one. Once you have come up with a figure or a range, then seek bids from various web design companies – do not just contact one and go with their first offer. Let website design companies know up front that you can spend around a certain amount, and the sorts of changes that you are looking to make, and then ask them to give you their best price. You are in a buyer’s market, and when website design companies know that you are also talking with their competitors, you will often find that the prices that they quote suddenly become very competitive.