5 things to consider for your website redevelopment

About to launch a web development project?

Redesigning your website or ecommerce store is a necessary evil to keep up with changing technology. But it’ll only deliver the ROI you’re hoping for if you approach the project considerately. Making unsubstantiated assumptions or having the wrong focus can be expensive, inconvenient and difficult to fix down the line; so, you’ll need to put together your brief with as much accuracy and detail as possible.

Before you kick off your site re-development spend some time;

1. Getting the right focus

With a clear understanding of what results you want the new site to achieve, and how this fits into your wider business goals, you’ll be on your way to creating a dynamic and meaningful brief. This could be more sales or more enquiries, in specific areas of your business, for example. But of course, the needs and goals of your business aren’t the only thing that matters…

2. Putting customers first

Rather than companies thinking “we need the website to do this…” they should be thinking “our customers need to do this…”. This simple change of thinking can transform your results – after all, your business goals will only be met through facilitating the right customer behaviour. You’ll need reliable insights into your customers’ needs, likes and dislikes. Using a data-led approach and careful observation, you’ll be able to deliver the user experience they’re craving.

3. Learning from your existing site

It’s amazing how much can be learnt from your existing website. Before starting your redesign, make sure you take away any insights you can gain from it – from how users move through the site, to where they leave and where they fail to convert. This, along with usability studies, can give you a deeper understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of your current site.

4. Understanding intent

Carefully document the journeys that will enable customers to fulfill their intent as easily and quickly as possible. Clearly note how customers will expect to interact with your website, and what they’ll need to learn before successfully converting. You don’t want any customer fears, doubts or uncertainties – leave nothing to chance, and you can conduct your relaunch with confidence.

5. Before you start briefing…

Now before you deliver that brief, ask yourself the following questions: can you articulate what different users of your site will want to do, and how they’ll achieve that? Do you know about your typical customers’ likes and dislikes, and therefore what type of images and texts will appeal to them? Can you list five things your customers love and hate about your current site? Do you have a defined conversion process? Can you explain precisely what you’ll need to measure on your new site?

If the answer to any of those questions is a no, the team at Fireworx will be happy to help.