Website Revamp: The Ultimate Guide
Published September 24, 2022
Your website is the online embodiment of all that you represent as a business. It’s where you put your products, services, the people behind your company, and whatever else that the public needs to know about you. That’s why it’s in your best interest to keep it in top shape.
If your site is outdated, it can cost your business too. Your customers will have a hard time placing orders or reaching out to you for queries. It may not even show up in search results. In an era where 68% of online purchases start with a search engine query, that could spell disaster.
So if you want to keep your business going and keep up with your competitors, it might be time for a website revamp.
What is a Website Revamp?
A website revamp means doing a complete overhaul of your existing website. From the design, layout, colors, and fonts to the content and overall look and feel, it’s a total makeover. It may even include doing some changes on the backend to make it more optimized for search engines.
Because it involves significant revisions, revamping your website is not something you can do lightly. So many things can go wrong and the stakes are high. Things like adding the wrong elements on the frontend or an incorrect code on the backend can significantly affect your site’s design and functionality. That’s why most website revamp projects take months or even years.
If you’re not a webmaster or even remotely familiar with web designing, you may also need to hire professional web developers to revamp your site.
Signs That Your Website Needs a Revamp
Not all websites need a revamp. In general, it’s only necessary if:
1. Your Website is Outdated
It happens. Websites that have been around for two or more years usually end up with outdated info. It’s either you’ve lost interest in updating it or you don’t have any new content to upload.
Whichever the case might be, an outdated content makes your site look old and lifeless. Needless to say, this won’t bode well for your business. Your visitors will end up getting bored and thus will move on to other more dynamic sites – like your competitors.
2. People Find Your Website Unappealing
It’s not a secret that old websites are unappealing. Just think of the websites you’ve visited that were made in the early days of the internet. Compare it with the more recent ones you find today. Which do you think will gain more visitors? Definitely not the one with outdated graphics.
This is why it’s crucial to conform your site to today’s standards. That splash page that made you popular a few years back could now be irritating to people who just want to place an order or read your blog.
A website revamp can cut out all of the unnecessary elements attached to your old website and make it more streamlined to today’s tastes and preferences.
3. Your website is broken
This one is a no-brainer. If your website is not loading or unresponsive then you obviously need to implement some changes. Otherwise, you’re wasting an opportunity to connect with your customers.
There are a lot of factors that can cause your site to crash. It can be an error in the backend or an element or plugin that’s messing up your site’s layout. Whatever it is, revamping your website will not only help you restore your site’s functionality but also make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
Website Revamp vs. Website Redesign
There are actually two ways to go about overhauling your site. Either you go for a website rebrand (or redesign) or you could do a website revamp. Each one has its pros and cons.
A website redesign involves rebranding your site. Think of it as like giving your website a new identity. It includes more than just changing the colors and updating the content. It’s about changing your entire site to fit your new business goals. Because of this, a website redesign is often implemented if the business changed its goals or overall branding.
The downside to a website redesign is the attached costs of creating a new logo, a new look, and a new feel. It could also turn off your loyal customer base especially if the change is too rapid for their taste.
A website revamp, on the other hand, does not involve rebranding or changing your entire site. It’s more like breathing new life into your site. It is a slower process but it will help ease your customers to the changes you implement. You can do this in batches or stages of development. This can help you maintain your identity and still update your website so that it conforms to modern standards.
Both website revamp and redesign can be done by you or by website design experts who are skilled in creating amazing websites with compelling content and dynamic features.
So how do you tell if your site just needs a revamp or a total redesign?
Take a look at your website. Do you think you need a new website or does your existing site still does its job albeit needing some upgrade? Do you have the budget and the time to redesign your website? The answers to these questions will help you determine if you need a redesign or a revamp.
How to Do a Website Revamp
Let’s say you want to save a ton of money, hold off on the redesign and focus on the website revamp instead. Here are some ideas on how to do a website revamp:
1. Plan Your Revamp by Looking at Your Website with a Critical Eye
What do you hope to achieve with revamping your site? Do you want to update it so that it conforms to modern standards? Do you want to fix the dead links?
Take a critical look at your website and take note of what needs to be improved. This can be done in stages. You can start with the basic pages like Home, About Us, and the Contact pages. These are the most crucial pages that should be kept up to date. These are also the pages that search engines first look at when crawling your site.
Most people at this stage find it hard to let go of pages and content they’ve created over the years. But if you want to grow your site, it’s time to let go of sentimentality and get down to improving your most basic pages first.
2. Delete Unwanted Pages and Information
The reason why people do a website revamp is to streamline it and make it more current. Thus, the need to delete unnecessary pages and information. This includes any blogs that aren’t generating traffic or products and services that you no longer carry.
You can save those pages and information and try to update it in the future if you want. But for now, you will have to be a sadist and just get rid of them.
3. Create a New Web Structure and Layout
We’re looking for optimum efficiency at this point. Find out what pages you need and create a layout or web structure to make the user’s experience better when they visit your site.
You can start out with a few pages and build it from there. As long as you have your Home, Contact us, and About page, you’re already set.
4. Update Your Logo and Graphic Design
This is the best time to update your logo and the overall look of your website. All you need is a good graphic designer to help you create a more appealing brand image. There are many sites like Fiverr and Craigslist where you can find experienced graphic designers to help you.
5. Create a Content Calendar
Since the objective of your website revamp is to remain current, a good content calendar and management plan will help you fill your “new site” up with relevant information.
Plan how you want to publish your content and keep a schedule so your customers know when to visit you and maximize the returns of their continued patronage.
6. Test Your Site
It’s always best to test your site before letting the public see it. Nothing says amateur and unprofessional louder than an incomplete website.
There are sandbox programs that lets you test your website before going live. Make sure you navigate through all of the pages and check any content you release.
7. Update Your Server
Move all of your old files to a folder and update your website by fixing its structure. You can do this easily if you’re using WordPress or updating it by FTP (File Transfer Protocol). FTP will require you to have your revamped website completely structured on your desktop for easy transfer.
Double check to ensure everything on the server is updated so that people visiting your revamped website won’t receive an Error 404 or dead links.
8. Go Live
Finally, it’s time to unveil your “new” baby to the rest of the world. Hit publish and let customers old and new enjoy your revamped website.
Benefits of Revamping Your Website
Still on the fence about giving your site a makeover? Here are some of the benefits doing a website revamp that may help you change your mind:
1. Improved User Experience
When your website is up to date, all the links are working, and loads as it should, it can improve the overall user experience. A seamless user experience will, in turn, complement your digital marketing efforts. It will not only make it easier for your visitors to navigate your site. It will also encourage them to take action leading to increased conversion rates.
2. Better Aesthetics
Improving your site’s fonts, graphics, and colors will ultimately lead to better aesthetics. And if your site looks better, your visitors will be more encouraged to stay on your site. The longer they stay, the better it will be for your SEO and conversion rate.
How so?
Bounce rate is one of Google’s ranking factor. It refers to the percentage of visitors who navigate away from your site after only a few seconds. So the longer a visitor stays on your site and visit other pages, the more likely they’ll take action and the better it will look for Google. As a result, they’re more likely to rank your pages on the search results.
3. Enhanced Functionality
As mentioned before, a website revamp can improve your website’s functionality. It can help you spot and correct frontend and backend errors that prevents your site from functioning or appearing as it should. Enhanced functionality, in turn, boosts your site’s user experience.
4. Increased Traffic
Better appearance and enhanced user experience can all lead to more visitors and more conversions.
Start Your Website Revamp Today
Now that you know the benefits of a website revamp and how to do it, it’s time to start your site’s makeover process. Though if you still want to do a website redesign, you can do also do that in the future. Think of your website revamp as a stepping stone that your loyal customers can easily follow to get to the new you.
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About The Author
Judy Ponio is a professional writer and SEO specialist based in the Philippines. She works hard to cross check reputable sources to ensure her work uses accurate facts. She is the lead author for several prominent websites covering a variety of topics including law, health, nutrition, and more.
