Website Revamp: The Ultimate Guide

Published July 22, 2023

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 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If your site is outdated, it can cost your business. Your customers will have a hard time placing orders or reaching out to you for queries. It may not show up in search results.

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. It’s a total makeover from the design, layout, colors, and fonts to the content and overall look and feel. 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. Adding the wrong elements on the front end or an incorrect code on the back end can significantly affect your site’s design and functionality. That’s why most website revamp projects take months or even years.

You may need professional web developers to revamp your site if you’re not a webmaster or even remotely familiar with web designing.

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 Your Website is Outdated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 Websites that have existed for two or more years usually have outdated information. Either you’ve lost interest in updating it, or you don’t have any new content to upload. 

Whichever the case, outdated content makes your site look old and lifeless. 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. Think of the websites you’ve visited that were made in the early days of the Internet. Compare them with the ones you find today. Not the one with outdated graphics.

This is why conforming your site to today’s standards is crucial. That splash page that made you famous a few years ago could irritate people wanting to order or read your blog.

A revamp can eliminate all the unnecessary elements attached to your old website and simplify it to today’s tastes and preferences.

3. Your website is broken

This one is a no-brainer. You must implement changes if your website is not loading or unresponsive. 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 messing up your site’s layout. Whatever it is, revamping your website will help you restore your site’s functionality and ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

Website Revamp vs. Website Redesign

There are 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.

Website Redesign

A website redesign involves rebranding your site. Think of it as 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 changes its goals or overall branding.

The downside to a website redesign is the attached costs of creating a new logo, look, and feel. It could also turn off your loyal customer base, especially if the change is too rapid for their taste.

Website Redesign Costs

A website redesign can cost anywhere from $100 to $75,000 depending on how complicated the redesign is, how big the website is, what features and functions are needed, and where the designer is located or whether or not you work with an agency.

More complex and customized redesigns can cost even more. So it’s hard to give an exact price without more information. Contacting a web designer for a specific quote based on your needs is best.

Website Revamp

A website revamp 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 update your website to conform to modern standards.

Both websites revamp, and redesign can be done by you or by website design experts skilled in creating unique websites with compelling content and dynamic features.

Website Revamp Costs

The cost of a website revamp is similar to a website redesign, which is between $100 to $75,000. The cost can be higher for larger websites or if extensive changes and customizations are required.

Revamp vs Redesign: Which Do I Need? 

Take a look at your website. Do you need a new website, or does your existing site still do 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 determine if you need a redesign or a revamp.

How to Do a Website Revamp

If you want to save money, pause the redesign and focus on the website; revamp instead. Here are some ideas on how to do a website revamp:

1. Look at Your Website with a Critical Eye

What do you hope to achieve by 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 basic pages like Home, About Us, and Contact. 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 improve 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 blogs that aren’t generating traffic or products and services you no longer carry.

You can save those pages and information and try to update them in the future if you want. But for now, you must be a sadist and eliminate 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 improve users’ experience when they visit your site.

You can start with a few pages and build it from there. You’re already set as long as you have your Home, Contact Us, and About pages.

4. Update Your Logo and Graphic Design

This is the best time to update your logo and the overall look of your website. You only need an excellent 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” 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 let you test your website before going live. Ensure you navigate through all the pages and check any content you release.

7. Update Your Server

Move your old files to a folder and update your website by fixing its structure. You can do this easily using WordPress or updating it by FTP (File Transfer Protocol). FTP will require you to thoroughly structure your revamped website on your desktop for easy transfer.

Double-check to ensure everything on the server is updated so people visiting your revamped website won’t receive an Error 404 or dead links.

8. Website Relaunch

Finally, it’s time to unveil your “new” baby to the rest of the world. Hit publish and let old and new customers enjoy your revamped website.