Website Redesign 101: The Getting Started Checklist

In today’s digital age, a well-designed, user-friendly website is essential to nearly any organization. However, a website redesigning your website to meet today’s digital standards and user expectations can be a daunting endeavor, from budget and resources to making sure the end product is worth all the effort. Before you get started on your website redesign, we recommend following this step-by-step checklist to make the process smooth and efficient.

1. Evaluate Your Current Website

After you decide a new website is necessary, it’s important to first do a deep dive into your current site. What works well? What doesn’t? Are there areas of the site that could be improved? Be sure to gather feedback and input from key stakeholders on their hopes for the new site.

Steps:

• Audit the overall design, functionality and usability of the current website. Review the website layout and navigation. Check for broken links, slow loading times and technical errors.
• Identify strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvement. Note any important features or content, as well as areas that may need enhancement or redesign.
• Gather feedback from stakeholders. Conduct surveys or interviews with staff and website visitors to gather feedback on user preferences and pain points.

2. Prioritize Your Audiences

In order for your new website to useful for users, you must first understand your target audiences that will be using your site. Look at demographics, preferences and behaviors of your audiences to help inform your plan for the new site.

Steps:

• Conduct research to understand your target audience. Gather data on the demographics, interests and online behaviors of the people who will ultimately be using your site.
• Outline the needs of each audience. Outline the goals, challenges and motivations of each audience.
• Consider their needs when planning the redesign. Tailor the website content, design and functionality to address the specific needs and preferences of each audience segment.

3. Define Your Goals & Objectives

Of course, an important step in the process is to lay out all the goals and objectives you want your new site to achieve. Perhaps it’s to drive donations, improve engagement or increase brand awareness. Whatever they are, your list of goals will be your guiding light as you begin your website redesign.

Steps:

• Outline the goals and objectives of the website redesign. Determine specific outcomes you aim to achieve, such as increasing awareness, improving user engagement or serving as a resource hub.
• Align goals with your organization’s overall marketing and communication strategies. Ensure that the website redesign supports broader organizational objectives and messaging.

4. Identify Requirements for Your New Site

This step in the process is your chance to dream big. What do you want your new site to be able to do? The features and functionalities of your new site need to be documented before you begin the redesign process.

Steps:

• Identify the key features and functionality needs for the new website. List features such as event calendars, directories and contact forms.
• Determine content requirements, including multimedia assets and interactive elements. Plan the organization and structure of content, including text, images, videos and interactive tools.
• Consider integration with other systems or platforms. Ensure seamless integration with existing systems and platforms used by your organization for data management and communication (e.g., CRM, customer portal, etc.).

5. Conduct a Comparative Analysis

Your next task is to surf the web, taking a deep dive into the websites of your competitors. As you analyze other top sites in your industry, create a list of features you like and things that work well. This will serve as inspiration when it’s time to begin the redesign.

Steps:

• Analyze “competitor” websites to gain insights into industry trends, best practices and areas of differentiation. Study websites of similar organizations to identify design trends, content strategies and user experience features.

6. Think Through Technical Considerations

A user-friendly website is essential for keeping visitors engaged and driving conversions. Make sure you plan ahead so that any technical needs are accounted for when you begin the redesign process.

Steps:

• Understand the strengths and limitations of the content management systems you’re considering using. Familiarize yourself with the features, functionalities and customization options offered by each platform to leverage its capabilities effectively.
• Consider accessibility. Ensure that content complies with accessibility standards and guidelines to provide an inclusive user experience for all visitors.
• Plan for conversion needs. Think about calls to action, forms, third-party integrations and landing pages to drive conversion rates.

7. Review Website Analytics

Hard numbers and data can often offer the best snapshot of your website. These analytics can show which pages on your site are the most visited, how long users spend looking at your site on average and whether users find value in any given page.

Steps:

• Look at bounce rates for each page. Identify pages with high bounce rates and l potential causes such as irrelevant content or poor user experience.
• Analyze average time spent on the site. Evaluate average time on site to assess user engagement and identify pages with unusually high or low time on site that may require further optimization.
• Examine content performance . Review performance metrics such as pageviews, time on page and conversion rates for individual content pieces to identify top-performing content and where there’s opportunity for improvement.

8. Conduct a Content Audit

Audit your existing content to determine what should be retained (migrated to the new site), refreshed (updated for timeliness and relevance) or archived/deleted. Use this opportunity to optimize content for SEO/GEO.

Steps:

• Conduct a thorough audit of existing website content to determine what should be kept, revised or removed. Review all existing content pages, blog posts, images and multimedia assets to assess relevance, accuracy and quality.

9. Develop a Content Strategy

Your content strategy for the new site should outline how your content will engage intended audiences and support your organic search and paid digital marketing efforts. It should also set a tone and direction for content on the new site. If you’re also planning on including a content hub or blog on your new site, you’ll also want to include a plan for it in your content strategy.

Steps:

• Develop a content strategy that aligns with your goals, target audience and messaging. Define content themes, topics and formats that resonate with your audience and support your strategic objectives.
• Plan for new content creation, including copywriting, photography and multimedia production. Identify gaps in existing content and prioritize the creation of new content to fill those gaps.

10. Determine Your Budget & Resources

A website redesign is a big endeavor, that takes time, energy and money. Before getting started, evaluate who will need to be involved and how much time is realistic.

Steps:

• Determine the budget available for the project. Consider steps such as design, development, integrations with existing systems and ongoing maintenance. Many forget that content creation can be a big, time-consuming lift.
• Think about resources, including personnel, tools and external vendors, if necessary. Identify internal team members who will be involved in the redesign project, as well as any vendors or agencies that may be needed for specialized tasks.
• Assemble a diverse team. Identify stakeholders and departmental representatives who will contribute to the project.