Redesign your website: A simple step-by-step guide to a stunning online makeover
Redesigning your business website can feel like a big, daunting task, especially if you’re not super tech-savvy. But don’t worry—the team at Artist Dynamix made this checklist just for you.
We’ll walk you through the entire process, from planning to launch, in simple, practical steps that make sense. No confusing jargon, just straightforward advice that will help you create a website that not only looks great but also works for your business.
1. Set clear goals for your website redesign
- Why are you redesigning?
Think about what you want your new website to do better than the old one. For example, do you want more people to contact you? More sales? A more professional look?
- Who are your customers?
Keep in mind who your website is for—what do your customers want to see or do when they visit your site?
2. Review your current website
- Take stock
Go through your current website. What pages and content do you like? What seems outdated or unnecessary?
- Take notes
Make a list of pages you want to keep, update, or get rid of. This will help when discussing the redesign with your web designer.
3. Get inspired
- Check out competitors
Visit your competitors’ websites. What do you like or dislike about them? This can give you ideas for your own site.
- Look around
Browse websites in other industries for inspiration. Show examples to your designer to help communicate your vision.
- Keep a swipe file
Use a tool like Awesome Screenshot to take screenshots of websites that inspire you. It will help when you sit down to do the difficult job of describing your vision to a web developer.
4. Plan the new website
- Simplify navigation
Think about how your customers will find information on your site. What should be on the main menu? (e.g., Home, About Us, Services, Contact)
- Think about what results your website will deliver?
One of the things we talk to clients a LOT about is making sure they give their website an actual JOB. Something they can measure at the end of each month.
For example, it could be generating leads. Sounds basic, but once you decide on it, make sure you build in a way to measure this metric. This way you know if your website is working and what needs to be improved. There are too many websites out there doing absolute jack.
- Update your content
Decide what needs to be rewritten, added, or removed. Is your business description up to date? Do you need new photos? Remember to lean heavily on SEO keywords to guide you on what content your target audience wants.
- Mobile-friendly design
Ensure your website will look good and work well on smartphones and tablets since many people browse on the go.
5. Think about your domain name & links
- Keep your domain name
Your web address (like www.artistdynamix.com) stays the same, so customers can find you as usual. If you really want to change your domain name (the ‘artistdynamix.com’ part of your web address), make sure you redirect old URLs (web addresses) to new ones so you don’t miss out on traffic.
Note that changing your domain name will mean losing all the SEO credibility your old domain has garnered. It’s possible to pass some of that on by doing a domain redirect, but it will most likely take ages to get you back to the same level of search engine visibility as before.
- Link Structure
If the pages on your website have specific links (like www.artistdynamix.com/services), try to keep these the same. So don’t change this to www.artistdynamix.com/our-services for instance as this will lead to a broken link and give visitors what are known as ‘404 errors.’
These occur when a browser tries to load a page that no longer exists at the same URL as before – much like going to visit a friend at an old address and finding they no longer live there but left no forwarding address.
Keeping your link structure the same also avoids breaking links customers may have saved and so overall helps in maintaining your visitors’ sanity and with search engine optimization (how Google and other search engines find you).
6. Choose the right tools
- Content management system (CMS)
A CMS like WordPress is like a dashboard where you can update your website content easily. Your designer will handle the setup.
- Hosting
This is where your website “lives” online. Your current web hosting should be fine, but check with your designer if you need an upgrade. Slow web hosting creates a bad user experience and is not loved by search engines either.
7. Focus on design & functionality
- Visual design
Choose colors, fonts, and images that match your brand. Your designer will help, but keep it simple and clean (And if your designer tells you that your logo is big enough, it’s usually best to believe them and not to keep asking them to make it bigger- Pet peeve 😂).
- User-friendly layout
Make sure it’s easy for customers to find what they need (e.g., contact forms, product pages). The fewer clicks, the better.
8. Add & improve content
- Revise your copy
Update text on your site to reflect your current services and business goals. Keep it clear and concise.
- High-quality images
Use professional photos and graphics. Avoid blurry or outdated images—they’re the first thing people notice.
- Calls-to-action (CTAs)
Use buttons like “Contact Us” or “Get a Quote” to guide visitors toward taking action. If you don’t ask for action, it’s hard to get it.
9. Test everything
- Try it out
Before launching, navigate through the new website as if you’re a customer. Test all links, forms, and buttons to make sure they work.
- Run the Jack Checker
Test your website using the Jack Checker. This tool will run several tests on your website and give you recommendations for improving speed, on-page SEO, and other elements.
- Get feedback
Have a few trusted people (friends, employees) test the site to catch anything you might have missed.
10. Launch your new website
- Backup the old site
Ask your developer/designer to save a copy of your current site just in case you need to go back to it.
- Go live
Once everything looks good, it’s time to switch over to the new website. This might cause a short period of downtime, but it should be minimal.
- Check for issues
After the new site is live, monitor it closely for any problems (like broken links or missing images) and fix them quickly.
11. After your website redesign
- Launching is not the end
At Artist Dynamix, we believe that the day your website launches is the beginning of the actual work. Now it needs to deliver results. A business website that doesn’t deliver results is useless.
It’s important to understand this and to plan and budget accordingly.
Maintaining and promoting a website takes time and money.
- Monitor performance
Use Google Analytics (or ask your designer to set it up) to see how many people visit your site, what they look at, and how long they stay.
- Stay on top of SEO
Make sure your site is easy to find on Google. Ask your designer about SEO best practices like using keywords in your content.
- Keep it fresh
Regularly update your content, add blog posts, or showcase new projects to keep your site active and engaging.
BONUS TIP
Communicate with your designer
- Regular Updates
Stay in touch with your designer throughout the process. Ask questions, give feedback, and make sure you understand each step. Instead of getting one big presentation at the end of the redesign, ask for several check-ins so you can fix things before the designer has invested too much time in them. - Ask Questions
Feel free to ask questions. There will be lots of things you may not understand. Ask. Get clarity. Never feel shy about this. Let your web developer know that you are going to ask them a whole bunch of questions to set the expectation.
Not sure what to ask? We have a whole guide on questions you need to ask your web developer.
Not sure if you need a website redesign? Sign up for an online presence audit and we’ll analyze your website and other online platforms and give your a report and expert recommendations.