How a Web-Site Redesign Can Impact the Customer Journey

How to Prepare for a Web-Site Redesign

Adequate preparation for a Web-site redesign is key.

1. Determine Your Goals

The first thing you should do when preparing for a Web-site redesign is to figure out what goals you’d like to reach. If you don’t know what you want to achieve, you’ll have a tough time creating a plan that benefits both the business and customers. I recommend asking yourself honestly what you want to happen to your brand after the redesign.

Some business leaders want to boost traffic; others are interested in creating a solid user experience so they can improve their retention rate. There are countless other reasons for redesigning a Web site, so figure out your why and you’ll be taking a step in the right direction.

2. Connect Your Goals to Your Audiences’ Needs

Now, you have to find ways to tie your goals to your customers’ needs. It doesn’t matter what you ultimately want to do if none of it matters to your target audience. Think about it this way: your redesign cannot succeed without the approval of your customers, so it’s important to reflect on their needs and create changes that result in a positive, productive journey for them.

Use a mix of customer feedback and analytics data to figure out how to make changes that existing customers will appreciate and that will attract new visitors. My company has done this by reviewing quarterly surveys that we send out to our email subscribers and responses to polls on social media and our Web site. We look through the data to identify patterns.

For example, we noticed that our customers were having a tough time finding the blog posts they were seeking on our site. We addressed this problem by adding a search bar to our blog and including additional category options so visitors can find exactly what they want to read.

On-site analytics can tell you about how people currently engage with your site, which could impact your redesign options. For example, if you review your analytics data and see that most people never bother to reach out to your chatbot when they need help, you may want to consider making the chatbot more prominent, enabling users to quickly find it when they have a question.

3. Develop a Timeline and Take Precautions

Once you’ve determined your goals and know what customers want to see from the business, it’s time to establish a timeline and a course of action. If you know how long the redesign process will take, you can think ahead and start creating content for your blog, as well as marketing material to announce your big return.

You’ll also want to think about backing up your site. I can guarantee this is one step you would regret not taking if things don’t go as planned. The peace of mind that comes with being able to revert in the event of a mistake is priceless.

How to Announce Your Redesign Changes to Your Customers

Announcing the redesign of your site is an important step that can make a big difference in how people perceive your business. If you were to randomly shut down one day without setting up so much as a standalone landing page, many visitors would become concerned—especially those who have a pending order.

The best thing you can do is to be transparent and let people know well in advance that you’ll be taking the site down for a few days or weeks for a redesign. In most cases, people will be fine with this as long as they know beforehand. Better yet, leave your old site up while you’re rebuilding.

It’s also important to be transparent and tell users why you’re making the decision to do a redesign. For example, you could create a coming soon page highlighting all the benefits users can expect when your site is up and running again.

I also suggest providing support options for users while the site is under maintenance. When a site needs to go down for an extended period of time, urge customers to call, email, or reach out on social media if they have questions. You could also include a link to a FAQ page so customers can see at a glance what’s coming and how long it will take to complete your redesign.

Don’t forget to announce the completion of your project to email subscribers and social-media followers so they can come back to check out your hard work!

Tips for Onboarding After a Redesign

Finally, let’s talk about what you should do to onboard customers so they’re comfortable with your redesign. This part of the process is extremely important because you need to show users why the change was worth it. Otherwise, they might leave and decide not to return.

The best way to ensure everyone is on the same page is to offer an optional guided tutorial to everyone who visits your Web site. If visitors say they want to learn more, you can use pop-ups or ToolTips that show users how to make use of all the new features on your site.

I also suggest including onboarding changes that simplify the customer journey. For example, my company has a resource page where visitors can find products, content, and relevant industry information all in one place. Since adding this resource center to our site, it’s been easier for us to get new customers to use our products.

If you don’t want to create a full tutorial, you could simply highlight the best parts of your redesign on the homepage or a landing page. Use this opportunity to explain to users how they can benefit from the changes you’ve made. The key is to think from the customer’s perspective and explain how those changes could alleviate their painpoints and improve their experience on your site.

My last onboarding tip is to be patient. Many people struggle with adjusting to change, especially if something has been the same for a long time. If your site has been one way for almost a decade and you do a redesign, you’ll see some resistance and hesitancy. Continue doing your best and building trust with these users, and most people will come around and start using your site again.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there’s a lot to consider when redesigning your Web site. However, the benefits of doing a site redesign—particularly when it comes to creating a memorable customer journey—make this a strategy that’s worth your while regardless of your industry.

If you’re ready to take the next step and start redesigning your Web site, the first thing you should do is start talking to your customers. Figure out what they want and need from your business, and you can use that information as a foundation for success.