Often when revamping your website, it’s all to easy to dive headlong into flashy new design ideas without really considering what it is that you want from it.

So with this in mind, we’ve put together a little list of things to consider when looking at new website ideas:

Make a list of what you don’t like:
Look at your current website and those of your competitors and make a list of what is wrong with it, everything from how it looks, how it is arranged and how it works. Often this is a great way of arriving a definitive list of features that really work for your particular industry.

Facelift:
Do you need to make any changes to the functionality of the site, often the temptation when re-designing is to throw everything away and start from scratch.  Often in this process many tried and tested features on your current site are consigned to the bin.  So, maybe all that is needed is a fresh cost of paint and some new bling.  Don’t be afraid to keep aspects of the current site – and just give them a lick of paint.

Draw a tree:
The first thing to do is to draw a flow chart or a tree of how viewers will navigate your site.  Often it is easy to dive into fancy re-designs and be wowed by sparkly new artwork without really giving much thought to how easy it is for viewers to navigate your site and quickly navigate to their desired page.  Drawing a tree or flow diagram will really help you to plan a navigational system that is quick and easy to use, after-all your viewer will have a very short attention span and if they can’t find what they want quickly then they are back to Google.

Allow for growth:
Always make sure that your redesign leaves plenty of scope for additions in the future.  How many times have you seen sites that clearly look like they have had additional content squeezed into strange areas.  Some sites can end up looking like strange houses that have had ill conceived extensions bolted on to them over the years.  The golden rule is always create a design that has plenty of space for future growth, none of us really know for sure what is just over the horizon.

Before launch > revisit your original brief:
Often the road to launching your new site can be a long one with plenty of twists and turns along the way.  It is very easy to unconsciously move away from your original brief or intentions, taking you away from the original vision.  Always, when signing of your new site prior to launch go back and review your original intentions and double check that your site is true to it’s original vision.

Get plenty of feedback:
Prior to considering a re-design it is always worth asking for some honest and frank feedback from anyone outside of the business.  It is all to easy to be very blinkered when looking at our own website.  A fresh set of eyes will always bring out often vital areas that you have overlooked

and lastly…..

Have a plan and stick to it!