The website is the window of your business. It is, therefore, natural that he evolves with her. But how to do an effective overhaul? Design, architecture, content… Several elements must be taken into account. In this article, we cover all the crucial steps to improve a website.
Improving your website is a logical step in the development of a business. The more an organization evolves, the more we wonder how to improve its website and generate more leads. Improving a website is a process that will take time and money. Therefore, it is essential to do things in order if you want to make an effective and economical redesign.
Whether you plan to improve an existing website or are just in the early stages of designing a future site, the same rules apply. The only difference is that to improve your website; you start from an existing database and statistics. Here are the main steps you can follow.
1. Make an inventory
Improving a website first requires knowledge of it, and this requires a website audit. This work will allow you to define what is currently working on your site and what needs improvement. Several solutions are to be considered for this first step.
STUDY THE SEO OF YOUR SITE
Improving your website goes through the analysis of your web reference. That is, the way Google places it in the search results. Start by identifying which pages are bringing you traffic and leads and which ones need to be reviewed. This will allow you to keep your SEO efforts and focus on your weak points.
Statistics will allow you to create a real inventory of what already exists with the Google Analytics tool. You will be able to analyze your content, keywords, results in terms of visits, etc. You will therefore have a very interesting base to guide you through the next steps.
Crawling software like screaming frog are good tools to improve your website. They allow you to know which pages are crawled by Google robots and identify your strengths and weaknesses. You will more easily find areas for improvement to work on.
STUDY THE DESIGN OF YOUR SITE
To improve your website, you also have to think about giving it a makeover! The design of your site plays a key role in your web performance. It is, therefore, essential to know how to embellish your website.
The latter must be ergonomic. This requires smooth navigation, hierarchical information, an attractive home page, and visible and accessible calls to action. Your site should also reflect the visual identity of your business. It is transcribed in your pages’ typography, your images, your logo, and your colors. And above all, your site must be “responsive”, that is to say, which must adapt to mobile, tablet, and desktop versions.
2. Redefine your target
Improving your website would be useless without knowing your target audience. Ask yourself who your offer is for; creating personas ( typical customers) is a great technique. You will be able to know who you want to communicate with. This will allow you to adapt your strategy to your target customer and maximize your chances of generating leads.
In addition to helping you with your site redesign, personas will guide you on your overall web marketing strategy. For example, you can identify the communication channels they use. This will allow you to redirect traffic to your website and increase your sales.
3. Improve your website by studying your competitors
To improve your website, it is essential to know your competitors. By identifying their strengths and weaknesses, you can gain ground over them in your business battle. This analysis applies both to the web and outside the web. It is by knowing them that you will be able to compete with strong opponents.
Wouldn’t it occur to you to create an identical product, sold at the same price, to the same people, and in the same place as your competitor? It’s the same for a website. You must seek to dominate the market by standing out from the crowd. Ask yourself what identity you want to embody in the eyes of your target
Here’s what a competitive web marketing analysis might look like. Here, we see the placement of Combustible’s competitors on target keywords.
4. Improve your website by setting goals
Improving your website ultimately serves to generate more sales; it is clear that this indicator is essential. You can also set other web goals that will allow you to analyze your performance more completely.
You can, for example, try to:
- Collect a certain number of emails per day through your site.
- Increase your site traffic by X% per month.
- Reduce cart abandonment by X% per month (for eCommerce sites).
- Collect X Google Reviews per month.
The possibilities are endless; it’s up to you to decide on the most relevant indicators to monitor for your business. They will allow you to celebrate mini-wins or quickly identify weaknesses. Consider setting up your goals in Google Analytics when your redesign is complete. This will give you better control over your site.
5. Analyze your resources
Now that your needs are established, you need to determine if you have the resources to meet them. Make sure you answer these questions:
- Do you have the internal know-how to carry out the entire project?
- How much time and money are you willing to invest in your overhaul?
- Does this budget match your needs?
Wanting to improve your website is good, but being able to do it is even better. If your budget is too tight, revise your priorities and focus on what is most valuable. If you decide to outsource your site redesign, be sure to agree on a budget at the project’s start. Also, consider determining a deadline with your business partner.
6. Write a brief
Improving your website requires a game plan; this is called the creative brief.
When you have done your analysis and set your goals, you need to organize them in one document. You will be able to condense all the information in your brief sheet. This will allow your team to identify all the challenges of the overhaul and not miss anything. You will be able to distribute roles and establish clear deadlines for each of your employees.
7. Improve its website by revising its site map
Before moving on to the redesign, you need to create a draft of your site. An architect would not build a house without having a plan. It’s the same for a web designer; he has to visualize how he will improve his website. After analytical work, make way for creativity! You are going to sketch the architecture of your site. Free tools like GlooMaps are very helpful in achieving this.
This step is to imagine an optimized page structure that will make sense for Google and your customer. Think about the new pages you want to create and the ones you need to feature. Start by creating your home page, which is the heart of your site. For a service business, “services” pages should be best served. For an e-commerce site, these could be the pages of new ranges or flagship products.
8. Create mockup pages
After drawing his plan, the architect often creates a model of the building he plans to build. The same goes for your website.
A mockup phase is essential to create or improve your website. It gives you a clear idea of your pages’ structure, your content, and your design. Feel free to rework them until they suit you perfectly. Better be sure before you jump into the redesign and risk being dissatisfied.
9. Improve your website by creating content
Improving your website also involves improving your content strategy. During the whole process of mocking your site, you can start to create your content. Consider making it attractive, adding visuals, and writing converting texts. Defining your content during layout will allow you to test your final layout faster.
Adjusting your writing is crucial to improving your website. Start by writing your static pages’ content, such as home, services, or “about” pages. As the name suggests, static pages are meant to stay intact. They are essential for navigation on your site. Consider articulating their content around keywords that are relevant to your audience.
You can then write blog pages that will serve to fuel your website with fresh content.
10. Proceed to the redesign of the site
Once your models have been validated, it’s time to give your site second life. You can give the green light for the official creation of your new jewelry.
- Create the pages based on the models
- Integrate the content you created
- Perform quality control of each of your pages
- Go online
That’s it; your redesign is complete. Get ready to pounce on your leads and stay alert of your performance.
Improving your website is hard work but essential to the health of your business. If done rigorously, rest assured that you will experience growth.
Do you want to launch your online business presence? Are you looking for Web Development in Pakistan to upgrade your web design? Count on us to get competing Web Design and Development services.
WORDS OF WONDER 