In this article, we examine the topic of website relaunch from all sides: What are the reasons for a restart, what do you have to consider when revising it and how do you manage the relaunch without major problems?
Reasons for a website relaunch
First of all: you no longer like your website, is not a compelling reason for a complete restart. The same applies to the age of your side. These are subjective aspects that initially say nothing about the quality or the impact of your website. Instead, you should ask yourself a series of questions so that you can assess the current status of your website more objectively. For example:
- Does your website meet your customers’ requirements? Your website is primarily there for your customers. It is therefore important that it contains all the information that current and future customers are looking for – in a way that is understandable and clearly presented.
- Is your website conversion-optimized? “ Conversion ” is the process by which interested visitors become paying customers. For this, your website needs a clear structure that leads your visitors to the checkout or to your booking form. This works best with clear call-to-actions.
- Does your website fit your company? Maybe she did it once, but you may have changed your image or offer. Your website must also reflect this – in text, image, and design.
- Does your website look contemporary? Actually, we have already excluded the age of your website as a reason for a relaunch. But if your homepage looks like it came from the 90s, a restart can make sense.
Did these questions make you ponder? Then it may be time for a fresh start. But you shouldn’t rush it. Because without good preparation and a watertight project plan, a website relaunch can quickly end in chaos.
Set goals for your website relaunch
Before you start screwing around on your website, you should consider what exactly you want to achieve with your new homepage. For example, do you want:
- Get more visitors? More people on your website means greater awareness of you and your offer. And that means you will have more customers in the long run.
- Generate more sales? You can do this by increasing bookings through your website or sales in your shop.
- Reposition your company? Especially if you have revised your image or your product. Or if you want to set yourself apart from your competitors.
- Improve your search engine rank? Because the higher up you are on Google, the more people will visit your website. Do you want to be at the top, can you target a featured snippet on Google?
You may have more goals in mind. No matter who they are, it is best to make a list of everyone you want to reach. In the next step, you add numerical values with which you want to measure the success of your new website. For example, determine that you want to have 500 visitors per month on your homepage. If you succeed, your relaunch was a success. But make sure that your goals are realistic. If you previously only had 20 visitors a month, a jump to 500 is probably a bit too far. Therefore, you should next analyze the current status of your website carefully.
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Website analysis – what remains, what is changed and what can go away?
Numbers are your friends:
Let’s start with the numbers, the “hard facts”. There are two main measurement values:
- Your general traffic. Did you connect your website to Google Analytics? If not, it is high time. Then with Google Analytics, you not only see how many people visit your website. You will also find out which of your pages were accessed most frequently and how your visitors found you.
- Your sales, bookings, etc. It never hurts to get an overview of who bought what from you from time to time. Often you tend to just look at the bottom line at the end of the month. But knowing whether you have a lot of customers who tend to buy less or a small number of customers who buy a lot or are expensive can have a decisive impact on your future positioning. These numerical values offer you good guidelines for optimizing your website. Therefore, choose your goals so that they fit.
The competition doesn’t sleep – but neither do you
“Copy good artists, steal great artists.” Apple CEO Steve Jobs once quoted Pablo Picasso. Well, we don’t have to go to the theft of ideas, but a look at your competitors is always a good idea.
Under the name “competition analysis” the whole thing gets a serious coat of paint. So you can better assess where you stand with your website compared to your competitors. What are your competitors doing better than you? And in which areas do you stick them out? Pay particular attention to:
- Content. Is it up-to-date, tailored to the target group, and appealing? Is there, for example, an FAQ or clear price lists? And does your tonality match your brand?
- Conversion path. Does the website specifically guide visitors to book or buy?
- Design. Is the website visually appealing without sacrificing functionality?
- Offer and prices. Do your competitors offer more services at better prices? Or are you the ones who sell undervalue? Then maybe you should rethink your pricing structure.
- SEO. Do you want to know which keywords your competitors are using? With the free tool Ubersuggest, you can easily find out.
A critical look at your own website
Now is the time to analyze your own website. Put your eyes on “critical” and look at content, structure, and design. It applies the same standards as in the competition. Do content, structure, and design serve their purpose? Or is your website more pretense than being? Then you determine which content you want to keep or revise. And which you can completely delete. Use the content of your competitors as a guide, because they may be one or two steps ahead in terms of communication. An example of outdated content: You are a freelance PR consultant and earn your money almost exclusively by working with other companies and agencies. But you also offer PR seminars that hardly anyone is interested in and that are hardly worth the effort. Then now would be the right time to question the meaning of the offer and possibly even delete it. In addition to the content, the structure of your website is also crucial. Do the following experiment and click through your website as if you were a visitor yourself. Can you quickly find all the information you are looking for? And can you book yourself with just a few clicks? If that doesn’t work, it should change with your new website. We have put together more useful information on self-analysis for you in our article on website audit.
SEO keywords – how to be found
Search engine optimization is not only something for the big players, but you can also be found online as a small business. First of all, you need the right keywords – the key terms that potential customers use to find you. To do this, proceed as follows:
- Creates a list of search terms. You ask yourself quite simply: What would you enter if you were looking for an offer like yours? Both short word combinations and entire sentences can be used as answers.
- Check your keywords. The best way to do this is with tools such as the Google Ads Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest. Your procedure remains the same. Enter your search terms and get matching keyword ideas. With each suggestion, you can see both the monthly search volume and the cost of an advertisement on Google.
- Narrows your choices. The higher the search volume, the greater the competition. You can avoid this by varying the length of your search terms. From short (“Yoga courses”) to long (“Bikram Yoga courses Munich”). With longer search terms, there are fewer search queries, but also fewer competitors. With these specific keywords, especially as a small business, you have a better chance of being found.
- Check the Google ranking. Now enter your preferred keywords on Google and look at the results. Now you can see which sides you have to compete with. If Coca-Cola, H&M, or Mercedes are among them, you should adjust your search terms again.
With these 4 steps, you can set your key keywords for your new website relatively easily. The whole thing takes some time, but at least after your first visitors found you on Google, the effort was worth it.
Ready for website relaunch: build your new page
Now you apply all the things that you have previously worked out.
- Revise the structure of your website. Add new pages and delete all those you no longer need. Your website concept is an irreplaceable help.
- Give your homepage a new look. Adapt your color scheme to your current corporate identity. It may also be time for a logo redesign and an image of your website homepage.
- Paste your content. Write texts that are targeted and delight your readers. And make sure that your images are also optimized for search engines.
Once you’ve done all of that, it’s time for a second opinion. Ask someone in your circle of friends to click through your website as a test. The best way to do this is to give them a specific task such as: “Research my offer and my references and then try to book me.” If your testers encounter problems or even fail, you should touch your website again. But if they master your task, you are ready to publish your website. A final look at your texts cannot hurt. Maybe you will still find one or the other volatility or typing error.
Conclusions
There are many good reasons for a relaunch. For example, if it no longer meets the requirements of your customers. Or when many visitors jump off without buying anything. You should also ask yourself whether your website fits your company. This is particularly important after a realignment. And finally, your website should look contemporary. Especially compared to your competitors.
If you need some help with your website relaunch or redesign, Anachak Design team is happy to assist you at any time.
