Advanced Media Services: eMediaMinute

Five Keys to Successful Web Site Redesign

Chris Bell, Posted: February 5, 2010

So you think it might be time to update your web site.  Maybe it’s looking a little outdated and has become stagnant, you want to increase traffic and attract new business, or you want to take advantage of new technology that would allow “you” to edit and update content.  Whatever the reason, your web site is crucial to the success of your business.  It’s your flag-ship marketing and communication tool.  So here are five key steps to get you headed in the right direction.

• Know your goals
• Talk to your customers & employees
• Create a “seed list”
• Inventory assets
• Keep moving forward

Know Your Goals

Why are you embarking on a web site redesign? What do you hope to accomplish? While these questions may sound obvious, many companies fail to establish effective goals for their web site redesign. “Increase Sales” is not as useful a goal as “Increase sales leads by 20% by increasing the visibility and traffic to our web site.” Other examples might include: sell your products/services right on the website, reduce administrative tasks, re-brand your company, pre-qualify prospects, recruit employees – the things a website can do for your company are virtually limitless, but you need to have clear goals. To start, figure out what you want the benefits of your website to be. Forget about the bells and whistles required to make it happen; that’s your web developers job. Sit down with all the internal stake holders and develop a list of what you want your website to do for your business. Detailed goals keep the project team focused on achieving success.