Is your website looking a little … stale? A little out of date, especially as the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic? Never fear – your favorite Charlotte web designer is here! We have a checklist to help you in your redesign efforts to make them go as smooth as silk.

1. Gimme the Truth

First things first, tell the truth: What works and what doesn’t work about your current website? We’ll get into the user experience in a minute, but are you happy with your host provider in terms of speed and security? Do you enjoy your content management system? How easy or hard is it to post blogs and other content? So many questions! However, if you’re redesigning your website anyway, now is the time to change up the backend as well.

Now that you’ve taken your perspective into account, it’s time to get down to brass tacks and pay attention to your visitors. The following are some points for you to consider:

• Which pages are the most frequently visited, according to your site analytics?
• Where do your visitors come from and where do they linger on your site?

The answers to those questions will reveal where you need to beef up your content. Which leads me to my next point.

2. Capitalize on the Content

You’ve already determined which pages and posts are most frequently visited. How can you capitalize on that? Do you need to write more posts on website redesign mistakes to avoid, for instance? What are your customers and clients hungry for? It’s your job to give the people what they want, and you know that information by digging into your analytics.

After you’ve given the people (aka customers or clients) what they want, also make it clear where they should click to find out more information or purchase your product. After all, your website has an objective, whether that’s to capture someone’s email address or get them to sign up for your course (or both).

You can also use the information you glean to bolster the rest of your website – to make certain elements more prominent, for instance. And if you need help with that process, we at Web Symphonies are experienced at web redesign in Charlotte and beyond. Just reach out to us.

3. Details, Details

Now that you’ve assessed your website, write down (or type) your website’s strengths and weaknesses. Also be very clear what on your old site will stay, what components need to be created, and where you can flesh out your content.

Also, to make this web redesign real, what’s your timeline? If your answer is “someday,” web redesign day may never come. If your answer is “one month,” what needs to happen for that to be achievable? Do you need to hire a Charlotte web redesign company, for instance?

4. Test it Out

You did it! You made your deadline and redesigned your website. You’re all finished, right? Not quite. Before you broadcast to the world your new baby, it’s imperative that you test your website on various browsers and devices to see how it looks. If your website is fantastic on a computer screen, but dismal on a smartphone, that’s no bueno. Also, your analytics will tell you which browsers people are using to access your website so you don’t need to worry that you’re missing one. Mobile browses have surpassed desktop browser, so optimizing for mobile is especially important. If you test your website on Firefox, Chrome, Safari all your bases will likely be covered.

Also, it’s perfectly fine to try some A/B testing, which means testing two different design elements, calls to action, layouts, etc. to determine which one performs better. Traffic is sent to one version or the other and your analytics will reveal which choice is the “winner.”

5. Keywords are Key

Y’all, I’ve been talking about keywords sooooo much lately. That’s because keywords are crucial to bringing new people to your website. In fact, according to Search Engine Watch, around 60% of your web traffic comes from search engine results. That’s a lot!

Are you using keywords effectively? Make a list of all the topics you want to be known for – like Charlotte Web Design maybe – and develop keyword phrases around those topics. How would people find you on Google? Do you sell personalized Christmas ornaments? Do you coach people who are ADD? Use those keywords and sprinkle them around your website.

Also, it’s fine to be specific and use something called long-tail keywords. That’s what I’ve written above: “a coach for people who are ADD.” It’s not so much a keyword but a phrase someone would type to find you. Yeah, fewer people use the long phrases, but the people who do will be a great match for your services and thus more likely to work with you. That’s why I say keywords are key.

If any of this sounds like it’s outside your wheelhouse, don’t worry! You don’t have to go through a web redesign on your own. We at Web Symphonies are here to help. Reach out to us today and we’ll give you a website you’re sure to love.

Need help with Web Redesign Services in Charlotte; Web Symphonies is here just reach out to us at (704) 336-9113