Bootstrap 5 Website Redesign

1. Purpose-Driven Results

When commencing a website redesign it's important to understand its PURPOSE or WHY you're doing a redesign and its timing.

• Maybe your website feels old-skool and outdated?
• Maybe your website is a couple of years old and its message does not match your Mission Statement anymore?
• Maybe your website doesn't function (S L O W) as you wish it would?
• Or maybe, you’re starting a brand new business and need a new website to match?

Whatever it may be, think through the purpose because it will guide your entire project.

2. Prepare Peoples!

Whether it's just you working on your website as a sole proprietor or functioning as a team unit, it's important that you prepare your entire staff for the fact that you will be going through a major website redesign. Letting your subbordinants know that you'll be going through the Redesign Process can help gather input beforehand, as well as prepare the team for a major project that could affect your organization. For those who will be heavily involved in the project, it is important that they allocate hours to meetings, content creation, and other design decision practices.

A WEBSITE REDESIGN SHOULD NOT BE HEADED BY YOUR IT DEPARTMENT!

You should view a website redesign as a major MARKETING project occurring and should not be taken lightly. That being said, you should know that working with Orlando Web Development's Webmaster 1:1 will allow you to have a point person to be in contact. He'll help guide you and your entire business throughout the process.

Design agencies prefer to work with Marketing and Sales Managers that deal with Content, rather than the IT Departments during the Planning Stage. Technical considerations are made after the marketing message is in concrete and assets collected. Note: There are exceptions.

3. Gather Brand Assets & Provide Examples

It will be extremely helpful for your website designer to have any materials related to your brand when you begin your project. What are brand materials? Anything from your VECTOR logo two colors, to brand FONTS that you use will be helpful. A marketing message should be COHESIVE! It will be important that you use the same colors, logo, fonts, and any other guidance to design your website around.

It will also be helpful to have a few favorite website links handy that you are team admirers or are major competitors. Orlando Web Development asks our clients to share some websites that they like so that we can better understand the aesthetic and look you may be going for on your new website. We perform magic, at times, but are not mind readers!

4. Should It Stay or Should It Go?

When going through a website redesign it is important to remember that it is okay if there are parts of your website that you really like and would like to keep in the new design! Let's hope this is reassuring for most!

Ask yourself, "What's Not Working - today?

Whether it's product or staff photos you're using, the layout of a page, or content that you'd like to transfer over, it's good to be prepared to understand what will need to be redone in the redesign process. Most likely, the Content can be edited, but the underlying CODE (text formatting and markup" needs to be 100% changed.

5. Gather a Needs List vs a Wishlist

When looking through competitor and inspirational websites, as well as considering what does and does not work well on your current site our Webmaster will help you put together a needs list and a wishlist for your new website.

A Needs List cannot be compromised. It meets your marketing objectives and/or is required by an affiliate or 3rd-party software. We'll help you get this nailed-down in a timely manner.

A Wishlist is a great way to decide on the things that you'd like to add or change with your website redesign. It could be something mundane or a wild idea on the back of your mind.

The best way to put together a wishlist is to decide what are things you absolutely must have (Needs List) and then decide on the things that could be Phase 2 or outlined at a later date. By putting together a wishlist in this manner, you can share it with us and we can help you understand the timeline and monetary investment. We understand that any sound business has a budget. Although, there are situations where it makes sense to add a wishlist item during the initial design phases rather than wait.

Hopefully, by reading this far, we've gained your trust and confidence to make the first move and Contact Us. It never hurts to be prepared and having the aforementioned items ready will help get your project off to a great start and remain on-time and within budget.