Does My Site Need a Redesign?
01/30/08
Brian Cendrowski, VP, Web Services

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One of the most agonizing questions for many organizations is whether to redesign their Web site or to continue to modify and update their current site. It is not an easy decision. After all, a new Web site is a large commitment of time and money.

Unfortunately, there is no textbook or universal indicator to tell you when it is time to put your old site to bed and start over with a new Web site. However, you can start by asking yourself this question: "Is my current Web site still helping my organization achieve its goals?" If the answer is "no," or even "I don't know," then it may be time to explore a redesign.

The main purpose of your Web site is to serve as a tool that helps your organization achieve its goals. If you have not identified how you can use your Web site to help your organization, how do you know if it is effective? Before deciding to invest in a new site, you should analyze your current site to see if it still aligns with what you are trying to accomplish.

Here are a few other things to consider when thinking about a redesign:

Style
Like clothing, the Web has certain styles that fade in and out of fashion over time. Just like that sweater that has been in your dresser for a few winters, your Web site can look dated within two or three years. While style and appearance might seem superficial, this is an important point to consider.

Trust, credibility, and perception are very important aspects of a Web site. If someone is going to spend their money on your site or look to you as a resource for accurate information, it is important to appear as a successful and up-to-date organization. A modern Web site lets visitors know that you are still around and that you actually make the effort to maintain your site.

New Content
Have you been slowly adding new content to your site over the past three or four years without reorganizing how the information is arranged? I have seen this happen to dozens and dozens of Web sites, and what usually results is a tangled, unusable mess.

The reason this occurs is that when a Web site is originally designed, it is built with a certain structure and content in mind. However, over time the organization changes and new content is added to the site that was never part of the original plan. If this goes on long enough without taking a step back and reorganizing the content and site structure, you will end up with a Web site that is as friendly to use as Frankenstein. Visitors will have a hard time finding the information they are looking for and they will get frustrated and leave.

When you start over with a new Web site, it gives you the opportunity to organize all the content you have into a logical and user-friendly manner. Not only that, but it is a great opportunity for some housekeeping, and you can get rid of a lot of old content that is no longer useful.

New Brand
If your organization has undergone a rebranding effort, most of the time your old site will not reflect your new brand. It is often not as simple as changing out a logo or colors, either. There is a look and feel to your current site that matched your old brand, and your site will probably not align with your new brand.

New Technology
New Internet technologies are being developed at a very fast rate. Many of these new technologies are unproven, and I do not recommend integrating technology for the sake of using the "latest and greatest." However, if your current site is several years old, there are probably some very useful tools that have been widely accepted since your site was built.

For instance, a couple of technologies that have been widely adopted in the past couple years are RSS feeds and streaming audio and video. If your Web site is more than two years old, you probably do not use any of these on your site.

The bottom line with a redesign is the same as with any other investment: are you going to get a good return on the time and money you spend for a new site? If a new site will give you a good return and help your organization more than your current site, then it might be time for a redesign.