After working on multiple website redesign and refresh projects, I personally know that redesigning a website can be a great feeling, which means – Out with the Old and In with the New. But as exciting as the project to redesign a website can be, there are equally, more important and critical things that need to be taken into consideration when evaluating if your website is a relevant candidate for the redesign.
While, there can be many good reasons to redesign a website but to those, there can be some equally important reason when a redesign project can be an ill- timed project with a huge investment of time and money. The most common of the mistakes we do while deciding to take up a redesign project is that – we feel our website is old or we have grown bored of the look and feel of it, without remembering that we look at our site every day, while our customers and audience don’t.
The meaning of website and its use has evolved over the last few years along with the evolution of digital world and Internet from Web -> Web 2.0 -> Web 3.0, and most of the time, instead of taking up a redesign project, Realigning your website to the new strategy is more beneficial than redesigning it, more so because, realignment as compared to redesign has a much greater focus on user experience and usability of the web.
Market trends have shifted. Should our website be adjusted accordingly?
And, if the answer to above question, is yes- it could be possible that you are looking to realign your website so that the user can have the full understanding of your products and services.
With realignment, you’re addressing specific issues with the structure or functionality of the site, in addition to design changes.
“The desire to redesign is aesthetic-driven, while the desire to realign is purpose-driven.” One approach seeks merely to refresh, the other aims to fully reposition and may or may not include a full refresh.
There can be multiple reasons to take up, either a realignment or a redesign project for your website, but the most important should be the one which helps in driving conversions from your online visitor, in accordance to your business model.For some of the websites even a minor change could be the best solution, while the others might be in for a bigger change to get the desired result, but the best way to drive that change for your website is to let it be guided by your business requirement and goals.
Further Resources
Good Designers Redesign, Great Designers Realign
The original article by Cameron Moll discussing the difference between redesigning and realigning, from A List Apart.
