The biggest confusion between website revamp and redesign;
- Revamp – Rip and replace the entirety of the website.
- Redesign – Changing skin, akin to changing cloth
Website Revamp Meaning: A website revamp is a complete overhaul or redesign of a website. It can include a new design, layout, graphics, and content (information architecture).
Revamp take more than 3 months to complete (depending on complexity).
Purpose: To improve a site’s appearance and user experience which in turn generates traffic and profits.
1. Reason to Revamp Website
As Marketing Agency specialising in Website Revamp, we have interviewed over 250+ prospects over the course of 4 years, and charted the reasons to revamp their website:
45% Positioning the Market
Or perhaps repositioning the market. Strategy changes, brands evolve, people grew up, so does the market. The business has to follow where the market is. They also complain that the website is not generating leads and sales for the company.
28% Technology Debt
Technology debt is when the website codes has outlived its utility. This causes massive problem like incompatibility with new tech, introduces security gap, inefficient to run and overall slow.
17% Customer Complaints
Customer complaints came in the form of indirect and direct. “I can’t find anything on your website”, the direct method. The indirect is when they choose to seek call centre help, instead of online self-serve.
10% Others
Others are reasons that we can’t place. This includes directives from the top (change of management), receiving a budget allocation, and modernisation.
Whatever the reason, it all comes back to the business goal. Where are you revamping your website?
Start of easy with Website Objectives.
2. Scope of Work for Website Revamp
There is no specific scope to revamp; every project has its unique quirks, remarkableness and strategy. As a general guideline, these are the scope that you should expect from Website Revamp.
Change of User Flow
Typical a site was built using a sitemap, and it sucks because we’re not programmed to read all the content of the website. We consume info bit by bit. There’s a thought process that must be answered to persuade visitors to take the next step.
We take the visitors on a journey to understand your brand deeper until they are ready to smash that contact button.
Change Layout and Design
Some conventional elements like logo, menu button and footer may remain the same. This is what most internet users are used to. We give a new breath so that the information is consumed moderately, not a whole dump of data.
Improved Navigation
All links are not equal, so are pages. Commercial pages like service or product pages have higher priority than a blog post, because that’s where the money is.
Improved Functionality
Make it faster, remove clunky features, SEO friendly. These are the top 3 functions that must happen in a website revamp.
Content Creation
Most contents are rewritten to fit visitors perspectives. Skip the jargon, explain it to laymen. Unless the website is built specifically for professionals, then keep it simple and direct.
Animation
I won’t sweat over animations. However, it seems like an essential feature to compete with another cool looking websites. The key is to use it moderately.
3. Risks of a Website Revamp
There are a few risks associated with a website revamp. The most common risk is that the revamp will not live up to expectations. Some users may like it, some users may hate it. Consider the case of Maybank in 2013.
Users hated it so much they wrote to the news, Maybank quickly reverted back to the old design.
Another risk is that the revamp will be too expensive or time-consuming, resulting in a loss of money or time. Consider Hertz (car rental company), who spent USD 32 million on Accenture to revamp the website.
The website never made it, the core problem was the followings,
- Not responsive design – it’s 2017, the world has shifted to mobile.
- No technical expert – despite claiming having the best talent in the world.
- Vulnerable code – it was easy to hack
- No testing & documentation – did not perform error handling
Conclusion: Website Revamp Meaning
A website revamp can be a great way to improve your website’s look and feel. But it is a major project and should be planned carefully. There are risks associated with website revamps, but they can be minimised if you plan and execute the project correctly.
Read more Ultimate Guide to Website Revamp.
Hire us to build a persuasive website design Malaysia for your brand.
