Website redesign vs website refresh – what do you need?

James Hussey

There comes a point with almost every business website when it starts to feel a little tired. The design might look dated, some of the content no longer reflects what you do or perhaps the website simply isn’t generating the enquiries it once did.

A website refresh is usually the right approach when the foundations are still good. The website works properly, people can find their way around, it performs well on mobile and the structure still suits the business. In that situation, updating the design, replacing old images, improving the wording and tidying up individual pages could give the site a new lease of life.

A website redesign is a much bigger job.

This is worth considering when the problems go beyond appearance. Perhaps the navigation has become confusing because your business now offers far more services than it did when the website was built. Maybe the site is difficult to update, painfully slow or simply doesn’t work particularly well on modern phones.

Businesses change too. A website built five years ago might have been perfect for the company you were then, but completely wrong for the company you’ve become.

There’s also SEO to think about. If your existing website already performs well in Google, you don’t want a redesign to accidentally undo years of work. Changing page addresses, removing content or restructuring the website without planning redirects can cause problems, so SEO should be considered throughout any redesign rather than after the new website has gone live.

The important thing is not to redesign a website simply because you’re bored with it.

Look at what is actually wrong. If the structure works and the website just needs bringing up to date, refresh it. If the website is actively getting in the way of your marketing, sales or future plans, a full redesign is likely to make far more sense.

Your website should fit the business you have today, not the business you had when it was first built.

If you need any assistance deciding if it’s a redesign or a refresh that your website needs in order to get the best out of it, please get in touch with us at Engage Web.

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James Hussey

Digital Marketing Executive at Engage Web

Having once gone to school in the Burnage area of Manchester known for being the childhood home of Noel and Liam Gallagher, “Some Might Say” that James is a “Supersonic” presence within Engage Web, happily turning his hand to “Whatever” tasks his role throws at him.