How do you know you need to redesign a website? The most common indicators of the website's poor performance are:
- Zero to a small number of inquiries.
- It’s appearing a little shabby and like it belongs in the 1990s.
- Search engines aren’t finding your website.
- It’s not mobile-friendly and displays oddly on some devices.
“If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design.”
Ralf Speth
The 9 stage website redesign process by UI/UX specialists who done it at least 50 times:
Step #1 is an Audit.
Time allocation ~20h
It’s time to examine everything you have got and what are the main struggling point. Also, list down all the issues you noticed and think how to solve them with a new design. This can be a slow page loading speed or a high bounce rate on some pages.
Step #2 The Research
Time allocation ~20h
Based on the available information on the web and considering the audit outcomes it’s time to go deep into the user research and competitor research.
Step #3 Conducting the User Interviews
Time allocation ~20h
You got some extra time? Fantastic! Let’s talk to people, they know the best. Set up a couple of user interviews to see and hear how people interact with your and similar websites. What are the main struggling points for them? Listen and empathize. Stick to the open questions.
Step #4 The Moodboard Creation
Time allocation ~20h
Now, you have all the data you need (audit outcomes + interviews notes + research findings) to brainstorm some new ideas for the website.
With brainstorming, it’s easy to get creative and come up with all sorts of different directions. You need to choose 3 or 4 to begin with. We normally use Figma to compile 4 moodboards, each consisting of examples that match one style. For example, it can be a minimalistic moodboard or a modern one.
Step #5 The Informational structure
Time allocation ~20h
We are getting closer to technicalities. In order for a website to be engaging with little bounce rate you have to satisfy the user needs.Map out the informational structure to organize content in a flow the most engaging for visitors. Here you may need to consult a professional UX designers.
Step #6 The Wireframes
Time allocation ~20h
The time has come to finalize the website structure and get the final approval. This is a backbone of your website, make sure it’s a solid and valid one.
With the help of wireframing process you are able to see the content layout, functionality and how all the screens are connected. It’s highly needed for a smooth development process too.
Step #7 The Design concept
Time allocation ~20h
When all the technical work is done, it’s time for the first design concept. This is a very first design. Getting feedback is crucial here, it helps to navigate the future design changes.
Step #8 The UI work
Time allocation ~100h+
The direction is set, so it’s time to get to UI work to make the best design ever!
Step #9 The UI kit, handover (10h+)
Time allocation ~10h
After finishing the pages’ design and getting the final approval, it’s time to get all the documentation (UI kit) ready. The more detailed you get — the more easily you will be able use your new graphic elements in other visual materials or make some changes in the future.
Step #9.1 The Development
Time allocation ~100h+
100%Ready to make your design into a functioning site? With all documentation, wireframes you can easily convert them into the website
That’s it!🎉
By the end of the step #9 you should have all the designs ready to develop your beautiful website. Whatever you choose a custom software development, Wordpress or something simple like Webflow, Wix make sure to get a feedback from the audience as soon as you launch.
Where to get feedback?
- IndieHackers thread for Landing Page Feedback. This is a great place to get an opinion from someone totally unbiased, however make sure you are hearing it from your target audience.
- Ask Serhii, the Lead UI/UX Designer. He provides a complimentary design advise for our Medium readers. Messsage either him or drop an email to design@ralabs.org.
I hope you have enjoyed this article!
🖤 Yulia
