Web design isn't just colorful graphics and fun mouse-over effects; it requires a lot of forethought and strategic planning. I decided to write about the process involved in my recent site redesign, to give an idea of the way I work, as well as some useful tips to consider when planning for your own website design or redesign. In this post, I take a look at the initial planning I did before I even opened up my graphics programs or wrote that first line of code for the new site.

Is My Website Working for Me?

That was the first question I asked myself when I started to think about redesigning Lilac Creative, and it's one that all website owners should be asking themselves on a regular basis: Is your website actively working to aid your business? In today's business climate not having a website can be detrimental to a company's credibility, but having a poorly-designed or out-of-date website can be just as bad--if not worse--than having no website at all. Website owners should reevaluate their website on a regular basis to make sure it consistently meets the needs of the business or company it represents. A healthy business grows and changes to stay competitive and keep up with the changing needs of clients. If you don't update your website to meet the needs of your business' growth, your website can become a liability instead of an asset.

So, how do you determine whether or not your website is working for you? You need to have a clear understanding of your business' growth direction, and examine your website to make sure it is following that direction. It could be just a matter of simply changing colors on the site to match updated branding, or updating the site's copy to reflect a new mission statement. Or you might find that the new growth of your business requires your website to take on a different roll altogether. Perhaps your site started out as a basic informational site but now that your product has taken off, you'd like to be able to sell directly from your site. Evaluate your business' needs and then examine your website to see if it is efficiently meeting those needs. Consider new possibilities for your site that will meet more of your business' needs. It's your website; put it to work for you.

Examining the Roll My Website Plays

Unlike businesses that have a physical location where their storefront or office is the first place a client interacts with their business and their website is an auxiliary marketing/information tool, almost 100% of my business comes through my website, basically making my website the face of my entire business. When I first started freelancing, I knew the presentation of my portfolio needed to be a priority. This was most likely where people would go first, to see exactly the kind of work I do, and to decide whether or not my style and quality would fit their needs. With that in mind, my original site design gave careful consideration to the portfolio. Another important area of the site was the contact page. I needed a contact form that functioned well and gathered the right information to help me evaluate projects submitted through my website in order to give an accurate quote. Focusing on these things in my first design was a good start and the special attention to these areas paid off. My website brought projects in, and I saw my business grow. But the growth of my business also revealed to me areas of my site that were lacking, and showed me new opportunities that my old website wasn't well-suited to address.

The Evolving Needs of My Business

When I first started out, project inquiries trickled in slowly. I would do one or two quick, small projects in a month, and my freelance income was little more than hobby money. But the more sites I did, the more inquiries I started to receive. This also resulted in bigger projects, and more of them, but two problems started to arise. One, I was spending hours each day answering inquiries, which cut into my billable work hours. And two, I found that many of the inquiries I was receiving were either not prepared for my prices or not serious about their project, so I was wasting my time answering them but had no way of telling the serious inquiries from the non-serious. I also found that on top of inquiries, I was receiving many of the same questions from potential clients about my work process, what was included in my services, etc., making that much more correspondence work for me. It became clear to me that my website needed to provide more information to potential clients, and that by posting a basic pricing structure I could give people looking to hire me a pricing point of reference so they could know ahead of time whether or not my work would fit their budget. 

As my business grew, I also started looking at new product/services I could offer, and at ways to better serve my clients. Some of the things I brainstormed were possibly opening up my own blog theme shop, and providing clients with a private support forum. At the time of my redesign, I was not prepared to implement these ideas, but I wanted my new site to be easily expanded to include these things if/when I do decide to go ahead with them. I felt that my old site's CMS was not the best option for what I had in mind.

Lastly, I felt that the design of my old site no longer reflected the direction my business was headed in. It was very bright and colorful, and geared specifically towards women bloggers. I was starting to work more and more with small business owners--both men and women--and felt that my old site design wasn't reaching my full target audience.

The Goals for My Redesign

After examining all of that, I came up with a list of concrete goals that I wanted my redesign to accomplish:

• A more professional site design that follows the new direction my business is taking (focusing less on vanity blogs, and more on small business solutions)
• Provide more information to educate clients on what makes a good website, exactly what I do and the value behind it, as well as my design/development process
• Include basic pricing structures to give people an idea of what to expect in a quote, thereby eliminating non-serious inquiries
• Encourage all inquiries to come through my inquiry form, so that I have the information I need in order to give a quote
• Separate logo design portfolio from web design portfolio in order to eliminate confusion about what is and isn't my work, and to make each easier to browse
• Be built on a more flexible and feature-rich CMS that would allow for easy site expansion, membership management and possible eCommerce; to accommodate directions I can see my business going in in the future

With these specific features in mind, I then started to think about the design aspect of my new site. And I'll blog more about that in part two!

Share Your Experience

If you've been involved in the process of rethinking a website, you know the work involved. What new ways were you able to find to make your site work for you? I'd love to hear your ideas and experiences!

Update:

Here's a great article to read if you're considering a redesign yourself: Preparing and Planning for a Redesign by the folks over at Webdesigner Depot