Website redesign: a new lease of life for your SME

 

By 2025, it will be essential for any business to plan its commercial development with a strong, active digital presence. Rapid technological advances and changing consumer habits will require powerful online tools, necessitating effective SEO optimization to improve visibility on search engines, starting with an attractive and functional website.

 

Why should you consider redesigning your website?

 

If your company already has a website, it is crucial to keep it up to date to meet the evolving expectations of your target audience and the ever-changing requirements of search engines. Otherwise, a complete overhaul of your site will be necessary. This transformation will not be limited to a simple graphic and visual change, but will aim to make your virtual storefront an effective tool for generating qualified leads and stimulating the growth of your business.

 

A well-thought-out website redesign begins with careful consideration of your company's optimization needs and the user experience. Upstream, it is essential to define clear specifications, including the objectives to be achieved, the allocated budget, and the time required for each stage of the project. Optimizing the web architecture and design must be at the heart of this process, ensuring a smooth user experience on all types of screens, whether on a computer, tablet, or smartphone.

 

The integration of modern features and improved technical performance are also crucial for meeting current standards and improving visibility on search engines. By working with an agency specializing in SEO, technical optimization, and digital marketing, you can benefit from valuable expertise to ensure the success of your website redesign project.

 

In conclusion, this transformation represents a unique opportunity to increase your online presence, improve user engagement, and strengthen your company's brand image in an ever-changing digital world. 

What is a website redesign?

A website redesign involves changing its functionality and/or visual appearance in order to adapt it to the company's digital or marketing developments. There are two main types of website redesign:

 

  • The graphic redesign, which is limited to modifying the site's design;
  • Structural redesign, which involves a thorough transformation of the structure and tree structure, often accompanied by a change in CMS (content management system).

 

Depending on your needs and the condition of your site, the redesign process will be more or less extensive. This is an important operation in the life of a website, which must be thought out and prepared in advance in order to reap the maximum benefits.

 

The steps involved in redesigning a website are virtually identical to those involved in creating a website:

 

  • Project definition: SEO audit, technical analysis, and specifications;
  • Layout: creation of mock-ups of web pages;
  • Development: installation and configuration of the CMS, development of features;

 

These different phases are orchestrated by a web project manager to achieve optimal results.

 

The web project manager, with their expertise and strategic vision, coordinates each step with precision. They ensure that the website redesign meets the specific needs of the company, taking into account the objectives set beforehand. Through careful consideration of the architecture and design, they guarantee a smooth and optimized user interface for a better experience and conversion. Working with designers and developers, they ensure that content is optimized for SEO, thereby improving visibility on search engines. Each change is carefully planned to stay within budget and meet deadlines. The project manager also oversees testing, ensuring that the new version of the site works perfectly on all devices, whether computers or smartphones. In short, they orchestrate a complex process to transform the existing platform into a powerful, modern tool capable of attracting and retaining users while strengthening the brand image. 

 

What are the benefits of redesigning a website?

1/ An improved user experience

Has your website been online for several years and is now obsolete?

 

Your website contributes to your brand image and conveys your values to your prospects, customers, and partners. First impressions are crucial: a home page with an outdated design can scare away visitors, which will increase your bounce rate.

 

Thanks to the redesign, you will benefit from a more modern, attractive, and user-friendly website. It will offer a better user experience (UX), helping you stand out from your competitors and encourage visitor conversion.

2/ Optimal technical performance

Is your website too slow and not optimized for mobile browsing?

 

Nowadays, it is essential to create a responsive design website that is compatible with all types of screens and browsers. In fact, 64% of French people access the internet from their smartphones. A mobile-friendly website is more accessible and therefore generates more traffic. Page loading times should also be as short as possible (less than 3 seconds).

 

The redesign allows you to benefit from a fast, high-performance website that meets current display standards. These criteria improve the user experience, but also your website's positioning, since Google takes them into account for its ranking.

3/ Better visibility on search engines

Is your website not appearing in Google's top results and generating few visits?

 

The redesign allows you to work on your natural referencing or SEO (Search Engine Optimization). An optimized site meets Google's ranking algorithm requirements to ensure you a better position in search results.

 

Natural referencing depends on the technical performance of the site, but also oncontent optimization. Redesigning your site is therefore an opportunity to implement a content marketing strategy: choosing keywords, working on semantics, defining the editorial line, etc.

4/ A secure website

Does your website URL begin with "http" rather than "https"?

 

Since 2017, Google's algorithm has favored HTTPS (HyperText Transport Protocol Secure) sites. This protocol guarantees a secure connection between the server and the browser thanks to an SSL certificate.

 

If your site uses the HTTP protocol, you risk being penalized by the display of an "unsecure" label and losing traffic. Take advantage of the redesign to increase the security level of your site by switching to HTTPS. This will boost SEO and inspire more confidence in your visitors.

5/ Adding features

Would you like to upgrade your website to offer new services to your customers?

 

Much more than just a showcase, your website should be viewed as an essential marketing tool for optimizing visitor conversion. This medium is the cornerstone of your digital strategy.

 

The redesign allows youto add features to build loyalty and convert your audience: article sharing, newsletter sign-up form, user area, online booking or sales, order tracking, etc.

6/ An increase in the conversion rate

Is your website optimized and performing well from a technical standpoint, but not converting?

 

The most important thing is not the aesthetics or design of your website, but the quality of the content you publish and its ability to convert. Conversion occurs when a visitor performs the desired action: signing up for a newsletter, filling out a form, placing an order, etc.

 

The redesignoptimizes lead collection and conversion by adjusting various parameters: increasing page loading speed, optimizing forms, adding calls to action, etc.

How to successfully redesign your website?

1/ Organize an audit of your current website and your competitors' websites

Before proceeding with the redesign, you should ideally analyze your existing site to identify its strengths and weaknesses. This audit consists of four steps:

 

  • Technical audit: loading speed, mobile compatibility, number of indexed pages, indexing issues, traffic volume, bounce rate, and conversion rate;
  • SEO audit: keyword positioning, page structure, HTML markup;
  • Browsing audit: menu intuitiveness, ergonomics.

 

Also scan your competitors' websites (for example, using SEO Quantum software) to create a competitive benchmark that will help you stand out from your rivals.

2/ Draft specifications to define your objectives

Following the audit phase, it is essential to consider your needs and expectations in order to define the scope of your redesign project. To facilitate communication with your service provider, draw up a set of specifications that includes the following elements:

 

  • a presentation of the company (activity, market, products or services, key figures, etc.);
  • the objectives of the redesign;
  • your budget and a provisional schedule(planning of interviews, delivery date, etc.).

 

To maximize your chances of achieving the desired results, set your goals using the SMART method: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

3/ Opt for a content management system

Proprietary solutions should be avoided, as they require you to go through the service provider to update your site. For greater flexibility, opt for a site that can be managed via a CMS (content management system). This will allow you to create and publish your content independently, even without any knowledge of HTML.

 

Choose an open source CMS such as WordPress, the most widely used content management system in the world. Numerous themes and plug-ins are available to customize your website while staying true to your graphic charter.

4/ Optimize your website

One of the main objectives of the redesign is to improve your site's natural search engine optimization. The focus should therefore be onSEO optimization of the following parameters:

 

  • Technical aspects: responsive design, implementation of an SSL certificate, 301 redirection of old pages, creation of the robots.txt file;
  • Content: editorial quality, SEO optimization with keyword and semantic work, HTML markup (H1/H2/H3 tags, title, meta description), page URLs;
  • User experience: ergonomics, easy navigation thanks to internal linking, short and clear menu, attractive visuals;
  • Conversion: insertion of CTAs (call to action), form management, creation of landing pages, analysis of the purchasing journey.

 

To improve the efficiency and optimization of your website, you need to connect it to your company's digital ecosystem: CRM (customer relationship management), Google Analytics and Google Search Console accounts, social media, email marketing platform, lead scoring tools, etc.

5/ Make your website redesign a long-term project

The redesign is just the beginning of the process: it's then up to you to bring your new site to life! Once it's online, promote it through various communication channels (social media, marketing emails, etc.) to invite your leads to discover it. Internet users (and Google) love fresh content: regularly provide them with relevant information through a blog or news section.

 

With the right editorial strategy, you can optimize your SEO and increase your organic traffic in the long term. Your CMS also needs to be updated frequently for performance and security reasons.

6/ Entrust your redesign project to a professional

Choosing the right service provider is crucial to the success of your redesign project. It can be difficult to find a freelancer who has all the necessary skills: design, development, integration, SEO, search engine optimization, marketing, project management, web content writing, etc.

 

The simplest solution is often to call on an agency specializing in SEO and website redesign. Thanks to the expertise of its multidisciplinary team, Autour de l'Image supports you from A to Z in the creation or redesign of your B2B website using WordPress.

 

Would you like to generate more leads with a turnkey website?

 

About the author

Philippe Rigault

Philippe is the Founding President of Autour de l’Image. After 15 years in logistics (DHL) and strategic consulting, he founded the agency in 2007 for SMEs and mid-market companies. His unique approach: he doesn't just do communications; he builds growth. Philippe applies the operational rigor of logistics to B2B strategy. He helps executives transform their vision into a profitable growth engine. His goal is to ensure that marketing (digital, content, brand) is an investment. To do this, he relies on the "Strategic Compass" methodology he developed at Autour de l'Image.

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