When considering whether it is the right time to redesign your website, you should ask yourself what's driving the question in the first place. Website redesigns definitely have their place, but you're obviously better off doing one for the right reasons.

Today we'll take a look at what some of those reasons — right or wrong — may be. You can read the email below or listen to it in podcast form by clicking here. Call me at (847) 844-8640 or send me a note if you like what you hear/read!

"Our existing website doesn't reflect our current business model."

A change in focus is a great opportunity to re-align your website with your company's business goals. This change often affords you the opportunity to rebuild your site from the bottom up.

"It's been a few years since the last redesign."

No doubt there's something to be said for keeping the look of your site refreshed and relevant, while also making necessary upgrades in terms of functionality and user experience. But don't get too locked into the commonly-held wisdom that a website design life cycle only lasts between 18-36 months. It's not so much the amount of time that elapses between redesigns, but rather the timing of the redesign.

"There's money in the budget."

Well, having extra money in the budget can hardly be a bad thing, but before allocating those funds to a full-scale website redesign, you need to perform some simple due diligence. Start with a site review/audit. Does your current content, design, navigation system, etc. still hold up or is it suffering any fatigue? What does your user data tell you? Any numbers slipping?

"Our main competitors just redesigned their websites and they've passed us by."

Nothing like a little competition to get the heart racing. If you are considering a website redesign and performing your due diligence, checking out your competitors' websites is mandatory. There's a lot you can learn from what they're doing—and not doing—in relation to your site.

"Our customers can't seem to find what they're looking for on our site."

This is a pretty substantial reason to move forward with a redesign. If your customers are having difficulty you had better address the problem…fast. A negative online experience can do damage to your brand, which can be hard to overcome.

Full-scale website redesigns are big deals. They typically consume multiple resources, months of planning and execution, and budget. The good news is that when you give the go-ahead for a redesign after proper due diligence, you and your customers will stand to benefit from the results. Effective website redesigns can go a long way to sustaining and, in many cases, improving and extending your brand image.

Do you have another reason and aren't sure if it's the right time or not? Send me a note or call me at 847-844-8640 and we can talk more.

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