Many organizations jump into a website redesign, thinking it’s the silver bullet for digital marketing woes. The premise seems straightforward: fix the old and bring in the new, and customers will follow. A web redesign gives many opportunities to communicate your brand clearly while giving your customers a better experience. Yet, a redesign may come with a surprisingly hefty price tag. While a site redesign is often a good solution, given its potential cost, considering if there are other practical and less costly methods for reaching customers may be in your organization’s best interest. Gathering information is an excellent first step for any investment. Let’s look at when a website redesign is the best answer and when enhancing your website’s visibility through SEO optimization is the better investment for your organization.
Website Redesign: What is it?
Website redesign involves a complete overhaul of your existing website and aims to update its visual appeal, user experience, and overall functionality. A website redesign is far more than changing visuals; it also includes rethinking how the site is used and rethinking site architecture to improve navigation and conversion rates. A redesign can address outdated designs, slow loading speeds, or a poor mobile experience. This process is helpful for brands whose websites have become misaligned with their current market strategies or corporate identity or those whose sites simply don’t work well.
However, website redesign requires time, money, and resources. Organizations that carefully evaluate whether a web redesign is the best use of resources and whether the ROI justifies the cost and possible disruption are more likely to have a successful outcome.
SEO Optimization: Refine Your Site
SEO optimization improves your site’s visibility for the consumers looking for what you offer on search engines. Often, all it takes is minor technical fixes and steady SEO optimization to gain the customers or conversions you’re after with a site design. How do you rank higher in search engine results? It involves various practices, including:
- Keyword research to understand what potential customers use to search for products and services.
- Webpage optimization that ensures those keywords are present in strategic locations.
- Technical SEO to enhance site speed and mobile responsiveness.
Unlike a complete redesign, SEO targets your site’s visibility directly, focusing on attracting the right customers for you. This practical approach can yield measurable improvement in traffic and engagement rates and may be a good choice for businesses whose sites are working well.
SEO Optimization: Unlock Your Website’s Potential Without Breaking the Bank
What if you can find the increase in traffic and conversions you’re looking for without the investment of a complete website redesign? Think of your website as a house you want guests to enjoy visiting. If you take a functional, comfortable home and do a complete remodel, your guests may have an even better, more exciting place to socialize. However, if you do a full remodel but don’t repair the broken roads, update your address on the map, and ensure your street lights are working and your street signs are highly visible, how will anyone find your house?
With a few technical tweaks and a solid SEO strategy aligned with your organization’s offerings, many websites are ready to start ranking. And, if you do decide to go forward with a website redesign, optimizing your website for SEO is an essential step toward your site’s success.
The Real Cost of Website Redesigns: Is it Worth the Investment?
How much do website redesigns cost? Well, it varies, depending on the size and complexity of the site in question. According to Hubspot, a bare-bones DIY redesign can cost as little as $100 but can quickly run into the $3,000 range or higher. Working with an agency will bump up the price considerably, from $5,000 to $30,000 +. A large, complicated site, like one with a robust e-commerce feature, can easily crack $50,000 to $75,000. It’s also important to note that this is the cost of the redesign; it does not include the cost of your team members coordinating the redesign or the cost of downtime if the site is offline.
As you can see, there isn’t a straightforward answer; it all depends on your site and goals. Working with a professional is often a good choice for the less technically inclined or simply busy business owner.
When to Consider a Website Redesign
A website redesign is necessary when your site is fundamentally broken or outdated to the point where incremental improvements can’t bridge the gap. Significant issues that indicate a redesign is needed are:
- Poor functionality on your site’s front and backend: If visitors can’t easily find their way to conversions or your team can’t efficiently work on the site’s backend, your site design could hinder your success.
- Lack of mobile optimization: More and more people search for services and products from their mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets. 96% of Americans from the ages of 18-29 own a smartphone. In early 2024, about two-thirds of all online shopping orders were placed with a smartphone, and three-quarters of people browsing retail sites did so from their smartphones.
- It’s time to rebrand: If your organization is undergoing a rebrand, then a freshly designed site with aesthetics and increased functionality for the user and backend team is essential. However, optimizing for SEO is vital to any redesign; what good is a shiny new site if your right customers can’t find it?
Elevate Your Website with Cadence SEO
At CadenceSEO, we understand how important a good website is to any business’s success. That’s why we encourage our clients to choose the best option for their site: a complete site redesign and SEO optimization or optimization alone. With our technical expertise and skilled team, we can help you determine which path is best for your business and will develop a customized SEO strategy to put your site and business on the map. Contact CadecnceSEO today for a free consultation.
