Navigating the Website Redesign Cost Maze for Optimal Results
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summary

Dive into the intricacies of website redesign costs. From budgeting strategies to navigating hidden expenses, explore a comprehensive guide to ensure your website transformation is both seamless and cost-effective. Discover the keys to a successful redesign journey.

Introduction to Website Redesign Services

Let’s get this straight: each company, whether startup or enterprise-level, wants and needs a website that showcases its expertise and attitude toward work. A company’s online presence has a major influence on its success. Ideally, and at the very least, such a website needs to have a simple and easy-to-navigate menu with services, cases, prices, and, most importantly, an “About Us” page. Custom designs tailored to your brand identity and business objectives are essential for creating a unique and effective online presence. Otherwise, your customers won’t be able to understand if you’re a great match for their needs. Data shows it only takes users 0.05seconds to form an opinion about a website, meaning you won’t have a second chance to impress your potential customers. Optimizing your website for site visitors by enhancing navigation and engagement is crucial to making a positive first impression. So, where are we headed with this?

An effective website design is one of the best things you can do for your business growth. But what can you do if your website was designed and built years ago? Chances are, you need to redesign it to meet the needs of a modern consumer who, by the way,  won’t wait more than two seconds for a page to load. Integrating digital marketing strategies into your redesign can maximize engagement and conversions.

Long story short, this article is for those who are considering redesigning their websites but feel like it’s a tough nut to crack. Here we’ll provide you with an average cost of website redesign, teach you how to choose a reliable partner depending on your needs, and many more.

Getting Started with Website Redesign

Embarking on a website redesign is an exciting opportunity to elevate your brand’s online presence and drive business growth. The first step in the redesign process is to clearly define your goals and objectives. Are you aiming to improve user experience, boost search engine rankings, or refresh your brand identity? Pinpointing these priorities will shape every decision moving forward.

Next, conduct a thorough analysis of your existing website. Identify what’s working well and where there’s room for improvement. This assessment should include a review of your site’s structure, content, and performance metrics. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your current website will help you develop a targeted redesign strategy that addresses real needs.

Equally important is identifying your target audience. Consider who your ideal website visitors are, what information they seek, and how they interact with your site. Tailoring your redesign to meet the needs and preferences of your target audience ensures a more intuitive user experience and increases the likelihood of achieving your business objectives.

By taking a structured approach to the website redesign process—setting clear goals, analyzing your existing website, and focusing on your target audience—you lay the foundation for a successful project that enhances your brand identity and supports long-term business growth.

What is a Website Redesign

A website redesign is a process of changing the code, structure, content, and visuals of your website. A custom design approach ensures the new website aligns with your branding, target audience, and specific needs. Unlike website refresh that involves only minor changes, redesign takes quite some time, but let’s discuss everything in order.

A redesign often involves updating visual elements to create a cohesive and attractive user interface, which enhances the overall look and feel of your site.

The ultimate goal of a website redesign is to deliver improved user experiences that drive engagement and loyalty.

Understanding the Need for a Website Redesign

Now, how do you know it’s time for a website redesign? An outdated site can harm your business performance and credibility, making it harder to attract and retain customers. Although signs may vary, websites that need it generally have several things in common:

If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, has a high bounce rate, loads slowly, isn’t optimized for SEO, has outdated content, confusing navigation, or simply looks old, it’s probably time for a change.

Start by analyzing your website. It’s important to thoroughly assess your existing site to identify what’s working and what needs improvement before planning any updates. Look at your analytics, review your content, and get feedback from users to pinpoint problem areas.

A site redesign addresses these common issues, helping to improve brand strength and user experience.

Your website is not optimized for mobile devices

Did you know that back in 2015, Google changed the way mobile-friendly websites are ranked? Since then, websites without a mobile-optimized version have been ranked lower than those with. Creating a responsive website is essential for reaching more users and ensuring your site’s appearance aligns with your brand’s image. If your business is one of them, it’s high time you start your redesign journey.

Your website has a high bounce rate

A “bounce” is something that happens when a visitor leaves your website after viewing only one page (single-page session). Such a lack of interest can usually have various reasons — either visitors are pushed away by your site’s design and layout or navigation. Optimizing landing pages is crucial, as well-designed landing pages can better engage visitors, reduce bounce rates, and increase lead generation. Frankly, high bounce rates are major red flags, so if your analysis shows 55% and higher, it’s probably high time you think about redesigning.

It is too slow

If you think your customers will wait more than a minute for your website to load, think again. One in four visitors will leave a page if it takes more than 4 seconds for it to load. More than that, about 64% of people who are dissatisfied with their website experience will go shopping elsewhere. We could drown you in more statistics, but you catch our drift. It’s super crucial to ensure one thing responsible for your internet presence operates well and loads fast. If not, you know what to do.

Broken links and zero-to-no search engine optimization

Broken links inevitably lead to poor user experience, while SEO optimization significantly improves your chances of getting noticed. Optimizing your website for search engines like Google and Bing increases your visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) and drives more organic traffic. If you’re getting noticed, there’s more traffic. Once there’s more traffic, your sales will go up.

Loads of outdated content

Content is a king, but outdated content makes a king vulnerable. Imagine if you’re visiting a website with service pages filled with inaccurate pricing or outdated product information. What’s your impression of the brand? It’s nowhere near positive. Redesign and content updates often go hand-in-hand, so if your website’s pages eagerly await the touch of a skilled content artisan, you might as well begin your redesign journey.

Your website is hard to navigate

Some sites lack logic behind what goes where which decreases your chances of selling your product or service. In fact, a study conducted by Clutch claims that 94% of website visitors believe easy navigation is the single most important factor that decides whether they stay or leave.

It has an outdated design

The tech world is evolving at the speed of light, and new practices and approaches appear almost every day. If it’s been ages since your last website redesign took place, the time has probably come.

Updating your website’s design can significantly enhance your brand image and build trust with your audience.

Types of Website Redesigns

Before starting this intricate, yet at times challenging journey, it’s important to understand what degree of changes your website actually needs. There are various redesign service options available to suit different business needs and goals, ranging from minor updates to comprehensive transformations. No matter if you need a slight refresh of an existing color scheme to match your brand or a complete overhaul, let’s first tackle the basics.

Cosmetic Redesign

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This type is the easiest one. It requires the least time and money investment. In a nutshell, if you choose a cosmetic redesign, you’ll likely update a color scheme and fonts for a more attractive image. Updating visual elements like images, icons, and graphics can further enhance the website’s appeal, reinforce brand identity, and create a cohesive brand aesthetic. Think of this type of redesign as a chance to make it more visually appealing and aligned with your brand identity.

Functional Redesign

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Unlike the cosmetic type, functional redesign involves way more changes to the overall functionality and the underlying structure and interactive elements. This type of redesign often requires significant website development to improve technical performance, security, and user experience. You know it’s time to consider these changes if they provide a poor customer experience, extended loading times, inefficient mobile versions, security concerns, and loads of other indicators. By the way, when you find a trustworthy and experienced design studio to work on your project, they’ll help you understand what kind of redesign you need.

Full-scale Overhaul

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In some cases, you don’t need a redesign; instead, you need a full transformation of your website. A common mistake in this situation would be viewing this type of redesign as an improvement of the current website, but it goes beyond this. Think of it as creating something completely new, more efficient, appealing, responsive, and modern. A full-scale overhaul can result in a brand-new website that transforms your online presence and delivers a fresh, modern experience. A full-scale overhaul can take up to six months or more if you have a complex project to complete.

DIY vs. Professional Redesign

Whatever people say, it’s usually about money. No matter how diverse your budget is, if there’s a chance to save some costs, you’ll likely do so. But when it comes to website redesign, it’s not always a good idea. Sure, you can utilize tools for a DIY redesign, but keep in mind that it requires significant time and investment without guaranteeing quality. In case you don’t have any prior experience using these tools, you might consider working with a freelancer to guide you along the way. Also, use a template — although it won’t give you full customization freedom, it’ll make your life much easier. But, again, if there’s an opportunity to hire an agency with years of experience and a diverse portfolio — go for it. Working with a web design agency provides comprehensive solutions for website creation, redesign, and ongoing support. Professional web designers bring a high level of expertise and quality, ensuring your website is user-friendly, visually appealing, and effective in driving conversions. Because there’s a significant difference between working with a website redesign company and freelancers — the former employs strategy when building your website.

This brings us to the second, and frankly, more reliable option. A professional studio takes your website redesign to a completely new level, utilizing its research capabilities, creating an action plan for an improved UX, and providing strict deadlines. Professional website redesign services are essential for improving user experience, website functionality, and search engine optimization. As a result, you won’t only get a plan but also an end-to-end execution with fully dedicated designers, developers, and a project manager. Sure, the team composition can depend on your project size and complexity, but one thing remains unchanged — your complete assurance of the project’s quality.

Website Redesign Cost: What You Need to Know

We’ve already mentioned that working with a design studio will require more cost investments, but the key question is the following — what determines the cost? Redesign services involve updating the design, enhancing website functionality, and improving SEO and content to ensure a modern, effective site. Below, we’ll explain what specific factors contribute to the pricing of your website redesign.

A successful redesign project requires careful planning, resource allocation, and collaboration to achieve the desired results.

Understanding the scope of your website redesign project is key to budgeting and achieving your goals.

Number of pages

Your website’s scale is the primary factor that determines how much it will cost you to make it easy on the eye. Needless to say, more complex websites with loads of pages and complex menus require more resources, planning, and people to ensure every little detail, the whole kit, and caboodle operate well.

Additionally, the number and complexity of landing pages can significantly affect both the overall cost and the effectiveness of your website redesign, as well-designed landing pages play a crucial role in engaging visitors and increasing lead generation.

Design Complexity

Unique layouts, custom graphics, and animations will take more time, so you’ll have to pay more. Custom designs tailored to your brand identity and business objectives can further increase both the complexity and value of your website. Incorporating responsive designs ensures your website looks and functions well on all devices, including mobile, tablet, and desktop, which can also impact project complexity and cost. But don’t worry. An experienced agency will take your opinion into account and advise you on the best design elements that will reflect your branding. Sometimes less is more, so if you carefully choose an agency, they’ll balance things out.

Project’s Urgency

In case of super tight deadlines, a design studio will have to utilize more people, attention, and resources to complete the project. The team’s longer working hours will have to be compensated. 

Team’s Experience

Prioritizing the quality and responsiveness of your website automatically comes with higher prices. A newbie won’t be able to recognize all pitfalls and advise you on the best approaches, so be prepared to pay extra for a team with a wealth of successfully executed projects under their belt. Experienced redesign companies can deliver tailored website redesign solutions that meet your specific business needs. But, as is known, the miser pays twice, so paying for the expertise is worth it.

eCommerce Functions

Sure, you want an appealing website, but you also need your online store to operate well. Things like secure payment getaways, a user-friendly shopping cart, user accounts, order tracking, and security features all take time and a wealth of experience. Building a custom website for your online store ensures personalized development and branding that aligns with your business goals, providing unique functionality and a tailored user experience. By investing in these things you automatically invest in a positive customer experience, which can be a decisive factor when outcompeting other stores.

Hidden Costs and Contingencies

  • Third-party integration. Premium plugins, stock photos, and other external elements, while adding immense value, also make the project more expensive. For example, premium plugins work well for SEO optimization and provide more diverse customization options. But remember — everything good comes at a price, so many premium plugins come at a licensing or subscription fee.
  • The choice of CMS. Your website’s content quality is more important than you think. It does not only convey your business stance, values, and priorities but also demonstrates if your team is detail-oriented. That being said, your choice of CMS will determine how easily you can manage and update content. Choosing the right content management system is crucial for efficient content publishing and seamless integration during a website redesign. Plus, if there’s a need to transfer to a different CMS, you will also have to transfer all the content, configurations, and data, meaning it will require more investments. Finally, if you choose a proprietary CMS, be prepared to pay licensing fees.
  • Client involvement. Sometimes business owners are the biggest contingencies that grow the magnitude of website redesign costs. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with providing honest feedback about this or that element. After all, you’re not just paying for quality, you want the website to represent you and appeal to you. However, if you want to make any changes at the testing stage, or demand unnecessary iterations, be ready to pay more.

Website Design and Development

The heart of any successful website redesign lies in thoughtful design and robust development. When you partner with a professional website redesign company, you gain access to a team that understands how to translate your vision into a visually appealing and high-performing website.

The process begins with a detailed project plan, outlining the timeline, budget, and technical requirements. This ensures that everyone is aligned and that the redesign company can deliver a custom solution tailored to your business needs. During the design phase, the focus is on creating a website that not only looks great but also resonates with your target audience and reflects your brand’s image. Every visual element, from color schemes to typography, is chosen to reinforce your brand identity and create a seamless user experience.

On the development side, the priority is to build a responsive web design that adapts flawlessly to all devices, ensuring accessibility for every site visitor. Search engine optimization is integrated from the ground up, helping your redesigned website achieve higher visibility in search results. The development team also prioritizes intuitive user experience, making navigation effortless and interactions smooth.

By working with a professional website redesign company, you benefit from a collaborative approach that combines creative web design with technical expertise, resulting in a website that supports your business goals and delights your users.

Choosing the Right Professionals

Any new endeavor you start requires strategy. Whether it’s finding a website redesign or an SMM studio, you’ll have to spend some time planning and researching people who will guarantee quality for your money. Investing in corporate website redesign services can help modernize your company’s online presence, effectively represent your brand, and drive business growth. Thus, here’s a brief step-by-step guide to support you along the way.

Define your goals and budget

In most cases, a website redesign solves one critical issue — poor customer experience. This problem is the root cause for all others like high bounce rates and little to no sales. Once you’ve established that these issues are sabotaging your business, it’s time you start drafting your budget. You want to make sure not to spend too much, because a newly redesigned website is just the first step — digital advertising campaigns, content and email marketing, PR campaigns, paid sponsorships, and customer loyalty programs — all these things will dig into your pocket a bit. However, even with a tight budget, a reputable website redesign company can still accommodate your financial constraints.

Conduct research and shortlist potential partners

Start with a simple Google search to identify your local agencies. Once you visit some websites, review clients’ feedback on resources like Clutch, and review the companies’ portfolios. Pay special attention to their redesign portfolio to assess their experience and capabilities in website redesign projects. You’ll likely have a clear picture of what you like and dislike about each of them.

Evaluate expertise and styles

A great website redesign company will have its own unique style. Create a list of several companies you identify with the most. Go through their case studies, and pay specific attention to projects similar to your own. Make sure the companies also provide development and SEO services. Additionally, consider agencies with strong UI/UX design capabilities, as they can deliver user-centered and innovative website solutions tailored to enhance user experience and meet diverse client needs.

Contact the agencies and request proposals

This is one of the most important steps. The way agencies treat their prospects even before receiving their request is very telling. For example, if you’re asking the sales team about the services without explicitly stating your request, and you have already encountered rudeness, that can be a sign of major communication problems in the future. First impressions matter, so trust your gut and choose those who are helpful and polite. Also, request proposals that include time and cost estimates, along with the scope of work. A well-prepared proposal for a custom web redesign should outline specific improvements and benefits tailored to your business, helping decision-makers understand the value of the overhaul.

Pay attention to contracts and discuss support services

We recommend you have a reliable lawyer who can help identify and address any potential legal pitfalls that may escape your notice. Also, make sure your agency of choice guarantees post-launch maintenance for ongoing assistance.

Launch and Maintenance

Once your website redesign is complete, the journey doesn’t end there. A successful launch and ongoing maintenance are essential to maximize your investment and support continued business growth. Before going live, your redesign agency will conduct thorough testing and quality assurance to ensure every feature works flawlessly and the user experience is seamless.

Training and support are also key components of a smooth transition. Your team should feel confident managing and updating the new website, so a reputable website redesign agency will provide the resources and guidance you need. After launch, ongoing maintenance services become crucial. Regular software updates, security checks, and performance monitoring help keep your website running smoothly and protect it from potential threats.

Continuous analysis of website performance and user experience allows you to identify areas for improvement and adapt your strategy as your business evolves. By investing in professional website redesign and reliable maintenance services, you ensure your online presence remains strong, engaging, and effective at driving conversions and supporting your long-term success.

Case Studies

To show you the importance of a successful website redesign, here are several successful brands that, just like you, decided that they need to redesign their website to stay true to themselves while making sure their customers stay loyal. A redesigned site can lead to increased traffic, higher conversions, and improved user experience.

There are various redesign solutions available to address common business challenges.

Businesses often seek website redesign solutions to stay competitive and meet evolving customer needs.

GitHub

GitHub, an international leader offering a cloud-based Git repository, has recently undergone a major website redesign, making overall functionality and user experience smoother and more visually appealing. Updating a company website like GitHub’s not only enhances user experience but also strengthens brand perception and can significantly improve overall business performance. By utilizing strategy, they kept the old things and made them easier to navigate. They improved wayfinding by adding breadcrumbs that reflect the information architecture of each page. This time, they also focused on easy navigation across all devices, and remaking the website with people with disabilities in mind. In particular, developers, architects, and designers who either choose not to use a mouse or are unable to use one now have the capability to navigate exclusively through keyboard inputs.

Another interesting thing they added is that it is designed for people with vision impairments. From now on, those users who use screen readers will also have a seamless experience when reading through code. This new accessibility endeavor is one of many features that exemplify how impactful your website redesign can be.

Slack

The latest Slack website update focused on a more intuitive layout. The company has a single-view page called “Home”, where users can see everything that’s important for them. Plus, those users who have an Enterprise Grid organization now have the ability to view channels from every workspace, without having to toggle back and forth. This update stands out as a successful redesign project, showcasing a structured approach to improving navigation and user engagement. Essentially, here’s what has been changed:

  • a redesigned view of all direct messages;
  • a single place for everything that requires attention: notifications, mentions, threads, and reactions;
  • you can now stash conversations that you want to get back later;
  • users now have quick access to productivity-boosting tools like canvas and workflows.

Every little change has been made with the user in mind. In total, the Slack team has made more than 100 improvements, everything to make the navigation easier and free up users’ time for meaningful work. If you want to read more about the website redesign case study, access the full information here.

Summary

You wouldn’t want to jeopardize your website’s credibility, especially since 75% of it is attributed to design. Looking for a reliable website redesign service provider is often a toil and moil. Why look elsewhere? Phenomenon studio is an expert in everything related to design and development. We provide our customers with a variety of services for every taste and color. Our professional web redesign services offer comprehensive solutions to modernize your online presence and drive business success. Get in touch with us for appealing visuals and a guaranteed success of your website.

Wondering about the price? We’ll help you find the best solution!
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