At Imagine Monkey, many of our requests are from clients looking for a website redesign. Whether their site is outdated, not mobile responsive or just ineffective, people understand the importance of having a properly representative, professional website. All told, though, it can actually be harder to redesign a website than to create one from scratch. When you’re creating a site from scratch, you have a blank canvas and can work based on pure imagination. Redesign, on the other hand, is like covering up a bad tattoo… while you’re free to improve on the original work, there’s a lot of content, imagery and concepts that need to be incorporated into the new site. Today, we’re going to look at how you can ensure that your web designer has the tools they need to ensure that you receive an effective, stunning website redesign.
Get your concepts ready
From thoughts on your new sitemap to page structures, having all of your initial ideas ready and on paper ensures that your web designer knows what you’re expecting. Naturally, it’s always best to have discussed your expectations prior to the project beginning but, once the project has begun, it’s even more important that you let your designer know how your site will operate, how it will attract visitors and what they will experience while there.
Gather all your images
If you have product shots, head shots of your staff or photographs of your facilities, it’s essential that your designer have these from the start. Web pages are designed based on the content that they will contain, so providing your designer with the content that you want to display will allow them to create pages that properly showcase that content.
Collect all of your branding materials
It’s surprising how many businesses don’t have a high resolution image — or PSD file — of their company’s logo or branding materials. As these things, typically, appear on every page, it’s important that they be of the highest possible quality. You wouldn’t put a faded, rust-covered sign on your business’ physical location, right? For the same reason, you don’t want a pixellated, blurry GIF to act as your website’s logo.
Put all of your content into one document
Your written content is what sells your business to your visitors. While a skilled web designer will offer suggestions to improve your content, they understand that nobody knows your business better than you do. For that reason, it’s critical that you provide your designer with the content they need to fill your pages.
Prepare to answer some questions
At Imagine Monkey, our custom website redesigns are achieved through regular, ongoing communication. Without your input, your knowledge of your business and your feedback on what we’re doing, it’s monumentally harder to produce stunning results. No web designer wants to put out sub-par work, especially us, so to ensure the best possible results from your redesign, make sure that you stay in touch, answer any questions they pose and give your thoughts on the work that they show you.
