How A Website Redesign Works

At Mpowering Solutions, we specialise in helping small business owners revamp and redesign their websites. Many clients we work with are experts in their fields of industry and business, but aren't digital or online experts, and so their websites have taken a back seat, often remaining untouched and not updated for years, even a full decade (not exaggerating).

But what goes into a website redesign? Is it just a few new images, some updated blurb and that's it?

Maybe for some web design companies, but not us. At Mpowering Solutions, we treat every single client with the utmost TLC. Every client is unique, their businesses are all different and have their own unique selling point, so we want to ensure our work reflects their brand ethos, values and identity.

If you're looking to redesign your website yourself, or you're curious about how the process works, here are just some of the things we do with each and every website redesign we've done so far.

Create a Style Sheet

One of the first things we do is create a Style Sheet, whereby we list the font families and sizes we want to use, the primary and secondary colours, the logo and other important creative elements. This ensures the website is stylistically consistent throughout. Stylistic consistency is directly correlated to professionalism and trust, but this is often an undervalued and overlooked part of design.

Some of the processes that go into this include:

• Font identification: if your business has an existing logo that you want to keep, you can use the WhatTheFont Font Finder to identify the font(s) within your logo. This means you can have a design red thread throughout your website, so your brand identity is consistent at every touchpoint of your website

• Colour analysis: if you have one or two primary colours you want to use, it is helpful to note down the colour code, either Hex or RGB. This ensures you are consistently using the same shade of colour, and not accidentally using different shades unintentionally. It is also helpful to have secondary colours for accents and highlights. So for instance, with Mpowering Solutions, our primary colour is teal, but we have selected specific shades on the colour spectrum that belong in the same family so they complement each other rather than jar. We then use these colours on the website as backgrounds, but also on our social media pages to create harmony.

Competitor Research

As much as we'd like to think our businesses are totally unique, the reality is there are competitors out there. Whether they are in the exact same industry or slightly adjacent, it is useful to have a look at their websites to understand what content they have and what information they are providing clients, to ensure you are up to industry standards. It can also help spark inspiration and ideas of what you should include that you hadn't thought about before.

Imagery Review

Some designers and marketeers sneer at stock images, but the reality is many small businesses don't have the budget to organise a bespoke photoshoot. Stock images are a great way to incorporate professional photographs without having to invest in a big photoshoot. Stock image banks such as Shutterstock (paid) and Unsplash (free) are also great places to draw inspiration when you don't know what images you are looking for.

However, make sure you choose your stock images wisely. Those cheesy photos with the model smiling and posing directly at the camera? They often feel dated, inauthentic, and dare we say even creepy sometimes. Headless shots or even prop-only photos are more timeless. In addition, make sure you choose photos that are similar in style and colour. If you like photos with a more muted palette, make sure you don't suddenly select a photo that is full of bright and stark colours, as that will ruin the stylistic consistency of your website.

Keyword Research

One of the key components of SEO (search engine optimisation) is doing keyword research. We always use this example:

You design beautiful dog necklaces. Well, technically they're collars, but you make them so intricately beautiful with beading and sequins that you want to call them "dog necklaces" instead. That's great! But that's not what people search. The volume of the searches are in "dog collars". If you insist on using "dog necklaces", you are missing out on people who are looking for collars, and have never thought to call it a dog necklace. Or you may be getting people who are searching for human necklaces with a dog charm, so when they see your products, it's not what they're looking for and they bounce. So your best way forward is to include "dog collars" in your copy, to ensure you are using the terms that people actually search for.

Often, it's pretty straightforward what keywords you should be using. But sometimes it's best to double check the search queries. Should you be calling them "trainers" or "sneakers"? "Rubbish bins" or "trash cans"? These may seem like American vs British English, but understanding the locality and terminology you're selling to can make all the difference in terms of search volume.

SEO Practices

Keyword research is a big part of SEO, but it isn't the only part. There are some other things you need to bear in mind:

• Heading Hierarchy: each webpage should only have one H1 heading, and then H2s, H3s and so on, Paragraphs. Think of it like chapters and subchapters in a book. If you want to learn more, have a look at our Easy SEO with Harry Potter series.

• Alt texts: images should include alt texts which describe the image. This not only helps the images appear in search engine searches, but is a big part of accessibility, as screen readers then read this alt text to describe the image to users with visual disabilities or other impairments.

• Meta titles and descriptions: each webpage should have a meta title and description, which help search engines understand what the page is about, and is the information that is displayed on the search results page. Again, our Easy SEO with Harry Potter series explains this.

WCAG Compliance

WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, and is a series of guidelines to ensure websites are accessible to those who have visual impairments or other disabilities that can impact how they experience the website. If you want to learn more, have a look at our KISS guide to WCAG, but here are some key points:

• Alt texts: as described above, this helps those who use screen readers to comprehend what the images represent

• Colour contrast: those with visual impairments experience colour differently, so if there is insufficient contrast between the text and the background, this can impact whether a user can read the content on the page. This also benefits able-sighted users, as poor colour contrast can affect general legibility and result in eye strain.

Mobile Optimisation

Once upon a time, desktops (and laptops) were the only way to visit a website. Nowadays, more and more people are accessing the Internet on their mobile phones, with mobile users skyrocketing to up to from 10% to 50% of Internet access in a few years. So if your website is not optimised for mobile phones, this can result in a poor user experience for those on-the-go, and may discourage users from returning to visit your website. In addition, mobile optimisation helps those who are using screen readers, therefore it is actually a part of WCAG. WCAG is not just for users with impairments and disabilities; it's to ensure users using different devices do not experience an accessibility gap.

And there's more! But this is a good starting point as to what is included in an Mpowering Solutions website redesign. Remember: 75% of people judge a company's reputation based on its website, so it is worth investing time and even money into your website to ensure it reflects your brand's identity and values to visitors and clients. Websites are often the make-or-break final checkpoint, whether it's transactional in an eCommerce store or for enquiries for service-based businesses, so ensure your website is the best version of you!

If you are looking for a website redesign, but not sure where to start or confident enough to take on the website overhaul by yourself, let us help you take care of all the details. We offer our website redesigns as a one-off cost, where we will tailor a bespoke affordable quote for you and your website needs, or as part of our Monthly Digital services, where you can spread the cost of a website redesign. Get in touch now to book in a FREE discovery call and see how we can help you.

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